JayKoit
Well-Known Member
I'm looking at a plane that checks most of my boxes (easy to fly, cheap to insure, low fuel burn/maintenance, tri gear, all metal so I can tie down).
Only thing is, the engine is 25 hours from recommended TBO. (O-235 with approx 2375 hours TTSN, engine is 22 years old so that averages 100+ hours/year)
I normally wouldn't consider a plane with a nearly run out engine but I know the pilot well, and the plane just got a huge annual where all squawks were fixed, and the engine makes good compression (all cyl's in the 70's), oil analysis looks great, and the mags were just rebuilt. Plus, being an O-235 I've heard those are often candidates for going up to 3000 hours before OH in some cases.
So, would like to hear thoughts on flying past recommended TBO. I feel the plane is priced accordingly, but if I fly it 25 hours and it quits, that turns a 25K airplane into a 40K+ airplane pretty quick...
And on the overhaul note, if I work with an independent A&P locally through my EAA chapter or pilot friends, and get resourceful with finding some NOS/yellow tagged parts through ebay, how economically could an O-235 overhaul be done (provided the crank/cam/cylinder bodies are reusable)?
Only thing is, the engine is 25 hours from recommended TBO. (O-235 with approx 2375 hours TTSN, engine is 22 years old so that averages 100+ hours/year)
I normally wouldn't consider a plane with a nearly run out engine but I know the pilot well, and the plane just got a huge annual where all squawks were fixed, and the engine makes good compression (all cyl's in the 70's), oil analysis looks great, and the mags were just rebuilt. Plus, being an O-235 I've heard those are often candidates for going up to 3000 hours before OH in some cases.
So, would like to hear thoughts on flying past recommended TBO. I feel the plane is priced accordingly, but if I fly it 25 hours and it quits, that turns a 25K airplane into a 40K+ airplane pretty quick...
And on the overhaul note, if I work with an independent A&P locally through my EAA chapter or pilot friends, and get resourceful with finding some NOS/yellow tagged parts through ebay, how economically could an O-235 overhaul be done (provided the crank/cam/cylinder bodies are reusable)?
