Should I get an old 337?

[edasmus]

I would not recommend buying any airplane where you go into it on a tight budget. The Skymaster is a great machine but it has to be kept in shape. I second Roger. Pay up front or pay later, but either way, you're gonna pay. I spend $30 to $35 thousand per year for hanger, insurance, gas, and maintenance to fly my 1973 337G (no-turbo) 100 hours. It has been that way since I bought the plane in 2002. That works out to $300 to $350 an hour, which seems reasonable to me to have my own beautiful Skymaster waiting for me whenever I want it. Unless you have access to free or very reduced labor costs, I really do not see how these planes could be operated for less.

Good Luck!

Ed

[stratobee]

Thanks for the info.

$30K a year is a little bit steeper than I'd hoped for, but something I could afford. Do other forum members have roughly the same figures?

[Roger]

I am sorry, but because my wife also reads this site, I refuse to admit how much it costs to operate my aircraft

[WebMaster]

You don't need long range tanks to go to Europe. The longest distance, via the northern route, is a little over 600 miles. However, pay attention to the note that says insulate the breather tube. It would be easy to speculate that uninsulated breather tube brought down the plane that is sitting in the bottom of the ocean.

If you want to go the route of St.Johns to the Azores, you need a ferry tank, in the cabin. You also need an HF radio. Most ferry pilots will take the northern route.

You can probably buy an aircraft for 30K, and then spend 60K on engines, and 20K on props, pretty easily. Most of the lower priced airplanes have high time engines.
Avionics can easily run another 60K. If you want a new paint job and interior, check with Herb on that cost, but it isn't cheap.

I would suggest that you search for an airplane that has mid-time engines. Have a thorough pre-buy done on it. Look at your wallet, because you can plan on 7K for insurance the first year, provided they will write it. I think an IR would be required by most companies these days. Fuel burn, for normally aspirated, will run 22GPH. An inexpensive annual will be 3K. I had an annual that cost me 12K.

The costs add up, and in a hurry.

[edasmus]

Hahahaha....Roger, you are a funny, funny guy. I'm laughing so hard, my sides hurt. )

[WebMaster]

I remember reading that while most US insurance companies write polices for 1MM liability, in Europe, it is required that you have 2MM liability.

The SIDS, by and large, are just things that should be paid extra attention to during the annual. The wing pull shouldn't affect part 91 operators of US registered aircraft. There are some who think that insurance companies will require SID compliance. If the crash in New Jersey taught us anything, it is that the wing pull is not necessary. The wing to fuselage junction, as well as the strut, remained pretty much intact, even though the wing had failed.

[stratobee]

I still want one

I've had my eyes open for a 336 as I thought that would be a nice entry, but they're far and few between, unfortunately. Someone said they have this SID even worse somehow and need a more thorough examination. Is this true?