A plane that costs $166/minute to fly

by Steve Roberts
(Sudbury, VT)

Ok, first rule... don't ever fly a plane you buy used from a club "buddy" without giving it a thorough going over and ground testing. Don't ever take anyone's word that the plane "flew great the last time I had it at the field".

I was eager to get into a larger plane and a "friend" had a nice vintage 1.20 bipe that he wanted to sell. I got suckered into paying $500 for it as he obviously was aware that I just didn't know any better and trusted him.

Anyway after two trial flights just doing trim circuits around the field everything seemed to be going very nicely.

So on the third flight I decided to wring it out a bit and get a better feel for how it reacted to more extreme acrobatics. I came in for a low pass and went vertical. The plane went about 100' and promptly died. No control at all. It did an abrupt inversion and augered into the runway.

My friend just shrugged his shoulders and said "That's the hobby, get used to it". Never refunded me a penny.

So, if you buy a used plane, don't assume ANYTHING. Check it out 100% before you fly. You might notice in the picture that the fuel tank is wrapped in duct tape! There's a bad sign for you...