Hi,
New to the group. My background as far as homebuilts; Years ago I worked on Rans kits up to the S6 and S7. I aidded with the construction of an RV8 which I have some time in and I currently fly an RV12. Looking for something with more speed so I am shopping for an RV9 or 9A. I was looking at a 9A for sale recently and a few questions arose which I was hoping to gain some insight. First, This ship was on the second owner who had purchased it only recently. There was a complete absence of build logs or any documentation of SBs on the airframe or ADs on the engine. I figure I can do the SBs and check the ADs myself but should I be worried about the absence of build logs? Part of the reason this came up is because the build quality varied dramatically and it looked like the fuse and wings were QB but everything the builder did (Like the tail) was marginal. If I emailed the factory with a serial number could they tell me if this was a QB?
Second, this ship had 2 Lightspeed ignitions. I was told by some in the homebuilt community only one was desirable do to safety concerns (Redundancy). The ship came with a charger for the back up battery and the current owner said it only needed to be charged every 2 years or so but the charger looked like the box had never been opened and the records did not indicate it was ever recharged. Also, The Lightspeed uses car spark plugs. Do these screw into a stock Lycoming cylinder?
Lastly, The owner seemed reluctant to let me pull the cowling off. I can see waiting until a pre purchase inspection to do this but I didn't wish to make an offer (Based on everything else I saw) without doing this. Is it normal to make an offer contingent on the prepurchase or "Check under the hood" first? I don't want to waste anyones time if I have doubts or can't be serious with an offer. I did tell the owner I would look at another ship or two and I might get back to him.
Sorry for the novel. You all can probably tell I am used to buying factory ships.
Thanks in advance for any info!
New to the group. My background as far as homebuilts; Years ago I worked on Rans kits up to the S6 and S7. I aidded with the construction of an RV8 which I have some time in and I currently fly an RV12. Looking for something with more speed so I am shopping for an RV9 or 9A. I was looking at a 9A for sale recently and a few questions arose which I was hoping to gain some insight. First, This ship was on the second owner who had purchased it only recently. There was a complete absence of build logs or any documentation of SBs on the airframe or ADs on the engine. I figure I can do the SBs and check the ADs myself but should I be worried about the absence of build logs? Part of the reason this came up is because the build quality varied dramatically and it looked like the fuse and wings were QB but everything the builder did (Like the tail) was marginal. If I emailed the factory with a serial number could they tell me if this was a QB?
Second, this ship had 2 Lightspeed ignitions. I was told by some in the homebuilt community only one was desirable do to safety concerns (Redundancy). The ship came with a charger for the back up battery and the current owner said it only needed to be charged every 2 years or so but the charger looked like the box had never been opened and the records did not indicate it was ever recharged. Also, The Lightspeed uses car spark plugs. Do these screw into a stock Lycoming cylinder?
Lastly, The owner seemed reluctant to let me pull the cowling off. I can see waiting until a pre purchase inspection to do this but I didn't wish to make an offer (Based on everything else I saw) without doing this. Is it normal to make an offer contingent on the prepurchase or "Check under the hood" first? I don't want to waste anyones time if I have doubts or can't be serious with an offer. I did tell the owner I would look at another ship or two and I might get back to him.
Sorry for the novel. You all can probably tell I am used to buying factory ships.
Thanks in advance for any info!
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