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The trials & tribulations of selling an airplane

Dgamble

Well Known Member
It is with decidedly mixed emotions that I report that my RV-6 finally sold. The decision between which airplane to sell (the RV-6 that I bought already flying, or the RV-12 that I built myself) was much harder than I had anticipated, but I decided on keeping the 12.

The sales process took a couple of years, but eventually my tried-and-true strategy for amassing great wealth, which can be summarized as "Buy high, sell low," finally paid off in the selling of the 6 at the very bottom of the market.

But the real fun began when I had a solidly interested buyer and I had to fly the plane out to the DC area for a pre-buy inspection:

The big scare began with, "Hey, you ought to come look at this too."

They had found what was either a crack in the paint or a crack in one of the welds where the landing gear is supported by the engine mount. A crack in a weld is orders of magnitude worse than a crack the paint. In fact, a crack in the weld would have very likely been a show-stopper. Repairing it would require the complete removal of the engine and mount to repair the weld, which means hours and hours and hours of labor. And that, my friends, got me very tensed up, very quickly.

It was twenty minutes before the verdict came in...

See more at: http://www.schmetterlingaviation.com/2013/07/signed-sealed-delivered.html
 
Wow, and that's a sale and quite the write up. I have admired your -6 a few times in the listings... if it were closer to me I'd have certainly thought long and hard about it. Looks like it is going to be a great new ride for the lucky new buyer. Congratulations on simplifying your aircraft ownership responsibilities to only one!
 
I suspect I will cross the same bridge if I ever finish my -8. It will be a sad day indeed.
 
Great write up Dave...I used to travel on buddy passes A LOT in a previous career, and I feel your pain my friend.

Enjoy that -12!!:cool:
 
great write-up....pics, lessons etc.

Definitely magazine worthy.
Dave should be a guest columnist at , oh, how about......ALL the aviation mags that I normally read!

...so, just how DID they determine that it was a crack in the paint?
I have lots of cracks in my powdercoat, and it's really got me worried!
 
enjoyed the story

Dave, I too sold my RV6 and the parting to the ways was difficult for me. I started soon after completing an RV12 and received airworthiness 2 weeks ago, and am flying on the dreaded airlines to get some transition training with Jetguy next week. I have experienced delays before, in fact part of cost to fly to Dallas is from a $50 voucher from another flight delay.

I am looking forward to learning the 12 and getting into regular flying mode again.
 
Definitely magazine worthy.
Dave should be a guest columnist at , oh, how about......ALL the aviation mags that I normally read!

...so, just how DID they determine that it was a crack in the paint?
I have lots of cracks in my powdercoat, and it's really got me worried!
It was kind of funny and not very funny at the same time. I suggested a dye penetrant test.

"No, we'll just buff off the paint for a better look."

"Are you going to re-paint it when you're done?"

"Yeah, but the color won't match."

Grind grind grind.

"Well, we just can't tell. How about we do a dye penetrant test?"
 
It was kind of funny and not very funny at the same time. I suggested a dye penetrant test.

"No, we'll just buff off the paint for a better look."

"Are you going to re-paint it when you're done?"

"Yeah, but the color won't match."

Grind grind grind.

"Well, we just can't tell. How about we do a dye penetrant test?"

I would almost bet you it really was cracked. This is a very common issue with the RV-6 and it can be very difficult to determine whether or not the finish is cracked or the mount right next to the weld. Grinding can actually camouflage the crack.

However, many RV-6's have flown for many years with a small crack at the gear socket. It appears to be compression fatique and as long as it doesn't progress may not even be a safety of flight problem. I watched the suspect area for several years on my plane before deciding it was an actual crack and then fixed it so I would stop thinking about it. :)

Entertaining writeup and I'm sure the new owner will enjoy his plane.
 
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Actually

Anything that Dave writes is worthy of publication in my opinion. He is a master or wordology or whatever. A great writer. Absolutely entertaining - Editor of Kitplanes, are you interested?:cool:
 
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