Should I get an old 337?

[stratobee]

Hi.

New forum member here, veteran lurker. I come bearing questions...

Not rich. Mostly flown Cessna singles. Always fancied a 336/337. Could probably afford an early model, A, B or C with basic avionics. Could hopefully afford upkeep and slight upgrade in avionics as I go along, but don't want to splash for it straight out of the gate.

1. What's the deal with this SID/AD thing in simple terms? Would it affect me as a non-commercial, private owner?

2. Will it mean that the prices of these aircraft is going to come down more?

3. I quite often see early 337's at or below $30K - how bad an idea is this to get? Considering I like to pay as I go and upgrade and don't want to pay for someone else's idea of the perfect avionics package etc, this seems tempting.

4. Can I get long range tanks retrofitted if the aircraft doesn't have it? Are there any of those baggage fuel tanks that transfer fuel to mains available for the Skymaster that you can get for the Cessna singles? If they exist, are they STC'd?

Last question I'm asking because I live in the US at the moment, but as a cinematographer often spend long periods in Europe and would perhaps want to have the plane flown over (not by me until I have my IR and grow a pair) should I have a long stint there so I can do some local touring (I have both JAA and FAA licenses). It'd be nice to have whoever flies it over to be able to do it without ferry tanks, that's why I'm asking.

Thanks.

[Roger]

I think a decent 337 will probably cost at least $60g's, and close to $100g's for a good one. You can of course pay that a couple of ways.
1) $30,000- buy in, then spend $50,000-70,000+/- over the 6-12 months that the plane is being brought up to speed
2) Pay for a good plane in the beginning,and start using it the day you buy it.

[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.