Anyway, I think this bird has potential... a diamond-in-the-rough, perhaps. Just passed a January annual with no discrepancies... rare for a 1947 ragwing.
The right wing looks droopy in this shot because of the wide angle lens distortion... she looks pretty straight in real life.
Brakes were redone recently; not sure if they are Goodyears or Clevelands. No extenders, and it looks like stock legs, no sweep. No cracks or major corrosion seen on the legs. Both footrests are still there- rare for one of these.
The plane has about 3550 TT, and the 3.8 liter, 150hp O-235 was overhauled about 10 yrs ago when it was taken off some other plane in 1996. TSMOH is 650. That leaves over 1500 more hours before TBO for this engine (?).
These older 140s usually have a C-85 on them, this Lycoming adds over 50 horses without much more weight. Very rare to see anything bigger than an O-200 (100hp) on a C-140... me likey.
I haven't looked at the logs yet, but they are complete back to 1960.
that's fine, because 40s and 50s-era maint. logs tend to be a bit... um, spotty.
The current owner bought it 3 years ago and put $15K into the first annual- all the cables were replaced, etc.
The engine looks clean and the wiring, etc. in the compartment looks tidy, with recent attention.
I am told it doesn't burn oil, and I saw no signs of prolonged leaking of oil.
The prop is some sort of climb prop, and the owner claims very good takeoff/climb performance even in high-DA conditions at GTW. I'd believe it. that's quite the engine/prop combo for a plane of this weight!! The panel has a fuel flow meter to keep the thirstier O-235 in check, and the owner claims that he's seen the usual 5 gph one would expect from a C-85 or O-200 on a 140. With a cruise prop, this thing would haul the mail at very low rpms with this engine, I'm sure.
and I could see that nobody's ever picked up the engine by the pushrods... a real no-no, but apparently common.
Wings were redone not quite 10 years ago. They are not bagged (the seam on the leading edge with bag-type wing covers tends to spoil airflow near stall speed), and the work looks good, although there are two small patches on the top of the left wing. One tiny spot of cracked dope on the top of the right wing, but no sign of damage there. Not sure when the fabric was last punch-tested.
Only flaw in the sheet metal is a small dent forward of the right horizontal stab- looks like hangar rash. That and some blistering paint on top of the cabin... nothing to worry about.
There's a VOR antenna on the tail, but no receiver or OBS/CDI.
There's working nav and landing lights and a light on the tail, but no beacon or strobes... although the spot on top of the fuselage (just at the wing trailing edges) where an (ADF loop?) antenna apparently used to be might be a good spot for a beacon.
The panel is pretty basic, but it has a single comm and a txpndr. 2-place intercom.
The fuel flow meter is a nice thing to have.
I'm told everything works except the clock.
The plane has an ELT with a little test switch panel under the panel. Looks like this instrument panel was not cut up too much, if at all... important with these becauee the panel frame is part of the fuselage structure.
Windshield is newish,no cracks or crazing,seals look good, and the vents work. Heater supposedly works well, also.
Seat looks like the original split-base bench seat, but there are shoulder harnesses. The padding and covering of the seat are pretty good.
Saw no rot or cracks under the seat, but I didn't take off the inspection plates.
The tunnel area (cover is missing; a good thing for inspections like this)looks pretty good- fuel line is not rubbing, etc
The interior fabric is nothing special, but the baggage compartment looks in good shape- might clean up nicely. The whole rear headliner is missing also, allowing a good view of the inside of the fuselage. I couldn't care less how it looks, frankly, and believe me, it does nothing for noise or heat insulation.
Skylights look OK, with no sign of leaking... the trim around them is hurtin', but it's there, and I'll bet they don't leak. D-windows look pretty good, too.
The sheet metal looks good... although the interior is dirty, there seems to be little corrosion. No major cracks, no metal patches, no missing rivets (I think), no oil-canning. My overall impression looking in there was that it was not bad at all. No signs of pest infestation, etc, and no patches or dubious structural repair work of any kind.
That first annual for this owner supposedly involved some corrosion-proofing. Surface corrosion on the steel parts (pulley brackets, springs, horns), but all flying cables are new and look real good.
There are quite a few attachments on the exterior: brackets for an old ADF "clothesline" antenna; ski points (skis and plates were sold separately by another owner); float points with reinforcement (minus the external hardware; all that stuff is gone too, including the floats), and even eye bolts on top of the cabin for hoisting (to install/remove floats). Wonder what all that crap weighs...?
Close-up of one of the ski bungee brackets:
So I'm impressed... it's a good deal, I think. I have to get a loan together, do a title/NTSB search, then have a mechanic look it over for real, although I suspect there will be no major concerns.
I hate to settle so quickly, but with these beasts spread far and wide as they are, I could spend thousands just going to look at them, and I'm on a tight budget as airplane-buyers go... and I can tie it down on concrete at 4N1 for about $125/month. So....anyway, if it isn't this one, it will be something very similar...and real soon, I hope. ;D
People Eating Tasty Animals.