Cool, random Craigslist find

"Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom" (will-alib)
12/27/2018 at 16:15 • Filed to: None

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

An old Herky bird. Flyable too. I’d be king of the ramp at my home ‘drome with this thing.

DISCUSSION (24)

CB > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
12/27/2018 at 16:20

That would be pretty sweet for vacations. Bring your car, bring your everything.

WilliamsSW > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
12/27/2018 at 16:53

Buy it, build out a high end luxury interior for it- then cruise around the world.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
12/27/2018 at 17:09

Dude! I would very much buy that if I had the money.

Jayvincent > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
12/27/2018 at 17:28

who... and how... and what? One of our last remaining paid freelance aviation writers needs to contact the seller for the back story on this one! Inquiring minds want to know. Nice find, btw

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > CB
12/27/2018 at 17:30

Bring your car.

Bring the garage.

Bring the house attached to the garage.

Bring the team to reassemble the house attached to the garage.

Then rent out the other half of the airplane.

Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
12/27/2018 at 17:49

“But will it roll?”

f86sabre > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
12/27/2018 at 18:08

Military cost per flight hour in 2014 was $14k. A savvy, and still complaint, civilian could probably run it on half of that. You would probably want to put the engines on a PBH deal if you could. If it is up against an overhaul limit I would add $750k to that $1.5M.

http://nation.time.com/2013/04/02/costly-flight-hours/

Still, it could be a fun ride.

PyramidHat > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
12/27/2018 at 19:31

Ugh..old avionics, needs paint, interior is OK but old, engines are probably timed out, no ADS-B, probably out of annual...

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > f86sabre
12/28/2018 at 17:14

I bet you could run this all day long with #1 and #4 caged if you’re light enough. I kinda doubt Rolls would offer power by the hour for something this old though . If the engines are timed out they can still be run but they’ll just burn more fuel. Not so sure about gearboxes though. I don’t know that I’d want to fly something with questionable gearboxes - just ask any P-3 pilot from way back..

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > PyramidHat
12/28/2018 at 17:16

What do you expect from a 60 year old Herc with a low asking price?

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > CaptDale - is secretly British
12/28/2018 at 17:23

If I had fuck you money I’d be tempted too. Wouldn’t even need any additional ratings, just type training. But, there are other newer Herks for sale that might be a better buy than a 60 year old project.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
12/28/2018 at 17:32

IDK, they are still inservice. I am sure it would be fine

f86sabre > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
12/28/2018 at 21:20

Yeah, I would imagine any mantaince for a single aircraft owner is going to be high. Gearboxes could be tough and you would want to make friends in the boneyards for low time LLPs. Still, one of the best flying RVs around.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > CaptDale - is secretly British
12/28/2018 at 23:29

Like any project, that 1.5M is just the buy-in price. I can’t even fathom the cost of maintenance on a Herky Bird that old. Just thinking about it is making me twitch..

PyramidHat > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
12/30/2018 at 09:47

Aye. As they say, no such thing as a cheap airplane...

CaptDale - is secretly British > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
12/31/2018 at 11:43

Well I mean I want a Learjet 24. Easier buy in, but my plans for it would cost.... well a lot

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > CaptDale - is secretly British
12/31/2018 at 11:58

Lear 24s are prohibited by the FAA unless they’re hush-kitted. But that just means you could pick one up for cheap and bolt on some newer turbofans and... be completely illegal. Here’s one for 300k - beer money for the jet set. Even hushed, they’re loud af.

https://www.aircraftdealer.com/aircraft-for-sale-detail/Learjet__24/1966-LEARJET-24XR/66791.htm

CaptDale - is secretly British > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
12/31/2018 at 12:06

DUDE! That is the same one I have been drooling over! I really want a 23, but no hush kits avaliable for them.

Why would changing to a modern turbofan be illegal? Cause tbh that was kind of my plan. More efficient , faster, and less “noisy”. I love the sound of turbojets. Sad I can’t have one in the US without the hush.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > CaptDale - is secretly British
12/31/2018 at 14:15

You might love the sound of turbojets but few others do, which is why older jets like the straight-pipe Lears and Gulfstream GII and GIII have the hushkit requirement and are worth very little. They also can’t operate out of Stage 4 noise requirement airports; another reason their values have tanked.

Bolting on a pair of FJ44s (or some other 3k-thrust class t-fan) would mean the aircraft is not in compliance with its original type certificate. (w/GE CJ610 t-jets) To make it legal, you’d have to get an approval from the FAA to swap engines and then fly the jet as a test aircraft for a few hundred hours under the Experimental category while you log data in an effort to convince the federales that the new configuration is safe. It’s a long process that involves some heavy engineering and cubic dollars though. You could probably source the engines from a wrecked Citation CJ at an aviation boneyard but they’ll probably set you back 400-700k per fan depending on time remaining to overhaul. Once you had the approval you could offer the swap under a Supplemental Type Certificate to other owners of Lear 24s and recoup some of your money. Problem is those jets are so old most have been parked or parted out so there’s little or no economic incentive to spend the dough on developing the mod in the first place. But, if you’re the Howard Hughes type and have fuck you money, you could do it just for the halibut and be a hero to us gearhead pilots.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
12/31/2018 at 14:42

See now this is all information I have been trying to figure out, but between horrible government website and such I couldn’t figure out what the hell I’d even do.

I wonder if because of the South American, African, and other less regulated countries with heavy interest in old LJs w ould be interested in engine upgrades too.

Now I know people fly things like Kitfoxes permanently in the experimental aircraft designation. Could that not be done with an engine swapped LJ due to it already having a type rating?

I am still pretty new to the GA and have just started working towards my ppl.

Looks like I need to get some fuck you money.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > CaptDale - is secretly British
12/31/2018 at 14:57

If there was a significant fleet of those ac still flying it could make sense but just based on their age I’d guess not. Then again how many owners of these old jets would spend big $ on an engine mod? They pretty much fly them into the ground (okay, not literally) turning lots of fuel into noise until they’re too expensive to run then they get scrapped. The FAA won’t let you fly a jet under the Experimental category forever if it already has a type certificate issued under the Normal category. You’d get two years at most to get STC approval before having to return the ac to its certified configuration.

I’m familiar with the process because I’m looking into approval for an STC to convert the Cirrus SR22 to liquid cooling. Not nearly as costly as dealing with turbine engines but not cheap either. There’s a large enough fleet of SR22s to justify the investment once the mod is approved to make it worthwhile.

If you’re involved in aviation, having fuck you money is key.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
12/31/2018 at 15:04

Hmm, that makes sense. Sad, but makes sense.

Oh that is an interesting proposal. What would you gain from making the SR22 water cooled?

Yes I am beginning to realize that. I may start looking for a Glucose guardian or benefactor XD

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > CaptDale - is secretly British
12/31/2018 at 15:17

Essentially it will lower cost of ownership from decreasing operating and maintenance costs while preserving performance . Increase fuel efficiency over air-cooling by raising engine compression ratio . Removing the requirement for 100 octane avgas means using a less expensive fuel ( $3 pump gas vs $6 avgas) Lower cost of maintenance by eliminating cylinder replacement before engine overhaul due to much lower cylinder head temps. Eliminating the danger of CO poisoning through a faulty cabin heat system.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
12/31/2018 at 16:41

Oh man that sounds like quite the worthy upgrades! And with the general buyer of the SR22 that sounds like you could easily make your money back.