Decision to sell the Apache

It all started when my wife and I decided we were going to spend some more money on our plane. We sat down to take a look at our main usage of the Apache and try to get add-ons to make our most common flights more comfortable.

The problem we keep coming back to is strictly the number of seats.  Virtually all of our flights have consisted of: my wife, my son (currently 2yo), her sister, her sister's baby, and her sister's husband. My wife is also currently pregnant, so we're running out of room in the Apache fast.  

We even canceled one of our trips because the comfort factor was making everyone way too cranky. Although we four adults and the two children were well within the Weight and CG limits, there was virtually no room inside to stretch out. When discomfort levels rose to much during my run-up, I decided to cancel the flight; I never fly when one of my passengers is agitated.

My favorite passenger in the world.

I made this post on reddit, which is a location where I spend quite a bit of my free time and not-so-free time. I highly recommend it.

It wasn't the easiest of decisions. We really liked the Apache, and it is a great little plane. We even considered getting the 3rd row installed since weight wasn't the issue.  We were able to get a quote from Diamond Aire, and they're great to work with; but, the cost of adding a 3rd row window, seating, and emergency-exit (required if there are 6 or more seats) was too high for us.

The Apache also has no Auto-pilot. You can ass in the panel shot below a little hole missing; there was previously a handle to control an in-op wing leveler. Since it was in-op we had it removed (it really was hideous). Now that we're going to be doing longer flights with kids, I consider a functional AP a must.

The hole between the ASI and the VSI used to be a large black push/pull knob for the wing leveler

Virtually every option we discussed for modifying the Apache was too expensive. Since time on annual was expiring, it seemed like a perfect time to sell. Most people wanting such a twin will likely be to build time or train students; the kind of person who won't want to spend money on an annual up front (I'd suspect).

So from here, we decided to sell and figure out what plane we do want to get. That's always a horrible thing to do because you will always, and I don't care who you are: you will always start clicking to more and more expensive and advanced planes. It's invariable. I'll cover this in the next blog post.

Then, some bad news struck: there was one item that was an airworthiness issue, and they weren't sure how expensive it would be to repair/replace.  The rear tail gusset was cracked.

My initial thoughts were dreadful, doom and gloom. I also can't stand haggling with people, so I figured I'd just lower the price on the Apache to make sure she sells. That was a big oops! My initial asking price was right around $30,000; after adjusting for the Airworthiness issue I listed $20,000.  Aaaaaand after all of that, the combined total of all the major squawks is coming in at an estimated $3,000 to fix (including the crack!). So whoever ends up buying her is getting a big deal there.  

Unfortunately I always get worked up on haggling, and I just can't deal with it. I'll reap what I have sewn and sit firm at the $20,000.  Unless someone somehow only sees my initial post and offers up a higher-amount, but sadly "nice guys finish last" in these situations.

So the entirety of the rest of our plan depends on the plane being sold, but there are two semi-local salvage yards and 2 probably-serious buyers interested, so I have hope. =)

In the end, we are going to be sad to see her go, but there's no sense in trying to turn this plane into something it's not.  There are lots of bells and whistles we could get like gps, tip tanks, etc., but that wouldn't change the seating issue.  Also, I have to have one of the most awesome tail numbers there are.  

Tomorrow I'll start posting about the plane to meet the mission prospects!

~Steven