F19 prebuy+ some questions

[ryapad]

Hi everyone, I'm looking at an F19 in Shelton, WA. It seems like a good deal, and I've actually been able to piece together quite a bit of information about it based on its past-owners forum postings. Anyway, the main object standing in the way of obtaining it is the pre buy inspection. I'll be flying down from Alaska to take a look and then have it ferried up, so bringing my mechanic along isn't really practical. I suppose the questions would be are there any Taylorcraft experts in the greater Seattle area that could possibly assist in looking through the plane? If not, would an annual from a local mechanic suffice? Does the F19 suffer from some of the same landing gear and spar issues of the BC12 or were those fixed?

Thanks, Ryan

[waltermrich]

I have had my Taylorcraft since 2006 and I do not recall any issue with the spars, No AD's or service bulletins that Im aware of, of course spars on the BC12D from 1945 46 would be 75 years old but over the course of the life of a Taylorcraft that age the wings would have most likely been recovered at least a couple of times, with most issues addressed.

[Robert Lees]

Hello Ryan, and welcome!

I would suggest holding out for an A&P familiar with the F19 (or one familiar with a B model, the differences are minor in the grand scheme of things). It's worth paying for the correct pre-buy.
Hopefully some of the WA Taylorcraft owners will pipe up with suggestions.

Rob

[Kerbs]

Sent you a PM. Port Townsend Aero Museum would be where I would start. They are out of my home field 0S9, about an hour north (40 min flight time) of where the plane is. Let me know if I can help.

[N96337]

Jon Martin up in the Skagit area is who I'd go to. I've had terrible experiences with the museum's quality. Jon is restoring a Tcraft right now, if I remember.
John

[Ragwing nut]

Jon Martin up in the Skagit area is who I'd go to. I've had terrible experiences with the museum's quality. Jon is restoring a Tcraft right now, if I remember.
John

Are you talking about Jon Martin at New Garden? Building an L2? He is on the other side of the country. You might try and get ahold of Jim Jenkins, Kyle Bushman, Russell Williams. All antique guys that could possibly help in that area I know of.

[PA1195]

Ryan the ad in Barnstormer's appears to show a nice plane at a fair market price +-. I hope it meets both your and A&P's expectations and gets home here to Alaska so you can have some flying fun.

Gary

[ryapad]

Thanks for the advice everyone, I appreciate it. Sounds like it's getting an annual soon and then we were thinking of having the museum poke around for a pre-buy, maybe looking at the stuff the annual didn't get. John, would you mind elaborating on your experience with them? Either way, sounds like we should be able to get a hold of someone who would know what to look for.

[N96337]

My bad....had a brain fart. The guy in the Skagit valley is John Norman. Very qualified and knowledgeable!!!
As far as the museum, they covered a set of wings for a good friend of mine and they were absolutely awful!! They weren't airworthy in any way... none of the seam widths were met, none of the edge distances were met, fabric was shrunk improperly, absolutely awful!! A highly qualified friend walked in my hangar and at 60' away looked at me and said, "you're not going to put those on, are you?"
There's much better alternatives out there, especially over there!
John