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1. 06:50 AM - Cheap Mark-3 For Sale (KIRBY, DENNIS T GS-13 USAF AFMC AFNWC/ENS)
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| Subject: | Cheap Mark-3 For Sale |
Kolb Friends -
Back in February 2014, I posted a message about a tired old Mark-3 I discovered
sitting in a hangar in Truth-or-Consequences, New Mexico. I provided a few details
about the plane, and how it was never registered. The owner was hoping
to sell it for about $5000. Apparently, it did not generate much interest.
Well, I just spoke to a Rotax-mechanic friend of mine who recently went down to
see the airplane and meet with the owner. Seems the owner is REALLY anxious
to sell this hangar queen, and will accept $2000 for the aircraft. Probably even
less.
As I said before, it appears to be well-built and complete. It's probably worth
the price just for the wings. Anyway - I felt it was my duty to inform this
List, just in case anyone might still be interested.
If interested, contact him at 575-447-1183.
Dennis Kirby
Sandia Park, NM
Original Message:
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On a recent visit to lonely airport in southern New Mexico this past weekend, the
airport manager had lots of questions about my Mark-3, which I had just flown
in. He told me there was one like it parked in a hangar there, which the owner
wanted to sell. I told him I'd be happy to take a look at it.
He rolled open the hangar door, and there sat a sad, dusty, early-model Mark-3
with two flat tires. The airport guy told me the owner was old and ailing, and
it had not flown it in six years. I inspected it closely, and discovered that
it was in fact a well-built airplane.
It appeared very straight, and had no evidence of damage. The fabric was pristine,
even if covered in a thick layer of dust. I looked closely at the areas typically
prone to wear and damage, like the landing gear legs, the gear leg sockets,
and the steel tail post structure. All looked good. The tailwheel was not
the stock pizza-cutter type that comes from Kolb, but rather the upgraded full-swiveling
unit with the inch-wide wheel. It looked hardly used at all. From
all I could see, this aircraft has been well-preserved from all its years being
stored in the dry, desert environment of southern New Mexico - no corrosion.
The interior was quite spartan, with bare aluminum floor pans and simple fabric
sling seats with minimal padding. Instruments were basic analog types, and looked
old. It had the single center-mounted control stick. Engine was a 582. The
whole aircraft was painted an ugly shade of red, including the nose cone, wing
struts, tail-bracing wires, and boom tube. Kinda like the guy built the airplane,
then painted every inch of the exterior.
Here's the kicker - it's not N-numbered. We all know this category of aircraft
in now in the "lawn ornament" category, or else it could have value for salvage
parts. So the owner should not expect offers of great sums of money for his
Kolb. He indicated that he was hoping to get about $5000 for it, but in light
of the current situation with registration, will likely not be offered that much.
That said ...
I see a potential opportunity here for somebody getting a good Mark-3 for cheap,
if you're willing to do a bit of restoration work. If it were me, I would disassemble
it, strip off all the fabric, remove the engine and all the old instruments
and wiring, and start over from there. Take some pictures of the airplane
parts in its bare-bones state, and approach the FAA as if it were a newly-constructed
kit. Get it registered in the Experimental/Amateur-Built category.
It would be WAY cheaper - and faster - than starting from ground zero from a
kit. Several kit builders have done it this way since the FAA's grace period to
register fat ultralights has passed, in 2008.
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