---------------------------------------------------------- Kolb-List Digest Archive --- Total Messages Posted Tue 12/02/14: 1 ---------------------------------------------------------- Today's Message Index: ---------------------- 1. 06:50 AM - Cheap Mark-3 For Sale (KIRBY, DENNIS T GS-13 USAF AFMC AFNWC/ENS) ________________________________ Message 1 _____________________________________ Time: 06:50:17 AM PST US From: "KIRBY, DENNIS T GS-13 USAF AFMC AFNWC/ENS" Subject: Kolb-List: 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: =+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Do not archive ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Matronics Email List Services ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post A New Message kolb-list@matronics.com UN/SUBSCRIBE http://www.matronics.com/subscription List FAQ http://www.matronics.com/FAQ/Kolb-List.htm Web Forum Interface To Lists http://forums.matronics.com Matronics List Wiki http://wiki.matronics.com Full Archive Search Engine http://www.matronics.com/search 7-Day List Browse http://www.matronics.com/browse/kolb-list Browse Digests http://www.matronics.com/digest/kolb-list Browse Other Lists http://www.matronics.com/browse Live Online Chat! http://www.matronics.com/chat Archive Downloading http://www.matronics.com/archives Photo Share http://www.matronics.com/photoshare Other Email Lists http://www.matronics.com/emaillists Contributions http://www.matronics.com/contribution ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These Email List Services are sponsored solely by Matronics and through the generous Contributions of its members.