Justifying a Pacer...

[Joe Gerardi]

So what do all y'all think of this aircraft:
http://www.barnstormers.com/ad_manager/ ... ?ID=222142

I've contacted the owner asking a few questions and this is what he had to say: "It was last annualed in October of 2008 (I think ne meant '07) and all AD's are complied with. As for SB819, which I believe is for the tubing under the door frames, it has not been inspected as far as I know. It was last recovered in 1966 with Ceconite 101 and has been hangered ever since. The interior of the wings and the fuselage look almost like new."

30 years on the Ceconite concerns me.

..Joe

[jay heil]

It was last recovered in 1966 with Ceconite 101 and has been hangered ever since. The interior of the wings and the fuselage look almost like new."

30 years on the Ceconite concerns me.

heck if 30 years bother ya just think about how much it would bother you if it was 42 yrs??? udder then that its kinda purty

[Steve Pierce]

That is a little long for me.

[Joe Gerardi]

It was last recovered in 1966 with Ceconite 101 and has been hangered ever since. The interior of the wings and the fuselage look almost like new."

30 years on the Ceconite concerns me.

heck if 30 years bother ya just think about how much it would bother you if it was 42 yrs??? udder then that its kinda purty

Yup. That's a brain fart. I was hoping he made a mistake like he did with the annual and was hoping he meant '76, (or really hoping that he fat-fingered an "'86") then wrote using that...

This getting old sucks, but I guess it beats the alternative...

And yeah, it is kind of pretty in the 50's sort of way, which is in it's favor.

Steve, as someone that rebuilds these, what do you personally consider a drop-dead age for fabric? I appreciate that there are always mitigating factors, but is there a general guideline you follow?

..Joe

[jay heil]

just razzin ya a little , anyway I think you would have to buy that thing as if it was a recover project theres plenty of planes out there for the 20,000 range 42 yr old fabric I dont think you would feel comfortable with even if someone says it tests fine i bought my tripacer in the mid 90's it had origional fabric on it so that was about 35 yr old cotton i flew it for a few hours but when i tore the fabric off it was pretty easy to jam your finger thru but that was cotton , this one is ceconite so who knows? Its time for a recover on that one !!

[Gilbert Pierce]

If it is covered in Dacron the fabric is usually not the problem. It is the steel structure under the fabric that is the problem. SB819 was not an issue 42 years ago.

[andya]

Joe
i have a pa-22/20 with the 150. would recommend at least that or the 160. Wheel pants, have them also and you can't see any difference in speed on or off (at least mine) and I fly mine both ways for various reason. The top thing the provide is looks, the worse thing is having to take them off to check tires.

VOR has become useless with GPS.

[jake1571a]

I bought a pacer. Paid cash for it. Flew it home. I had never flown a tailwheel before, much less had an endorsement. Just keep it straight and the rest will take care of itself. I still don't have a tailwheel endorsement. Do what you want to do.

[N1160C]

I've owned 3 Pacers and 2 Tri-Pacers. Both are great aircraft. I have a 1953 Pacer, with a 150hp engine for sale. Floridapilot@yahoo.com or 850-570-9931 if you are interested. Located nearby in Tallahassee FL

[rmalone]

Speaking from recent experience, a lot can and most probably will be wrong under fabric that old. Once you open that can it gets very expensive.