Aircraft inspection near EDWK

I think doing a pre-buy inspection is a good thing. I would recommend you however to visit the aircraft yourself while bringing one of your local trusted engineers. You want this guy to work in your interest. Therefore I think your local engineer would be better suiteable then an engineer located nearby the aircraft or even on the airfield.

Your local engineer should also be able to tell you about national requirements in your country, which might be an addition to EASA / German regulations.

Can you recommend someone, or is this approach even ok? :-)

The German Cessna representative “Atlas Air Service” has it’s headquarters close by at Ganderkesee (EDWQ). The easiest and safest way to go would probably to ask them to send a technician to inspect the aeroplane. That will probably cost a little money but it might be well spent.

Hi Armin,

My approach would be to contact the local aeroclub who for sure have someone on hand (unless you buy from them and in that case he would be biased ;)
Their site is Link
Good luck and happy holidays!

One could argue that a proper prebuy is about the same as an Annual check but without rectification work.

A friend of mine (A&P/IA+EASA66) does them and he spends 1 day on the paperwork and 1 day inspecting the aircraft. That’s 2 days of his time plus travelling. Probably €1000 plus travelling.

It is important to do a careful job because logbook irregularities are really common e.g. major/persistent defect rectification is covered by a logbook insert which was “not inserted” into the logbook.

You might choose to do less if it is an aircraft which you just really really want (e.g. it is a rare type) and you have lots of money so you don’t care what defects there are when you get it. But most people who buy a plane buy one which costs a significant % of what they have to spend…

It is also important to get it done by somebody working purely for you. The GA scene is highly political and people have alliances with other people, based on business interests. Somebody who owns a hangar will have half the airfield brown-nosing them because hangarage is usually so rare. A few years ago I asked a colleague (A&P/EASA66) to do a prebuy for a friend of mine on a ~1970 plane he saw advertised. Despite its £40k price tag, the plane turned out to be a complete wreck which has been sitting outdoors for years and had so much rust that the oil filter had rusted right through. My friend told the prospective buyer to walk away very fast, but he got into a lot of trouble for it with the maintenance company in front of whose hangar the plane was sitting and which was charged by the owner (who I believe was in jail) to sell it on his behalf.

I do pre-purchase inspections, flat rate is 500€ +travel expenses.

Usually involves a short test flight, 4 hours inspection and another couple hours going through log-books & paperwork .

My experience is It’s usually very difficult to get any more time on-site and heavy equipment like jack stands for gear swing is rarely available.

That said, if you can fly the plane to my hangar, then a much more detailed inspection can be carried out.

I let a Cirrus dealer (RGV) do the ppi on my SR22 before i bought it. Cost L 800 but was worth it. They found a couple of smaller issues and repaired them and me and the seller shared the cost for these repairs. Fair deal, i think.

I’ve just bought a plane after a glowing pre-buy inspection that turned out to be in such bad condition that it’s since featured in an LAA newsletter. Most of the problems seem to be superficial so hopefully it won’t turn out to be a disaster. But suffice to say I wouldn’t have chosen to take on the work it’s taking to get it airworthy again.

My reasoning was that it would take me 2 days to visit the aircraft and that an LAA inspector would be likely to see faults that I would not. When I finally did go to see it in person there were lots of problems that I would undoubtedly have picked up on that the inspector hadn’t noted – e.g. rattling control surfaces. Half an inch of play in the control column. Thoroughly bent axles. Fencing wire used instead of proper locking wire or cotter pins. I was informed that the engine was in excellent condition but it now seems the aircraft was blockaded into a barn and so couldn’t be run. Thankfully the structure of the aircraft seems okay other than the landing gear.

Incompetent or dishonest? I can’t decide. I was prepared to be fleeced by the seller but not by both the seller and an inspector. Have a pre-buy inspection, but visit it yourself as well.

I was informed that the engine was in excellent condition

I wonder how he checked that? Maybe a Rotax can be internally inspected but a Lyco cannot, unless you remove a cylinder.

Have a pre-buy inspection, but visit it yourself as well.

I agree 100%, but unless you know a bit about maintenance and know what to look for, you won’t be able to do much more than use your instincts on the seller and the general situation – which admittedly can be worth a great deal; most people old enough to buy a plane can spot a shyster from a mile away.

Happy Xmas everybody!