arj1 wrote:
Is that the problem with Extra 400 in general, or is that particular a/c is bad?
Not sure if it that clear from the advert.
The Extra 400 in general. An acquaintance flies a wealthy family around in their 400 – they are always having issues, especially with the engine. They’ve just splashed out approx 100k on a new engine and they had a failure just 4 months later, necessitating an emergency landing…. The family love the aircraft and are rich enough not to be concerned about the bills. Yet….
Steve6443 wrote:
The Extra 400 in general. An acquaintance flies a wealthy family around in their 400 – they are always having issues, especially with the engine. They’ve just splashed out approx 100k on a new engine and they had a failure just 4 months later, necessitating an emergency landing…. The family love the aircraft and are rich enough not to be concerned about the bills. Yet….
I thought we had a guy here flying an Extra 400?
Surely Extra does not manufacture engines…
I think that’s a price typo.
Correct!
Price has now been amended to €212k
An acquaintance flies a wealthy family around in their 400 – they are always having issues, especially with the engine. They’ve just splashed out approx 100k on a new engine and they had a failure just 4 months later, necessitating an emergency landing…. The family love the aircraft and are rich enough not to be concerned about the bills. Yet….
Wow, do they feel lucky? Otherwise they might want to consider something a bit more reliable?
Gasman wrote:
Price has now been amended to €212k
Practical site, that Euroga, ain’t it?
This aircraft is unfortunately rubbish and I know from what I am telling. I owned one for one year and emptied out my pockets.
Problem there are still no cylinders left from Conti and after 25 years they must be overhauled or renewed. So Mr. Dachsel in Germany sold the last ones for 8000€ instead of 1800€.
I love the idea of this design and the German craftsmanship but it is a mess only 25 are built and each one a unique exemplar. 200 more and perhaps it would have been a challenging competitor for the PA46.
“Flyingfish” seems to have also major problems with his, no flights recorded!
Snoopy wrote:
The family love the aircraft and are rich enough not to be concerned about the bills. Yet….
That is outright stupid. If one is so rich not to care there are definitely much better aircraft around. Let me think, do I want my family to travel in an Extra 400 or a TBM… hmm
Gasman wrote:
Price has now been amended to €212k
Oh common guys, you spoiled it all… just when I was about to strike a deal 
Wow it looks like it is high time for me to chime in …
@steve6443 – that guy is me I suppose ? Nice to meet you 
@privateflyer – Sorry to contradict your “Schadenfreude”: Galatea is fine.
I am not flying for personal reasons lately and doing some detailing on my very rare free time. It is not fun to work in icy weather so I am not very motivated I must admit.
Galatea flew 85 hours since engine reinstall last summer, she took me to Prague among other places and the only noteworthy issue is INOP pressurization, which is why you see her flying lower and slower than the usual FL200 and 190 KTAS.
I am very proud of the many detail improvements we made in the engine compartment – it was a ridiculously high amount of work, but makes a big change in terms of day to day maintenance. On the long haul I expect a huge improvement in issues related to chafing and general clutter. I have reinstalled the temperature probes so I can finish the project of eliminating hot spots which are inherent to the water cooled, tightly cowled turbocharged engine.
Galatea now has a fully functional “low coolant pressure” alert LED.
This may sound minor but coolant pressure loss is a dominant cause of engine failure.
The damage is not immediate but the pilot needs to be both very knowledgeable and alert to detect the telltales early enough. When CHT shoots up it is too late…
My system turns on an orange LED whenever coolant pressure drops below 0.8 bar.
I can then throttle back, select the nearest airport, while descending (no cooling needed), and once at a lower altitude, the lack of coolant pressure is a much less severe issue, so it is quite OK to apply some power in order to secure a safe landing.
I understand your frustration after buying a hangar queen. As you said: each one is different and yours was indeed not the best sample in the fleet.
Mine would have possibly been even worse if I had not treated it as a no-compromise rebuild project.
Instead of hoping that things would not fail, I acted preemptively, overhauling and replacing stuff that was seemingly still functional, but old.
To mention issues you know about, my engine mount did not fail me because I sent it out for NDT and then had it powder coated for renewed protection.
Landing gear works fine and does not break because it was disassembled, rebuilt (including hydraulic powerpack) and reinforced according to the latest SB.
Ignition is great because of all new mags, plugs, harness… I threw out all of the old avionics AND cabling, installed 100% LED lighting.
You get the idea…
This is in my opinion remains the only way to engage with a 20 year old notorious maintenance hog. You must tame it and it is expensive…
@arj1
I respectfully disagree. If approached as I just described, the Extra 400 is a wonderful aircraft.
You need to fly one and you’ll understand. The secret is:
You need to be your own maintenance manager, read the available doc, buy and stock spares, learn the details inside out.
Help and guide a brave and creative mechanic. Work with him/her on your plane so that you are confident enough and carry the tools to make minor or emergency fixes yourself.
Some of the issues are not specific to the Extra 400 or to this engine type. Turbocharged 350 HP piston engines are inherently fragile. The long list of systems from pressurization to FIKI de-icing and weather radar add to the probability of issues, just like say in a PA46.
After making a “no BS” comparison with a Mirage owner who is also here (hi @denopa) I think it is fair to say that the yearly maintenance budget of a properly rebuilt Extra 400 remains a solid 50% higher than that of a well kept glass-cockpit Mirage.
I see Galatea as a classic sports car.
Expensive, high maintenance, sometimes unpredictable but mostly GREAT to fly.
I mean this PISTON-powered thing goes to FL200 in 20 minutes at MTOW, easily exceeds 200 KTAS and eco-cruises at 190 with a 6000 ft cabin and no vibrations at all.
It has the cockpit layout and volume of a bizjet and makes you feel like you’re flying one, except she is just as happy doing a VFR scenic tour or even some crazy cloud surfing maneuvers.
So Sebastian S., please accept that some of us just LOVE this plane and are actually grateful to be flying one. I would not trade Galatea for … anything.
