Tale of Woe! (a mystery prop strike) G-NONI

Mooney_Driver wrote:

Well, this is really awful and it definitly is not what ownership is all about in most cases

The troubles of ownership, this example included, is the very reason why lots of people don’t want to own stuff. Aircraft, car, house, boat – doesn’t matter.

I have lots of empathy for you but… my previous advice still stands. This is not the first time a prop has hit a hard object. You have already missed half of the summer. Get a prop sorted out and get the engine inspected/replaced. Fly it a bunch and forget about the pain.

I deal with this professionally at work all the time. Waiting for insurer’s/solicitors is never the right option, they might not make an agreement for up to 3 or 5 years (or more). I have been called to comment on some cases that are 7 years old. The most successful clients I see sort out their own problems, starting on the day of incident. The unhappiest are still waiting for something to move forward years later.

Put another way, if this was your mechanic’s personal airplane, it would have been flying again within a week of the incident for minimal cost… Just get it done.

LeSving wrote:

The troubles of ownership, this example included, is the very reason why lots of people don’t want to own stuff. Aircraft, car, house, boat – doesn’t matter.

Well, ownership comes with responsibility. Many people today don’t want responsibility in any way, no ownership, no kids, no spouse, just a very simple and self-centered life. I am not one of them and neither is Ian I guess, but you are right, horror stories like this, especcially when true, will make a lot of people very cautious about any kind of comitment.

Canuck wrote:

Put another way, if this was your mechanic’s personal airplane, it would have been flying again within a week of the incident for minimal cost… Just get it done.

Good advice.

Nimbusgb wrote:

Easily said but the engine will not fly again without a full overhaul ( engine age and Lycoming dictat and a very picky maintenance organisation ) and the prop is a write off ergo bill is going to be for around £18000 – £23000, sure it will increase the value of the asset but the aircraft also needs some radio and xponder upgrades and it’s time for its annual again.

Ian, I told you this before I think but what is happening there appears to me as VERY bad and contraproductive advice that you are getting both from your maintenance and apparently elsewhere too. You urgently need someone who can take care of this stuff for you with YOUR interest in mind and not their own.

The upgrades, forget about them for now, they are peanuts in comparison. For the engine and to source a new prop can be done in a very short time frame provided someone who has the right contacts and is willing to comit some time takes it in hand. I don’t know anyone in the UK to do this, were it closer here I’d know who to send you to. If I understand your posts here correctly, you are not getting this kind of help from the people involved. Again, talk to the broker who is now willing to help with the solicitor’s case, he may well be able to help securing a replacement prop and possibly an engine too.

As for very picky maintenance organisation?? These guys work for you not the other way around. They have no business being picky, they need to sort the problem out. If you are not happy with them, move elsewhere.

It is not necessarily true, I would rather say it is completely wrong, that a person who does not want to deal with “THINGS” all the time is a person who doesn not want to take responsibilty for “kids” or “his family”.

Just have a look above and check the reasons why our fellow pilot does not want to invest the money. I like that attitude.

We, who constantly circle around our “airplane stuff” are much more “self-centered” than people who rather spend their time (and money) with their family. I am always aware of this, and it is one reason why i don’t fly as much as I would like to. And it might be one reason to stop flying one day. Maybe I’ll rather inverst the money in my kids’ education and future They are still young, so i have some more time …

Canuck wrote:

Put another way, if this was your mechanic’s personal airplane, it would have been flying again within a week of the incident for minimal cost… Just get it done

Yep, and find a way to do it without getting ripped off or in any sense wasting money. You might have to make a million calls, and get quite deeply involved to find the right solution for you, personally.

Re insurance, I’ve seen so many insurance hassles that I prefer to self insure for hull damage. Giving money to insurance companies and dealing with their generally low grade employees is something I do only with great pain So far, over several decades, I have saved a lot of money.

Alexis wrote:

It is not necessarily true, I would rather say it is completely wrong, that a person who does not want to deal with “THINGS” all the time is a person who doesn not want to take responsibilty for “kids” or “his family”.

Agree. Leadership (in all it’s forms) comes with responsibility. Ownership is simply a form of collecting “stuff”, and offer no responsibility other than the needed work, time and money to keep the “stuff” operational and safe from thieves. That and the social aspect that owning stuff gives in the right neighborhood. It’s a self centered thing, void of any form of responsibility that matters. Some like it, some like to fiddle with the things they own, others don’t, they see no purpose in owning “stuff”.

I’ve been around glider people lately, and the way they “work” and own the “stuff”, as a big family essentially, really is nice and inspiring. For the EFI we are installing in the tow plane, I have put a nice amount on the table, and it feels good (if only the factory could deliver when promised …)

LeSving wrote:

Ownership is simply a form of collecting “stuff”, and offer no responsibility other than the needed work, time and money to keep the “stuff” operational and safe from thieves.

I’ll be quite happy to leave a money to my heirs as a result of collecting ‘stuff’… which has risen in value. Before then I’ll likely trade some of that stuff for goods and services that will prevent me from being burden on others. Airplanes and the like are mostly peripheral to investment, you own them because you want to and because they don’t depreciate like many other things, but done right its not a major distraction from buying & holding the stuff that matters, and pays.

Alexis wrote:

It is not necessarily true, I would rather say it is completely wrong, that a person who does not want to deal with “THINGS” all the time is a person who doesn not want to take responsibilty for “kids” or “his family”.

Well, as I said, I am not one of those people and neither do I think is Ian. But they are around and they get more by the day.

Lots of people today can’t be bothered with anything at all but their personal fun and games. Ownership of anything does not fit into this, or so they find out. I’ve never subscribed to that kind of lifestyle, call me old fashioned, but I can see it with younger people a lot.

What makes me angry is if people like Ian get screwed over for something which is not at all his fault. And of course, tales like his do nothing to promote GA ownership.

Mooney_Driver wrote:

Lots of people today can’t be bothered with anything at all but their personal fun and games. Ownership of anything does not fit into this, or so they find out. I’ve never subscribed to that kind of lifestyle, call me old fashioned, but I can see it with younger people a lot.

And they will find out when they get older that shortsightedness and dependence on the investments of others will slowly enslave them, at which point they will be angry and disillusioned. Just my opinion