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Transatlantic Beechcraft arbitrage

Mooney_Driver wrote:

A lot of people shy away from Beech in general for high parts cost and rather larger labour cost as well. That is what people think of Beech, which probably has a grain of truth in it but is as usually overestimated.

More than a grain of truth. Try to de-cowl a Baron engine and you’ll see what I mean….

On this theme I still patiently (aviation is the school of patience) follow the USA market for the Beech 35. The older segment of the market appears to have gone up around 20% in the last year, and sellers adding another 20% to see if they get a ‘momentum’ buyer.

Even the old E-225-8 classic V-tails which used to go for around $40-50k, and were shunned except by the cognoscenti (E type Continental, electric variable pitch propeller, wobble pump but the most efficient of the type), are now going in a matter of days. Meanwhile there are a few very early Bo’s being marketed at around 3 times Vref over in Europe.

With hindsight I fear that for an overseas buyer you are pulling the trigger based on photos, full log book scan and pedigree of the seller. Organizing a structured pre buy, etc while still the convention may be happening by exception rather than the norm.

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

Malibuflyer wrote:

Over there this is a common type (upscale, of course but common), with lots of repair shops, good spare part availability, etc. while in Europe it has always been a little on the “exotic side”.

RobertL18C wrote:

The centre of gravity for the Bonanza community in Europe seems to be Germany.

A lot of people shy away from Beech in general for high parts cost and rather larger labour cost as well. That is what people think of Beech, which probably has a grain of truth in it but is as usually overestimated. Where people really shy away from are the magnesium covered control surfaces, primarily (and rightly so) if they are not able to hangar the plane.

Other than that, yes, Germany is pretty much the center for Bonanzas, quite possibly also because LH used to use Debonairs for training for decades.

Personally I love Bonanzas, the only thing which would make me shy away given what I know today is the complex fuel system. Otherwise, Bonnies or Travel Airs would be on my favorite list.

LSZH(work) LSZF (GA base), Switzerland

The centre of gravity for the Bonanza community in Europe seems to be Germany.

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

Malibuflyer wrote:

while in Europe it has always been a little on the “exotic side”.

Could not agree more having owned one for the past 16 years. It was, and remains an issue. Bit like owning a rare Corvette, here in the UK.

However with the right US contacts and access to the US forums one can always get spares and parts, and importantly sensible advice.

Last Edited by BeechBaby at 07 Feb 18:03
Fly safe. I want this thing to land l...
EGPF Glasgow

RobertL18C wrote:

Sometimes the market is firm in the US vs Europe, and vice versa.

My impression is that specifically for Beeches the market in the US has always been much stronger than in Europe: Over there this is a common type (upscale, of course but common), with lots of repair shops, good spare part availability, etc. while in Europe it has always been a little on the “exotic side”.

Germany

For Planecheck ads we have this site (kindly produced by Dimme) for creating PDFs which can be uploaded to the forum, so the advert doesn’t go dead, but no such tool for other sites. Try printing in the browser to a PDF; sometimes it works. Here are a few pics:

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

It’s interesting alright, it’s on our agenda for this month.

I am hoping to achieve the same price for the F33A in 2022 that the previous owner paid in 2007.

Buying, Selling, Flying
EISG, Ireland

Ouch! At that cost I would be thinking about the chute (SR-22), pressurisation (PA-46) or the second engine (DA-42).

EGTR

Ahh OK. Back to topic, late model A36s definitely carry a huge premium. There seems to be a lot of controversy about the G36.

Does anyone know if the KFC225 autopilot servos in the A36 installation suffer the same reliability issues as in Caravan and TB20 installations?

Last Edited by IO390 at 04 Feb 19:50
United Kingdom
13 Posts
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