I guess this an also an introduction as I'm a new member to the forum. I've been lurking and reading for a while. Lots of good information on the site. Thanks to all of you for contributing.
On to the questions...I have the opportunity to purchase an S2B from a friend that I trust. I don't know a ton about the Pitts aircraft and have very little time in it. For context, I'm ~500 hr pilot with ~150 in tailwheel...Cubs, Citabrias, Scouts, Bird Dogs and most recently, acro in a Great Lakes. Obviously, I'll need some transition training as none of those are as challenging to land as the Pitts.
I've got some questions about the plane and would love to hear from the experts here.
1. What are the gotchas that you typically look for on an S2B. I plan to get a pre-buy, but it will likely be his long-time mechanic. It's due for annual soon. The owner is an A&P and uses this guy as his IA. If I don't buy it, he'd like it to be as he normally handles it.
2. It still has the original cotton wings from 1990. They'll likely need recovering relatively soon. What's a reasonable cost for new fabric and paint?
3. The wing auxiliary tank has a small leak and is unusable. I'll likely have this fixed when I recover the wings. I'm more concerned about the cause of the leak. Should I be concerned about previous hard acro in the bird? If so, how can I tell other than cutting fabric?
4. Given that the top tank is inop, what's a reasonable range on 23 g? It will primarily be an acro mount, but I'd like to make the occasional trip to visit family ~110 nm away. I've never flow this plane when leaned out in a cruise configuration. Can it be safely done?
5. What are most of you planning to do for the ADSB mandate? What's the expected cost for getting into compliance ?
6. If the engine goes to ~50% TBO, then I think I've got another 500 hours to put on it. Any estimates on costs for the engine rebuild when it's time? I know it can range quite a bit, but any guesses or examples will be helpful.
Thanks! I'm excited about the plane, but want to go in with my eyes open.
On to the questions...I have the opportunity to purchase an S2B from a friend that I trust. I don't know a ton about the Pitts aircraft and have very little time in it. For context, I'm ~500 hr pilot with ~150 in tailwheel...Cubs, Citabrias, Scouts, Bird Dogs and most recently, acro in a Great Lakes. Obviously, I'll need some transition training as none of those are as challenging to land as the Pitts.
I've got some questions about the plane and would love to hear from the experts here.
1. What are the gotchas that you typically look for on an S2B. I plan to get a pre-buy, but it will likely be his long-time mechanic. It's due for annual soon. The owner is an A&P and uses this guy as his IA. If I don't buy it, he'd like it to be as he normally handles it.
2. It still has the original cotton wings from 1990. They'll likely need recovering relatively soon. What's a reasonable cost for new fabric and paint?
3. The wing auxiliary tank has a small leak and is unusable. I'll likely have this fixed when I recover the wings. I'm more concerned about the cause of the leak. Should I be concerned about previous hard acro in the bird? If so, how can I tell other than cutting fabric?
4. Given that the top tank is inop, what's a reasonable range on 23 g? It will primarily be an acro mount, but I'd like to make the occasional trip to visit family ~110 nm away. I've never flow this plane when leaned out in a cruise configuration. Can it be safely done?
5. What are most of you planning to do for the ADSB mandate? What's the expected cost for getting into compliance ?
6. If the engine goes to ~50% TBO, then I think I've got another 500 hours to put on it. Any estimates on costs for the engine rebuild when it's time? I know it can range quite a bit, but any guesses or examples will be helpful.
Thanks! I'm excited about the plane, but want to go in with my eyes open.
