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S1T recover: how much work/$? worth?

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jdm

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Hello:

I'm relatively new to the forum, and not yet a Pitts owner - tho I've been working on fixing that since flying a S2C with Ken Erickson for a week at Tutima Academy in May. I'm still on the fence wrt S1S/T vs S2B/C+partner. I've seen some great-looking S2Bs, but my potential partner isn't ready. If an S1, I'm leaning towards a project so as to make it just the way I want it.

A friend of a friend has a modified S1T project he's willing to sell and I'm trying to size it up, both in terms of how much to pay for it and how much I'm getting into with the project.

Here's the facts:
* aircraft was modded, rebuilt and flown at Advanced by USA team member (the seller), who is also a widely respected engineer
* ailerons were extended one rib, and an additional flying wire added
* tail also has additional support
* wings need to be uncovered, inspected, anything fixed, recovered, repainted
* fuse has less than 100 hrs since recover, but I'd consider uncovering, inspecting, recovering, repainting, too, just for completeness - at least the tail feathers. (when our glider club rebuilt our Pawnee last year, the corrosion in the tail was shocking and more than a bit unsettling... then again, it's parked outside on grass during the season.)
* the engine has the front gov and solid flange, but needs a complete rebuild, as it has ~1100 hrs on it and hasn't run in 10 years.
* the prop is a 2-blade MT that needs o-hauled and blades replaced with sellers other set, due to wood shrinkage
* becker radio, no transponder
* no original logs (tho presumably logs since seller rebuilt it.) not sure how much this matters if I'm o-hauling the engine, prop, and complete recover?

so, two questions:
1. how much would you pay for such a project?
2. how much additional time & $$ are required to get it flying?

to #2, the seller estimates:
* $20k engine (recommendations here? it's certainly not a rush job.)
* $5k prop
* $5k materials only for recovering wings
which still leaves recovering fuse/tail, repaint, and what not - plus labor (mine or others) to do the recover and paint (almost surely someone else, esp. if I opt for the classic red/white Pitts starburst or variant thereof)

and, if i worked on it over the winter, how likely would it be ready in spring for next season? last thing i want is a hangar queen project that takes years to finish - i want to fly.

thanks in advance!

-- jdm

John Miller
Portland, OR
 

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