Terrible Tale #4-
A Second Opinion.

We were once offered the opportunity to purchase a lovely Skyhawk: low time airframe, nice radio package, and beautiful paint/interior. The asking price was very reasonable, and the plane appeared to be in good mechanical condition with a low-time engine.

Close examination of the logbooks revealed that the engine had come from another aircraft. Although it was indeed a 150 HP Lycoming engine, this particular Lycoming model had never been approved for installation in this year Skyhawk! We were very fortunate that our pre-purchase mechanic noticed the discrepancy- the aircraft had been through several annuals at a local "shade-tree" shop. Sadly, we called off the deal and informed the owner of the problem. He did not seem as suprised as he should have been, and flew off (in his illegal airplane).

A few weeks later, the same aircraft (with the same engine) showed up on the field in the hands of a new owner. He was a first time buyer, who'd had the pre-purchase done at the same "shade-tree" shop that maintained the aircraft!

He was convinced he'd found a bargain.