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All I Want for Christmas

Is an American Champion Super Decathlon.

This one, in fact.

supercab

Is that too much to ask?

(Yeah, yeah: I know. Write that book. You can blame GE06 for getting the competive juices flowing.)

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27 comments to All I Want for Christmas

  • ManlyDad

    Put me in for $100. Now all we need is 1048 other partners (plus whatever sales tax is in WA).

  • OldTFlyer

    Go for it. I learned to fly in a 7AC Champ which the Decathalon is a descendant of. Of course 65 hp doesn’t exactly snap your head back when you close the throttle on takeoff…..

  • SJBill

    Cute pic here: http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/130378L.html

    I’ll gladly buy a tank of gas after you get it!
    Or would you rather a Guniness?

  • A prop overhaul at 260 TT? Hmmm…

  • Humble1310

    Sexy plane. Nice looking, but let’s get a test flight.

    And $100K sounds steep, what with the bottom having dropped out of the used airplane market recently.

  • lex

    daveg, are you thinking “MDH”, a prop strike e.g.?

    And Humble1310 (nice upgrade, btw), a test flight sounds just the ticket. Perhaps four or five. Just to make sure.

    Since $100k disposable income is a fantasy, and I wouldn’t loan it to myself at the moment.

  • There’s one at CRQ you can have for cheap

    http://tinyurl.com/62mz78

  • Quartermaster

    A friend in Ohio has a Decathalon with an O-320 and it’s an anemic lead sled. I don’t see how it would get much better with another 30. The constant speed prop would help some. But, I think, after an F/A 18 you’re gonna be disappointed no matter what.

    L-39s are going much cheaper these days and at least has the torch under your heinie end. At over 300 Kts, it would give a better chance at snapping your neck.

  • CPLGolden

    Nice pick.

    Me and the Pops rented one out of T41 in La Porte Texas. Was kinda fun, but for some reason, tail drag style gives me problems; with that whole 20 hours of flight time I have.

    Nonetheless, good ride when your Pops is a 23000 hour guy and keeps you straight and level.

  • MissBirdlegs in AL

    “Is that too much to ask?”… Probably, unless you believe in Santa. ;-)

  • Navig8r

    Lex,
    Think out of the box. You wouldn’t fly it every hour of every weekend. Find 3 or 4 like-minded friends and form the “Sandy Eggo Flying Club.” Starting to sound affordable? I bet the book would pay for the hobby for at least a couple years.

  • The ad does say ‘NDH’ (no damage history), but I would make a point of asking why such a ‘young’ (and expensive) prop needed an overhaul. A prop strike would (or should) be considered major damage, and would also have required a full tear-down of the engine.

    There’s probably a valid explanation for it, but it’s the kind of thing that catches my eye, particularly on Barnstormers. I made it point to explicitly ask about a prop strike when I bought my RV-6 since the guy selling it had had the plane for a year and only put ten hours on it and the prop was brand spanking new.

  • GEO6

    Apologies there Lex. You know what I am drooling over. As for the prop overhaul, gravel will do it, as it doesn’t take a prop strike. I have to be careful on my home strip with a wood Sensenich. Do your run up off in the grass and away from the gravel. Also ease the throttle and get some headway before going to full throttle as that will keep you from picking up rocks into your airscrew.
    As for the bling, you can get a fairly new Aviat Husky for that price- fun enough but not as much as the Super Decathlon.

  • virgil xenophon

    AW1 Tim

    How’s Lex going to find it? MapQuest/Google Earth won’t calculate directions from SD! Lex’ll get lost! Which
    x-way exit should he take?

  • GEO6

    Tailspin,

    If the pilot put it in the tree as opposed to any of the surrounding buildings then he/she did a hell-of-a-good-job. If not, best be lucky than good… .

    GEO6

  • Snake Eater

    Lex, Not exactly my cup of tea but I do understand the increase in the pluse rate my sympathies go out to you …I’m a hopeless sailboat kind of guy…but as they say…whoever the fu*k they are…” you can seperate the men from the boys by the price of their toys”…which one shall/must you be?… Best

  • John

    Just as a drill- compare the current cost of living in Kalifornia, and that of other climes. Factor in hayburner costs and see if there is still enough left for AVGAS burner.

    Just as a drill, of course.

  • Curtis

    Humble 1310,
    Congratulations!

  • steveH

    I started out in an Aeronca 7AC, too. Got one hour of aerobatic training in a Decathlon.

    It’s willing to do more, and more energetically, than the 7AC. They’re both fun, though.

  • Joseph

    Sir,

    If it was an option, a Vought F-4U Corsair would be a fitting (albeit grand) choice for you. Yourself being a distinguished Navy airman, it has your name written all over the plane. Sadly, they don’t make them anymore (outside of kits), spare parts are tough to find, and the insurance would be ridiculous. It still be so cool.

  • Wilko

    Great choice! -Agree with Quartermaster- there is nothing quite like a jet, but our L-29 has become a hangar queen. Avgas is too much. Operating costs for the 8KCAB is <10% of the jet. I love the Delphin (wouldn’t spin it though) but it’s not built for back country flyin’ .

    The Decathlon is *plenty *of fun and that one looks great. Hope Santa is good to you.

  • I bet the book would pay for the hobby for at least a couple years.

    Or more than that. Of course it needs to be published first…that manuscript I have is getting beat up. A nice hard cover version – autographed by himself, natch – would be a suitable replacement.

    Ahem.

    Snake: I would assert that Lex is already a man with toys – that BMW bike isn’t any scooter.

  • lex

    That bike is a crucial form of transport! Fuel efficient, and so on. Because of teh CLIMATE CHANGE!!!1!

  • SJBill

    If you truly wish a F4U, the guys over at the museum refurb hanger at NASNI are working on one right now. Get it before it winds up on the decks of MIDWAY forever!

  • Yep – the Decathlon is the one, I reckons. It’s also pretty hard to propstrike a tailwheeler without causing some other significant damage, so it’s worth checking out. You’d just about have to stand the thing on its nosecone to do it.. However I have seen near new props ruined because it picked up a larger than average stone, and that’s a case of bad luck rather than bad management. If the prop was replaced there is going to be some paperwork associated, and a LAMEs signature to go with it, which might give some clues as to the cause and subsequent actions.

  • Quartermaster

    Kris I resent that remark! My Suzuki Burgman 400 Scooter is nice piece of equipment. I had it on a 2700 mile trip back in September and it rode quite nicely (at up to 95mph) and got over 60mpg.

    Actually, I chose it because I, from time to time, have problems raising my leg high enough to fork the bronc. Sometimes the tunnel on the Burgman has to put up with me dragging my foot across it. No idea whassup with the legs, neurologists are puzzled with the on again, off again weakness.

    Wilko – I like the L-39 better than the L-29. A bit faster and pressurized. Off course, that just raises the maintenance headaches. We don’t do it to save money, though.

    For myself, I’d buy the 7ac Champ if it weren’t for the fact that finding those small continental parts is getting hard. EAA tried to buy the tooling for the C-65, 75, 85, and 95s, but Continental refused and destroyed the tooling. The cranks for those engines are getting a bit hard to find. Of course, you can get an STC for the O-200 in the case of the C-95, and probably for the 85 too. I think the weight is too much for the two smaller engines. I’ve seen 85 and 95s on Champs, so you can probably use the O-200 STC OK. Still, the Champ won’t snap your neck, but for simply boring holes in the sky I don’t think it can be beat. A lot cheaper to operate than the Decathalon as well. I’d still rather have the Kero burner though.

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