Twin share advice.

[fescalised portion]

I have been offered a 1/4 share in a 1959 Cessna 310. It is currently in the US awaiting ferrying over here. It will remain on the N register.

I haven't seen it yet with my own eyes, but I have seen some very encouraging photographs of it and it looks to be in pretty good shape.

It has just had over $10K of work undertaken on it. I believe that the airframe has around 5000 hrs on it. The engines have 500 hrs each and the props are zero hrs. It has had new tyres, batteries, magneto's and a whole host of other gear fitted. It will come with a fresh annual/ IFR and all other required certification.

There will be 3 "Share-holders." All of which are FAA certified tech's, one of whom has an I.A. so we are not too worried about maintenance issues. The aircraft will be based in the SE somewhere.

To be honest, I am very 'green' and have never been involved with an aircraft share before. The main share holder (who doesn't yet fly) doesn't really know what's involved with basing an N plate aircraft in this country. I am also unsure as to what pitfalls there are. I do know that it has to be registered through a trust.

Can anybody offer me any sound advice on what things I should be looking out for and problems that I might come up against. Also average costs that might be involved in this, with such things like trust fees, parking/hangarage, insurance etc etc....

I am being asked for £7000, which I don't think is too bad, but I may reconsider if I am advised other wise.

Thanks in advance.....

[18greens]

Blimey a quarter share in a 310 for £7k sounds very cheap. Reengining the plane will cost £40,000 alone.

For general pros and cons share advice do a forum search,it has come up before.

I usually reckon a plane cost 3 to 4 times the fuel burn per hour to fly in total. Having mechanics in the group will save pounds,although I have been in groups with mechanics where everything was done at min cost. Great in theory , it was cheap but it also took forever to get things fixed while the group waited for the mechanics spare time. Sometimes its cheaper to get it in the shop and get it flying again soonest.

Flying N reg in the UK seems to be pretty straightforward given the number of planes operated here under N reg.

Let us know what happens. Good luck.

[Wrong Stuff]

Sounds like a big gamble. With virtually no information it's impossible for anyone to give a meaningful opinion. It sounds a bit odd though - £7k probably isn't enough to even get it across the pond, yet that's what they want for 1/4 of it?

Anyway, a few things to think about to get you started...

Threat to N-reg operations (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=168044)

AvWeb article on aircraft Annual Inspections (http://www.avweb.com/news/columns/189513-1.html)

AvWeb article - Do you really want a twin (http://www.avweb.com/news/usedacft/182809-1.html)

[18greens]

Wrong Stuff,

I've just read the 'Do you really want a twin' article. Good reference, highly recommended.

I know the econonomics are totally wrong,three times the cost for 1.5 times the performance, but I still get a kick out of two throttles and the fun of the weight of the plane. It feels so stable.

I'd love to run one but ........

[fescalised portion]

Ok guys, I'm starting to twitch a bit now !!

I think that there are a lot of things that need considering before I jump......

I can confirm though, that a quarter share of the purchase price is £7K.

Thanks for your replies so far!!

Anymore for anymore???

[2Donkeys]

Twins of that age are tired and old, and unless your mechanic would-be co-owners also manufacture spare parts, it will still be capable of routinely chucking out the odd £10K bill without warning.

That Vintage of 310 is not particularly sought after and later models had significant improvements. Very late model 310s (Q and R varients) are available very cheaply with more aircraft than buyers out there on both sides of the Atlantic. There is only a very marginal cost premium (particularly on a shared basis) to going for a more recent aircraft with fewer potential problems.

Personally, your deal is not one that I would touch with a bargepole, and I hope the directness doesn't offend.

2D

[Flyin'Dutch']

For that sort of dosh you can not even buy a decent basic single.

[Oscar Kilo]

Fescal,

I tend to agree with the last few posters - despite the rather cheap sounding share and undoubted huge running costs you also need to consider the other members of the group. If the main shareholder (your implication is he's setting up and running the group) doesn't yet fly, you could guess he probably doesn't know too much about the practicalities of group ownership/ flying. You've already said you've not been in a group before so probably don't know how it will work out for you.

I'd tread very carefully with that one (codespeak = avoid!!)

Sorry to add to the bad vibes you're receiving......