The End of The Era for Alligator.....

[Ex FSO GRIFFO]

The Alligator auction results are here for the tyre-kickers....

Cudda got a 1970 Aztruk for under $20k,
or an '81 Seneca for $40k and a bit...etc etc or......

Gregsons Auctioneers and Valuers - Auction Lots (http://gregsonsonline.com.au/AuctionLots.aspx?CatID=7)

I just think its sad to see what was a good operation, end up like this.

Cheers:{

[onetrack]

Griffo - Not much future for a crowd that runs a commercial operation with their youngest aircraft being 31 yrs old, and their oldest aircraft 42 yrs old! I can recall riding in that 207 22 yrs ago out of Kunners, and she was well-worn then.
Don't forget the buyers premium adds a nice little kicker to the sale price total at the bottom of the invoice!
Seen a lot of blokes go ga-ga when they saw all the auctioneers "hidden extras" added on, that tallied up to a whole lot more than they thought they were paying! :(

[Spotlight]

So you are buying new One Track?

Paint, Decals the whole lot. Good Luck!

Not having a go at you per Se, more the Australian Tax System.

[VH-XXX]

Buyers premium is around 8% plus these days (or whatever the website says) on aircraft auctions, plus 10% GST so it certainly adds up...

[onetrack]

Spotlight - Businesses buy new equipment because it has the latest technology (fuel efficiency/state-of-the-art instrumentation/increased room or payload/reduced hourly running costs) - and because they get tax breaks as well for new equipment.
In addition, reliability/availability is substantially higher. Secondly, employees line up to drive the latest buses. Antique buses, you need to plead with them to get them in the drivers seat of the old clunkers.

Thirdly, a large % of SLF, myself included, have a distinctly better feeling when climbing into a nice newish aircraft with low hours - compared to one where all the rivets are slowly rotating in elongated holes, and the seats look like they've done substantial service in an Indian road bus, before they were installed. :eek:

If you are going to run a commercial operation of any kind, you have to have attractive buses to attract the clientele in the right numbers.
It doesn't take the average punter too long to figure out, that with the arrival and appearance of old buses - that the operator he just gave his hard-earned readies to, for a ride - is on the bones of arse, and running a knife-edge operation - and it's entirely likely there'll be a whip-around with the hat for fuel, just prior to departure. :(

The numbers have to stack up before you outlay the readies, of course. If the numbers don't stack up, you're better off not being in that line of business - and you're better advised to go buy an ice-cream van instead.
In the case of Alligator, it's pretty obvious the combination of numbers that didn't stack up, combined with ancient, high maintenance buses, led to a serious deficit at the end of each and every day.

[4SPOOLED]

Actually one track, it was new buses that brought alligator down. And a pig headed owner who thought he knew better than the engine manufacturer and the pilots who fly them.

[Nose wheel first]

What happened to the Airvans, 210's, Partial Aviator and the other "servicable" 207's? They weren't in the Auction by the looks of it.... did someone already pick them up?

Very sad to see the Gator going under the hammer like that!

[thorn bird]

I agree very sad,especially given some serious mentoring it may have been salvaged.
But thats against CASA policy now. What they cannot drive out of business by over regulating, they will shutdown by administrative direction.

[Horatio Leafblower]

Thorn Bird,

from all accounts the attitude of the owner was very poor and beyond any assistance from "mentoring".

CASA is a regulator not a nanny or a business coach. :=

[Nose wheel first]

What Horatio said!

The only thing that would have saved Gator was a completely new owner who wanted to do things right. Under RK this was always going to happen. That's why a few of us got out a few years ago... we could see the writing on the wall.

[The Green Goblin]

RIP the gator.

I have nothing but fond memories of the place.

Let's hope we don't see those 207s getting around again :)

[that guy]

Bahahaha the big bus seems to have fetched more than the Aztruck!! Anyone with half a brain wouldn't trust any of these piles of garbage as far as they could throw them.

[RatsoreA]

Actually, there was one good bargin to be had! :O

[Ex FSO GRIFFO]

You will have to stop that 'Skiiittte-ing' Mr 'R'.....

U Gotta Xlnt Deal.....:ok::ok:

p.s. Do ya wanna have it flown 'East' for ya.....Oi might know someone...

Cheers:ok::ok:

[RatsoreA]

Lol! :E

I have had many many offers for the ferry east! You're not the first, and I suspect not the last!

It's heading straight from the 100 hourly to get a nice new Garmin G500 with SVT fitted with GTN650 and GMA350 thrown in at the same time.

A lot of the comments made here weren't 100% accurate. The buyers premium was only 6% and the GST was included, not extra, and I get to claim that 10% back, so that reduces the price somewhat as well! And what I picked up was in better condition than I thought and hoped, and has only required a good 100 hourly and about a $1000 worth of bits and pieces. Flew very nicely back from Kununurra as well.

I did hear many interesting tales of why and who and how the gator lost its teeth. Quite a shame really.

[Sonny Hammond]

What happened to WNI?

[that guy]

Which is the lucky one getting that treatment ratsore??

[Pretzal]

Well it probably wont be VH-RAS:}

[RatsoreA]

Apart from a few Airvans which the factory bought back, there were only 2 even remotely airworthy planes, and of the two, I picked up a very unexpected bargin in better condition than what I was lead to believe...! So you'll have to have at least one guess! :E

[Nose wheel first]

Was it the Aztruck RatsoreA?

[RatsoreA]

Oh hell no!

Which kinda narrows it down somewhat...

[The Green Goblin]

The Partial aviator?

Although I believe it needed an engine :ok:

[YPJT]

Anyone know what the Islander went for? I saw it still sitting on the apron at KNX last weekend.

just read the report on the Gregson's Auctions page. Poor old OBJ is in need of some seriouis TLC.

[that guy]

That must mean you took the chieftain... Surely not the Seneca!

[YPJT]

Not sure if thisvideo (http://media.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/national-news/terror-as-plane-almost-crashes-on-takeoff-3360752.html)
has been posted elsewhere but....Faaaark! :eek::eek::eek:

[RatsoreA]

Actually it was the PA34. My LAME inspected it and found all the rumours about it to be groundless! I flew it back to Perth, and it went flawlessly! Just rumour, so take it with a grain of salt, but I heard the pa31 needed quite a bit to get airworthy.

A lot of people said they heard this and that, but I talked to the guy that actually worked on it, and my independent LAME and it got a (relatively) clean bill of health.

[Sonny Hammond]

So then, any word on WNI, the C210?

[Nose wheel first]

Come on RatsoreA... the Aztruk wasn't that bad :-) Had a few happy hours in her....

As for the Sneaker..... got a fair few in her too... not too bad an aircraft... i'd be interested to see what your engineer did or didn't find as there were a couple of things I know of that needed attention.

[Clare Prop]

http://www.pprune.org/dg-p-general-aviation-questions/457141-merged-alligator-airways-grounded.html

[RatsoreA]

Yeah, I spoke to the guy that bought the aztruck, and it wasn't too bad, but it is a little long in the tooth for what I wanted. It and the Seneca were probably the only two that didn't need to much to salvage, and at the right price.

PM Sent NWF