Amusing Ebay Advert
 

piper pa-28-180 | eBay

I really do feel for the poor chap.

Here is the advert:

piper pa-28-180

Item condition:UsedTime left:2d 22h (05 Oct, 201111:44:47 BST)Current bid:£10,099.00 41 Bds

Reserve pricenot met

piper pa-28-180

Quote:

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Here we have a great opertunatity if you want to do some flying or form a group.This is our Piper PA-28-180 Challenger 1973 with 4500 hrs weve own the aircraft for nearly 20 years The engine witch was fitted new by ourselves has 1800 hrs approx but is over 12 years old running perectly with no issues. Prop was new a few years ago because it was below limits on overhaul. arc till 27/10/2011 has been stripped and painted several years ago. Avionics basic Narco mk12D with glide slope, king kx175B, Garmin GPS 100, KR 87 ADF (not working,) Auto pilot, electric trim, No toe brakes. No internal corrosion, a few spots externally. Upholstry is tatty. The wing walk panel has cracks and will need to be replaced for next arc renewal this is not uncommon and will be reflected in final price .Reason for sale, our local airfield has been taken over by Peel Holdings (bastards) who are pricing everybody out our local maint org has been priced off the airfield making it inpracticable to operate any more so sadly this is the end So come and get a bargain Low start and a unreasonably low reserve test flights welcome if you put fuel in, although I suggest you bring your own fuel because Peel Holdings avgas is delivered in gold plated tankers driven by 200 grand a week foot ballers on there days off

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http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/GImages/G-BBPY001.jpg

What does the spelling tell you?

Tells me that when he wrote it he was probably angry, and I can't say I blame him, he may not be the best at spelling on Ebay, so what!

The seller obviously has a grudge with Peel Holdings...

cheers,
Jake.

Leaving aside the grudge with the airfield owners, I am wondering how someone with such a limited grasp of written English can afford a plane?

This is not a list of "typo" mistakes, it's a primary school level phonetic cock up on the spelling front.


Perhaps he's a Pikey and is now screwed because Peel Holdings don't take cash.

Just a thought.

I suspect that the writer is dyslexic rather than illiterate, I have a dyslexic friend whose uncorrected English is like that, despite being intelligent and quite well educated.

Also, sadly perhaps, there is often no link between an ability to write English properly and the accumulation of wealth.

I know the seller and he is indeed an intelligent and delightful chap. I can only agree with his feelings for Peel, and admire his wit, if not his English, in expressing them so amusingly.

Very amyoozing and well putt.

I defy anyone to find a word in the following which is wrongly spelt!

Eye have a plain witch is fore sail. All though it is a bit the worse four where, it flies grate and wood bee a good bye for sum one who kneads a cheep plain to go flying inn at weak ends.

Ahhh nobody worried about all the 'self' maintenance??? are any of that syndicate LAME's???

Not really, some of the PFA lot over here can give the pro engineers a run for there money on quality and knowledge.

Reading the advert again I can spot the spelling mistakes, didn't the first time. Maybe the seller is also a degree qualified dyslexic Mechanical Engineer who has been taking stuff to pieces and putting it back together since he was a nipper like myself.

Doing a 50 hour isn't mensa material and neither is doing an engine change to someone that has an engineers head on them. Crap spelling and grammar in my experence doesn't effect the quality of the job at all. None of the machinery I have worked on be it earth mover, tank, lorry, aircraft, car, pumps, compressors or for that matter washing machines have suffered due to my crap spelling and grammar. Although to be fair some of it has suffered getting beaten into submission with a sodding great hammer or a 6ft lever bar.

What does your post say about you?

I'm not sure what funfly was implying but my initial thought was that it may be a scam. Certainly spelling and grammar, while not necessarily an indicator of someone's intelligence, are often one of the signs of some kind of scam.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting the ad is a scam. I'm merely saying that was my initial thought. I'm quite sure my initial thought was wrong though.

I've always wondered about this dyslexia thing. Can't help remembering the heyday of usenet, when 60% of one country's contributors attributed their poor spelling to the same inconveniency.

I can imagine certain people cannot detect certain (types of) spelling errors. The degree of improvement they can achieve by relatively simple means such as spelling checkers has never been clear to me.

The scams, in my view, tend to have slightly different types of mistakes such as missing articles (a common mistake for speakers of Slavic or some East Asian languages, where they don't have any).

The question here being if you're selling such an expensive item, why you wouldn't get someone to proof read it for you?

I have to agree with that.

Also I find it hard to understand how adult literacy can be so poor. The people presumably never read books, newspapers, or any other form of printed material. Even a totally trash novel will be 99.99% grammatically correct. Even the Sunday Sport is.

You might be suprised. I have seen some pretty clever scams. There was one going around for a TB20 G-HOOD, where the seller was asking for a ~ £10k deposit to view the aircraft. It so happens that lots of people ask me for views on various TB20s and I know of several people who nearly fell for this one, but fortunately all walked away after some intractable correspondence with the "seller".

However I don't think this Ebay advert is a scam.

BTW, what airport are they referring to? How could an engineering company be priced off it? Normally, they have a lease of some sort.

The mentions of Peel Holdings and the location of the aeroplane as Manchester would seem to imply Barton.

And conversely I have a Mensa-level IQ and an Oxford degree, and I can barely change my own tyres and certainly shouldn't be let loose trying to do anything technical to an aircraft...

When they say the engine was fitted new by themselves, I doubt they mean they actually did it as private individuals.

Why not? fitting an engine isn't hard be it in a car or aircraft. In fact a aircraft engine is easier than a car because you have good access.

Could someone please advise why spelling or grammatical errors in an advertisement should automatically point to the fact that it must be a scam?
Why should an engineer have to be able to spell correctly before being considered competent enough to be let loose with a spanner?
Why should self maintenance automatically be sub standard?
This whole thread is questioning someones integrity based on his spelling ability.

Apart from the legalities of CofA, why not? what kind of supermen are required to fit an engine? I'm not an aircraft engineer, I have no cerstifficit to say I'm anything, but I can (could) certainly remove, strip, re-build & refit an engine from a PA28. Not sure about the Space Shuttle, I'd have to have a look first.

PS. Bad spelling Jock, It's not a aircraft it's an aircraft.:ugh:

Well, avoiding any of the usual righteous comments, let's just say it is illegal to DIY-change an engine on a certified aircraft.

If you did that, you better not be trying to flog the thing openly. Anybody who is not a complete mug will look at the maintenance record and will spot a lack of a maintenance company signoff on the job.

The result is an aircraft which is worthless until somebody spends some money straightening out the paperwork.

I know changing an engine is not hard. I've seen mine done twice. But somebody who is less than clued up might bend around the oil hoses a bit too much, for example, so they split a few hundred hours later. Anyway, hoses are usually mandatory-replacement at engine replacement/overhaul. Were they changed also?

Sheesus H Christ.

Its not illegal to change an engine DIY and get it signed off afterwards by a suitably qualified person.

The home builts do it all the time.

Its on a permit there are no issues if they did change it themselves and then got a sign off afterwards.

And to be honest if they had done it themselves it would be a big tick in my book because its obviously had someone that is that way inclined giving it TLC. More so than if it was getting put into a shop only when required.

:D

Next??

I don't think Cherokees are flown on permits.It is an EASA aeroplane so not a permit type, but I take your point about how competent owner maintenance can be very good, but it all depends on the competence of the person doing the work, and the person doing the double check.

The PA28-180 is not on a permit, MJ.

Like it or not, you do have to use a MO to do stuff like changing engines :)

Regards actual quality of work, yes this varies greatly, which is partly why I do my own 50hr services (it also saves me a huge amount of money). Usually I do them with an A&P/IA friend of mine, not least because some of it is a 2-person job, but I could do them on my own and have done so if I can get help with the cowlings.

Changing an engine is a fair size job. It needs a crane, and practically speaking needs a hangar, and this makes it out of reach of the vast majority of aircraft owners because they are not allowed to do work in their hangar.

Also, engines are often delivered without the accessories attached (or with them packed loose). This is more stuff you have to do correctly.

Anyway, we are picking over a silly advert written by a person with poor grammar, and I very much doubt he or his fellow pilots actually changed the engine themselves :)

It doesn't matter it only really matters on what qualification the engineer has that signs it off.

I have changed brake packs and tyres on my commercial type because the ginger had hurt his hand. I did all the grunt work and he gave helpful tips and drank tea and signed the tech log after abusing my handy work with locking wire.

And alot of engines changed in maint organisations will be changed by a none licensed fitter then it will be inspected by a licensed engineer then a dupe inspection done by another.

But I do take your point bingo about it can't be a permit type. On G-INFO its down as a EASA CofA expiring the end of this month.

Juno78 you have hit the nail on the head !!!

You see the person involved is just the opposite. He is a current EASA 145 licensed engineer, he also works on and flies PFA metal/plastic/wood aircraft and is a PFA (okay LAA if you must) inspector of same and has been for many decades. Very nice guy.

IO540, the location for that aeroplane is indeed City Airport Manchester Barton. Where fuel went up by 9 ppl last week to pay the footballers' wages, now £2.27 inc. VAT for one litre Avgas. Barton is still maintenance free since July 31st when the last lease holder pulled out, as it was not commercially viable. The latest rumour indicates that the organisation interested in taking it on, has now had a major re-think.

Another nail hit by mad jock !

IO540 - wrong yet again. I know. You don't. And they did use licensed premises, before you ask. :)

I didn't know one needed licensed premises :)

That avgas price is really high, but why does a 9p/litre increase kill off the syndicate?

If you are setting up a new MO you need a climate controlled insulated hanger or some such. A new 145 hanger is a sight to be seen.

I actually feel a bit guilty, I highlighted an ad, and the poor bloke who is obviously very skilled in his field has got a right slating for something that I think we both have a common issue with.

:uhoh:

I wish that a I could afford it, bet she is a lovely aircraft even with a few cosmetic details outstanding.

No internal corrosion? ......................... best be looking inside the flaps then!

Walkway a bit soft = wing has to come off.

Spelling
 

I'd look at the spelling and presume that English wasn't his first language, that's all.

ehh up our kid Ah think pompy may av eur point wi' t' english as eur secon' language.

Same man has now increased his bid to £18,500 and this seems to be above the reserve. When he/her gets it he might like to put a posting on here - unless he already has done so!
We shall know in a day's time.

And, from previous experience here, I would presume the exact opposite.

On these pages at least, several non-native English speakers have shown great effort and diligence in writing English properly - even if it was perhaps only to earn their level 6 LPE :oh:

The previous post is spot on. One of my Polish ex-employees, whose written and spoken English was almost faultless, used to show me memos from her 'superior' (a spotty ignorant yoof) which were so badly written as to be as incomprehensible to me as they were to her.

Like many foreigners, she took pride in her English, her appearance, her work, and everything she did, whereas he just messed and lied his way through his working day. He has been on the dole and housing benefit, a burden on the public exchequer, for the last 3 years, whereas she is now running a succesful small business.

I have to say that the 'engineering knowledge' displayed in many of the postings here rarely fails to amuse me. With the complete and utter nonsense which some people trot out they thoroughly deserve to be financially raped by the less scruptulous Part M companies that thrive in the UK.

Having completed a double engine swap in a day ( two aircraft, swapping from one to the other) and flying both the next day after sorting a couple of non standard mods and the paperwork, I can only say that sometimes less is a lot more................. and some basi spanner skills are all that is required - oh and actually reading the manuals, rather than doing what you did on the last one.....

Mmmm...just like post accident speculation...where pprune is at its best!