I recently purchased a 1967 A23A Musketeer. It is my second plane and the first I purchased from an out state dealer; I live in Michigan (FNT). I am looking forward to learning from other Musketeer owners, especially landing techniques and fuel management.
I was a little surprised yesterday, when in the mail the great state of Michigan sent me a bill for a 6% "use" tax. Since the dealer told me there was no "sales" tax when purchased out of state, I guess technically, he was right. But still! I wonder if other states do this too?
Take care and be safe,
John

John, welcome to Beech Talk.

There are a few Baby Beech owners on this forum and you should be getting some advice shortly. I sold my Sundowner one year ago to trade up to a Bonanza. I owned and flew the Sundowner for ten years.

Landings are relatively easy, its all about airspeed management. If you nail your airspeed,per the POH, on final you will be rewarded with a nice landing. Do a weight and balance, Musketeers are notoriously nose heavy. You may want to put some weight in the baggage compartment to help out when solo or with both front seats full.

If you try to land too fast and you will float for a long, long time. IIRC from my Sundowner handbook, an extra ten knots will double your landing distance.

If you try to land too slow, you will end up running out of elevator and drop it in on the nose, which will most likely lead to porpoising, PIO, and a collapsed nose gear.

Fuel management is likewise pretty easy, left, right, and off. You will most likely find that if you run your tanks dry, one at a time, on different flights, that you have almost sixty gallons usable.

Although beware, some of the Musketeers' fuel pickups were installed incorrectly at the factory and don't lie on the bottom of the tanks and therefore have a lot less usable fuel. That's why I would find out for sure how much usable fuel you actually have in the aircraft.

Last but not least . . . join the Beech Aero Club, it will be the best $50 a year that you can spend on your Musketeer. http://www.beechaeroclub.org

Again, welcome.

Oh yeah, I know that you said you live in Michigan, but let us know where your from in your profile, it makes it a lot easier to know how to help a BT bro.

Hi John
Welcome to Beechtalk! I bought my first plane from California (A36TC) about a year ago and am based in Lansing. That tax bill sucks, but you have to pay. Per my accountant, I paid the use tax when I filed my return last year, but I still got the letter after I paid. Michigan is hungry for tax revenues! He recommended strongly against associating the plane in any way with my business, otherwise the state would try to collect taxes on "rental income" if I charged by business for any airplane usage expenses. Its pretty much for fun anyways. If you fly to Lansing let me know! I'd love to see your plane! Congratulations!
Paul

Welcome John! There are a number of us based at PTK. Yes, the letter you receive from the state a few months after you buy your plane sucks. The good news is that other than the nominal annual registration fee (<$50), you will pay nothing else to the State of Michigan. Many states charge a sizable annual property tax on aircraft.

John,
I had a B24 Sierra for several years. The Beech Aero Club is another great resource for the 23&24. There is a lot of info here too. Dig John dig

Thanks to all of you. Yup, I am a member of the Beech Aero Club and they are very helpful. Wish their annual fly-in wasn't so far away this year! And yes, Michigan is hungry for revenue, any way they can get it I think.

Welcome to BT.

Regarding the tax issue, I suspect your salesman wasn't being really honest with you.

Many (most?) states that charge sales tax on airplane purchases will bill you for the tax if you buy out of state. Some have provisions for avoiding the tax if the airplane was actively used out of state and not brought into the state for any reason for six months or so... but you will need documentation so it isn't a simple deal.

Enjoy the Musketeer; nice airplane.

My friend just got a tax notice from the state of NJ for an airplane that he is putting together in his garage and has yet to fly. Why pay use tax if you can't use it yet.

John, I had a 1967 A23-24 Super Mouse for 10 years, sold it in 1995.
My N number was N3648Q, bet they were on the assembly line at the same time.
The sales tax is the same situation in Wisconsin, have to pay it when you register your plane with the state, 5% here.
Enjoy your mouse,

Be glad it's only 6%. Indiana's use tax is 9%

Hi John,

1) Congratulations and welcome to the Beechcraft family! I was originally looking at Musketeers and Sundowners until about a year ago, then I found a Debonair that I couldn't resist this past January. I LOVE Beechcraft. All of 'em.

2) Good on ya for joining BAC. I was a member for a few years while I was looking and dreaming. They are THE resource for the Baby Beech family of planes. This forum (BeechTalk) is great for any Beech and great for all-around info on flying.

3) Sales and Use tax here in Orange County, CA is 8.75% (Ouch!!!) The state's tax man has taken his bite out of my tail. But we also have an "Unsecured Property" tax in this county; about 1% of the value of the asset, payable annually. There goes a few hundred more dollars for no apparent reason.

Usually, the tax from the "other" state is refundable or can be avoided if you can prove that you were not buying the item for use in that state. I did that with my boat; I bought it in AZ, but I lived in Nevada at the time. I had to pay the Nevada Sales/Use tax, and Arizona waived their tax because I was only buying it there. Check around the local airport and ask what others in your area have done. It could save you some money.

Anyhow, welcome aboard and WHERE ARE THE PICTURES?!?!?