OK, forum, here I am, have at it. Ex-military attack pilot, 60+ years old going on 35, in the market for my first (and most likely last) airplane, a Beech 35 FTDK. Unsuccessful to date, most recent offer accepted by a broker in the DFW area, sold out from under me after I arranged for a pre-buy. Called me with "Hey, the airplane sold last Friday, sorry". So much for brokers. Maybe the forum can help me out. My bird will be a dry-country airplane, preferably within 150 miles of Tucson; E-225-8 less than 50% TBO; fuel injected/engine analyzer for LOP ops; longe range fuel, preferably tip vs. fuselage tanks; center stack radios/no piano keys; S-Tec auto pilot w/legacy GPS; mechanical condition more important than cosmetic, but good glass; adjustable seats/dual yoke/copilot brakes; pre-buy inspection mandatory; less than $40K, cash.
Not too much too ask, right? Over to you....

Greg, welcome to Beech Talk!

Only advice I have is monitor Controller and the other aircraft listings. When I set out to buy I would copy and paste them in a spreadsheet and then adjust to match my format.

I compared everything available with respect to features, pricing, hours, etc.

That said, the folks here can give you more personal help then anywhere I've seen.

You have come to the right place.

...These are as rare as hen's teeth.

A very tight restriction. Many nice planes have center-stack and nice avionics with piano keys remaining.


Not as rare as hen's teeth, but very rare. ...

Bordering on unrealistic with the other requirements.

Greg,

With those requirements I would ABSOLUTELY step up a bit to at least a P model or later. Maybe an N with a modified panel.

With the P you will get the panel, state of the art injected engine, much better track mounted seats, plus 40 gal fuel cells in each wing, extended hat rack with large third window, and a likely hood of better avionics with your autopilot and analyzer. And you may find a great plane and have to add something.

And stepping up to an S or V35 you get even more. (For me I would not buy earlier than an S, no matter what.... but maybe I'm anal... and I've had a K, N, S, V35 etc).

You "may" steal one for $40, but unlikely and it would likely need something. A friend just got an S for ~$40 and a great plane.

Brokers are brokers. If they sell a plane, so be it. I would NEVER EVER put down a deposit with one. As you can see, they can sell it anyway, but if you don't buy it you will probably never see your deposit again. Do what you did, arrange for a prebuy and if someone else gets it, they should be man enough to tell you before you travel for the prebuy. Be quick, if it's a killer deal. Also, I would look over a larger area, you can find deals well worth the hassle of long distance travel.

And, copilot brakes have little value, why do you want them?

Hi Greg, Welcome! For what its worth, I agree w Max. While it is a stunning buyer's market, short of a real distress sale, I doubt you getting a well maintained Bo for under 40k as you have indicated you want it equipped.
Just the Stec autopilot alone you want to have in the aircraft is north of 16k installed.
The Bos I have seen the last few years in that price range are older, without panel upgrades, no autopilot , and cosmetically weak.

Welcome Greg! What did you fly in the military? I am 33 going on 19 so I am probably on the same trajectory as you.

At any rate, all good advice above. Definitely look at the P's. Your requirements are outside of the envelope for that price range. If you can reach to to $60k to $80k you will significantly improve your chances of finding an airplane that meets your desires. The extra acquisition cost will be well worth it.

On the subject of brokers, some are shady but not all. I do a bit of broker work on the side, away from my day job, and I would never do what that guy did to you. Believe it or not, there are some really good brokers out there (who provide outstanding value for both buyers and sellers alike) but you do need to avoid certain personalities obviously.

-Neal

Hi Greg,

Impossible: No. Unlikely: Yes.

Here's what I got for $36K just about a year ago: '62 Debonair with mid-time (although 17 yr. old) reman, fuel-injected IO-470 (225HP), old avionics, good glass, decent paint, tired interior, inop (non-repairable) autopilot, dual yoke, single brakes, single probe EGT and CHT.

Here's what I did BEFORE I flew it home to California from Washington...
I added an engine monitor, replaced a bad cylinder, overhauled the fuel system, repaired the exhausts, overhauled the gear system, updated the engine baffling, replaced the generator (yes, generator) with an alternator, replaced the oil screen with an oil filter adapter, added BAS shoulder harnesses. This was about $10K.

After I flew it for a while... I replaced the spinner (cracked), spinner backplate (cracked), repaired one of the comm radios (scratchy), pulled one of the nav radios (dead), replaced the Attitude Indicator, replaced the Directional Gyro, added a vacuum warning light, rebuilt the brakes, added Rosen visors. Totaled about another $8K.

Now, with all that said: I have no regrets on the plane that I bought. I love my little Debbie and adore taking her to the skies. She's a joy to fly and she's all mine

You have a few ways to go:
1) lower your expectations for that price point
2) raise your price point to get those features
3) be flexible about where the plane has lived, remember, these are 50 year old airframes and they've been around the block (and country) a few times
4) know that you will be hunting for a while to find the right plane

Whatever you do, get a Beech SPECIALIST to do the pre-buy. I know a few A&Ps, and they are all nice, upstanding guys, but you've gotta get someone who knows OLDER BEECHCRAFT and their airframes.

Best of luck in your search. Keep us posted. Everyone here will be happy to give opinions on anything related to these fabulous planes.

Welcome abaord!

Greg, thank you for your service to our country. I wish you well in your search.

I must agree with Max and Eric. My first impression was that you were looking for $40 worth of avionics with a plane thrown in free.