Cheetah bargain R290K neg. with fresh ATF and new Trylam.

[shane pagel]

Hi Pieter . Is your plane still available and at what price now?

[Shumba]

Yes, still available at R200K unless you bring a bag of cash and convince me otherwise, however, at this price I am not much negotiable. What would you ask for it if it was yours to sell. I believe a kit would set you back more than R200K and then you still need to buy the engine and instruments. I wonder which part of the words "MAJOR BARGAIN" it is that my fellow aviators don't understand? Total hrs is now almost 720 and counting.

[John Boucher]

Either way... it's a bargain!

[Planar]

Hi. What would new ATF cost?

[Shumba]

My AP usually charge R 500.00 for an ATF renewal inspection and then you just add RAASA's fee. However if you need to do any repairs, that would be additional costs. In this plane's case, if the AP fails the fabric the plane will have to be re-coverred before ATF renewal . But that is if the fabric is failed, otherwise there shouldn't be a problem.

[Planar]

After close inspection of the pictures, it seems like this bird could do with some TLC... after all it does have a few years on her.
Even if one spends another R100k to recover, spray the fiber, place tail fin, maybe other bits-and-pieces, one could still have a cheetah at a reasonable price.
I would consider getting into a syndicate with another pilot for this one (but in JHB region)... anyone interested in considering this project??

[christo-b]

Sjoe Pieter, dis nou amper verniet. Daai errie vlieg lekker julle.

[Shumba]

Hi Christo.

So bietjie huiswerk gedoen. Vier nuwe silinderkoppe en "pushrods" so amper R30K en n' nuwe Trylam baadjie van die fabriek af omtrent R70K. Ek het nie daardie tipe finansies nou bskikbaar nie, so iemand kan nou regtig n' Cheetah projek vir baie goedkoop optel. Lyk my my dae van vlieg gaan nou na 35 jaar tot einde kom. Hierdie deur maak toe maar ek is opgewonde oor die een wat Hy gaan oopmaak. PDH.

Groetnis.

[avgas]

This aircraft is a bargain of a lifetime. Pity about the covering. Otherwise condition is good and was well looked after.

[Crusty]

Dear Sir,

Kindly contact me on (076) 969 6525. I would like to discuss the attributes of this aircraft. My daughter intends learning to fly.

Yours sincerely

Nick Carter

[Crusty]

Why on earth would a bit of fabric cost R 100,000? Even with a respray? That sounds like nonsense to me.

[Shumba]

Parts for the engine are on their way and she should be flying again by the end of the week. As soon as the word "AIRCRAFT" and "SPARES" get used in the same sentence, some people believe that they have a free hand to exploit the owners of these unique machines to the point where they force general aviation into a precautionary landing from where it could never be recovered. They don't realize that they are sinking their own ship in the same process. I am considering a partial recover of this aircraft myself with Ceconite which could cut the cost of a re-covering by at least 50%. Of course there will be a lot of stakeholders with all sorts of explanations why that cant be done but I don't see why not. Anyway, just a thought.

[Sideslip]

The Trilam materiel is manufactured in Germany and besides the price going up from the manufacturer, the exchange rate dictates the cost of the material. Couple that up with the exorbitant freight and clearance costs, I can assure you we do not "exploit" anyone with our tiny mark ups - as the covers are pre-made (unlike receiving just a roll of Ceconite) we obviously also have to cover the labor of the cutting, stitching etc. It takes us about 1 week to manufacture a full set of aircraft covers.

The job of installing the covers onto the aircraft is made extremely easy (as its pre-made) and is far less labor intensive than doping, stitching and taping your Ceconite so you save yourself a lot of time (and therefore money) on this part of the exercise.

This post is not in any way intended to detract from the advert for this fine aircraft - but I feel I needed to defend against the statements made. If there are any serious buyers for this aircraft you are more than welcome to send me a PM and lets see what we can do with regards to the re-cover. It might include using whatever pre-made covers we have in stock or perhaps buying the covers in stages but lets chat and see what we can work out for you.

Regards, Mike.

[Tortoise man]

THATS WHAT I CALL AFTER SERVICE.

[Shumba]

Thank you Sideslip, I shall certainly have to ask for a quote some time soon. My recommendation of the Ceconite as a possible replacement for re-covering material is not purely a matter of cost. What I need is a covering that will last substantially longer than eight years for the type of money involved for a re-cover. I honestly feel that Trylam is not up to industry standard and that Dacron and definitely Ceconite would have lasted longer for the same aircraft under the same conditions. I have owned Ceconite covered aircraft which lasted longer and know of many that easily lasted 15 years if half decently cared for. Is Dacron still available as a re-cover material for the Cheetahs? I feel it would be fair to expect a 2000hr or 20 year life expectancy from a modern covering in this day and age and technology being what it is. It is not my intention to de-rate you or anybody else on this forum and I beg your pardon if I insulted you. Please forgive me but let us then move on and find a proper solution to an obvious and imminent problem which is starting to show its ugly head. Soon you will have several aircraft on your doorstep as the fabric start failing and none of the owners will be happy with the costs involved. Personally I feel your insurance company should get involved at this stage and a systematic re-covering of all Cheetahs should be initiated by the factory with at least a decent subsidy from the insurance company. Save face while you can and use this obvious problem to your benefit towards marketing. Just a thought.