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RV-9A help

C

chicoduster

Member
I got a call last week from a woman who said her husband had built a plane at our airport and had recently passed away. She had no idea what kind of plane it was and had exactly ZERO paperwork. I got he county guy to open the hangar up yesterday to have a look at what might be there. And lo and behold a beautiful almost finished RV-9A under lots of bedsheets and a lot of dust. I called Vans and they said the gentleman started the build in 2002 and the craftsmanship looks very good. It has a LYC O-320 E2D of 150 hp. The main mechanic at the airport said he rebuilt it before he had his stroke 10 years ago. It is very clean but has ZERO paperwork with it. So the question is how to sell it for this woman? She knows nothing and wants me to deal with everything. It has never been registered with the FAA. I have several planes but am stuck in the 2 wing category and have no need or want for another plane. Any help about price and how an RV-9A should and can sold would be appreciated, Specs as I know them below:

Sensenich prop ( bought new from Vans)
Marvel MA-4SPA carb
Skytec starter
Autolite alternator
Crossover 4 into 2 exhaust with no mufflers
Has basic instruments
no radios, but trays are in and mounted
No seat belts
The flaps are finished and there is a switch for electronic use, but they are not hooked up
There are no wheelpants
The tires have been sitting flat for 10 tears , but hold air
There is no dataplate
ACK ELT , bought form Vans
No battery
There are some cleco's inside around the control sticks as well as a few empty holes in the tailcone area.

Other than that the work looks clean and neat.

I will put pictures as soon I can figure out how to do it
 

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Tommy123 said:
To get airworthiness going to need to prove the 51% rule. Good luck with that.
Click to expand...

All you have to do is prove that it was 51% amateur built.. and not done by a professional shop.. no requirement for any one person to have built it. I do t think this is a problem at all… perhaps one of the local DARs can chime in..
 
Here is my opinion:
- It looks like the plane is in the 90% complete 90% to go state.
- The engine was rebuilt by an amature, with no paperwork - so is highly questionale.
- Many byers have no idea what the two above negatives mean, so will make an offer.
- The person you want buying the plane will factor the two above into the value.

It is worth $25,000 but you can get $38,000 - $40,000 for it.
 
Taltruda said:
All you have to do is prove that it was 51% amateur built.. and not done by a professional shop.. no requirement for any one person to have built it. I do t think this is a problem at all… perhaps one of the local DARs can chime in..
Click to expand...

I suspect you will have no issues making the 51% requirement. Have the wife sign an affidavit that her husband bought the kit from Vans and did all of the work himself with no paid assistance. Assuming that is true. I don't think the FAA will push back on that, though they may not provide a repairman cert to the final guy.
 
I talked to a DAR that insists I need build photos with me in them. I know that is not a requirement but this guy apparently thinks he make the rules. Hopefully you can find someone that lives in the real world.
Yes, I am going with someone else, preferably a FAA employee if I can get one to do it.
 
I appreciate the replies. Vans gave me all the invoices for the things bought through them. They (Vans) says they will walk the buyer through the FAA process. There is definitely no documentation. What are your thoughts on price? I know with so many unknowns the minimum would be the price of an RV-9A QB kit and the engine core and prop. A QB kit is almost $45K the core anther $5-8K and the prop about $4k. That means a bottom end should be in the mid $50K range.I realize it is not fully completed but is very close, not 90% to go. So thought's on a price and avenue to sell it?
 
I'm in Corning if you need any help or ideas. I've helped sell a couple of planes in the past. Also built several RV's.

Steve (707) 972-3582
 
Plans/Construction Manual

If there are plans and a construction manual, perhaps there are notes and check marks, maybe even dates, with these documents. That, along with invoices from Van's might help re-create a framework of a builders log.
Somebody must have helped the builder at some point; if they can be found maybe they can assist with history.
If the builder was an EAA member, perhaps the local chapter knows of the project, particularly if a Tech Counselor made any visits.
 
EAA Chapter

I was the last EAA Chapter president before the group ceased to exist 10 years ago He hangars at my home airport where I am a CFI. I have all of the invoices that he bought things from Vans. I have/had never heard of him or his project. He is 1 row of hangars from me and I have rebuilt 3 biplanes so am at the airport regularly. The guy I talked to at Vans did not think the FAA would be much of an issue ( no repairman's certificate) and they would help whoever buys the project. The issue really is what price can it be sold for to give the widow the best deal?
 
That looks like a nice barn find that will present well with a little bit of cleaning to get rid of all the dust. Most of the building hard work is done.

The unknown is the engine and its internal state (corrosion) from sitting. The panel is obviously out of date too.

Another way to price it is the current market for a RV-9A, say $120K... maybe more, minus the cost of a new OEM engine from Vans ($40K) and a panel upgrade ($20K). So $60K.

The bonus for the potential buyer is that most of the work is already done and there is no waiting time for the kits. The engine may well be OK and the panel can be flown as-is with the addition of some comm equipment.
 
PaulvS said:
That looks like a nice barn find that will present well with a little bit of cleaning to get rid of all the dust. Most of the building hard work is done.

The unknown is the engine and its internal state (corrosion) from sitting. The panel is obviously out of date too.

Another way to price it is the current market for a RV-9A, say $120K... maybe more, minus the cost of a new OEM engine from Vans ($40K) and a panel upgrade ($20K). So $60K.

The bonus for the potential buyer is that most of the work is already done and there is no waiting time for the kits. The engine may well be OK and the panel can be flown as-is with the addition of some comm equipment.
Click to expand...

I agree with Paul - a very logical assessment of value. Could be a real find for someone in the western US able to go pick it up. They could have a new flying airplane in less than a year.
 
"Another way to price it is the current market for a RV-9A, say $120K... maybe more, minus the cost of a new OEM engine from Vans ($40K) and a panel upgrade ($20K). So $60K."

I agree with this analysis. The plane sits in a fairly dry area ( northern California) and corrosion is not a problem around here as it is very dry a lot of the time. The only thing one could add back is the price of the engine core, $5-8K. I have someone who has built 3 or 4 Vans aircraft coming to look at the condition next week to give a more complete answer as to how much is left to do. My original thinking was mid $60K sounded about right
 
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