courierguy wrote:

Emory Bored wrote:Airspeed indicator, tachometer, oil pressure gauge, cylinder head temperature gauge, compass.

You should be able to get all that stuff for a couple hundred bucks.


Map Ten Bucks.

There you go. VFR anywhere you had in mind.

FWIW: I kept track of every penny, including shipping, and had 43 K in my Rans S-7S when completed in 2007. 800 hrs free labor. Simple steam gauges and simple GPS, I'm NOT planning on flying any hard, or soft, IFR. Then I got the Bushwheels, and the wheel skis, but they don't count

Courier Guy,

Did Rans offer any quick build options then? Do you run the 80 hp or 100 hp Rotax?

Isn't that Highlander the factory demo plane?

Does the $115k price reflect it's celebrity status?

Av8r3400 wrote:Isn't that Highlander the factory demo plane?

Does the $115k price reflect it's celebrity status?

http://www.aviationdb.com/Aviation/Aircraft/6/N611SL.shtm

Don't think so. It looks like just a VERY proud owner.

If all you have to do is bitch about someone's pricing on an airplane on a damn web board then u don't have shit to do in life!!!! To give u a little history this plane was a good friend of mine who owned the finest commander 112 around and actually started the commander owners group. He was a bad diabetic and struggled to keep his medical later in years and about 10 years ago he got lymphoma cancer and beat it only to have income back again and he struggled and went through stem cell transplant treatment only to lose his life to it last summer. The time in between his two bouts with the cancer he decided to sell his commander that he had over 3,000 hours in and go the LSA route due to him having to battle to keep his medical. He spent about 2-3 months at the factory on the finishing of the building of the airplane and then had to learn to fly it. He flew about 30 hours at the factory and then flew home and flew it very little due to his health deteriorating. He equipped it with the finest of everything he could put on it even has cameras on it that u can video and watch it on the MGL as you are videoing it. Troy and Gary at Just Aircraft said it and his close friend Greg Walkers plane were the two finest and most expensive planes they had ever built. It does have the placard on the panel about the prop that allows it to qualify for light sport. His widowed wife and young daughter in college would disagree with most of you on the board the way you described their dead husband and father. There was more than 130k put into this plane and we know that we will probably not get what we are asking for it but that's what Troy at Just Aircraft thought we should start. I would be happy to talk to any of you that may be interested in it but it is not a cheap aircraft the way it is set up. We would also appreciate you with nothing else to do but slam people to keep your negative comments to yourself to keep from jeopardizing the sale of this plane for the family. Thank you Lonnie Steverson.

I think that's why we have the ruling from headquarters about not posting ads that ain't ours.

rans commander wrote: ...He spent about 2-3 months at the factory on the finishing of the building of the airplane and then had to learn to fly it. He flew about 30 hours at the factory and then flew home and flew it very little due to his health deteriorating....

My condolences to the family.
Building this plane was not about saving money, it was about pursuing a dream and doing so in the time that he had to do it. With the two statements above you have explained that for me. He no doubt had a lot of professional guidance and help on this project and at least one full time factory build partner. Using factory labor/expertise/ help and floor space requires trading money for time he would have spent on the build. For him it made the difference of having just the dream or getting to fly it. Factor in the price of that factory assistance plus extra equipment and you have the difference in dollar investment of building one in your own time and space. I suggest you modify your ad to include that this plane was built at the factory with factory assistance. It is another plus to have professional experience at your side while building. The common mistakes made on first time builds are not made on this aircraft and many buyers would pay extra for that peace of mind. I speak from experience since I built my airframe with a factory assist program. I justified the extra cost with not just time savings but peace of mind that it was done correctly with professional guidance at my side. I also hope that will translate into added resale value if ever I sell it.
Good luck to you.

Sorry for posting someone else's ad. I never intended to piss anybody off with this posting, and I still think its a sweet plane. What someone asks for it and what someone will pay is between them. I would love to have a plane set up just like it. I would just have to build it myself. That's all I was saying.

ranscommander,
Thanks for posting that. The internet seems to let out the bad in some people.

I actually just wrote a long rant on tirekickers and 'the economy is in the tank you gotta sel for 50 cents on the dollar' types. But the type that I reference are to blind to see it pertains to them.
I am happy to help out anyone looking for a plane and asking info....but don't try to bad mouth something a guy has for sale and what he is asking.

Emory Bored wrote:I think that's why we have the ruling from headquarters about not posting ads that ain't ours.

What I specifically disallow is "brokering," where someone posts a For Sale ad that is for a non-member in the Marketplace forum. Links to Barnstormers/TAP ads aren't necessary that, and I will allow them only under the scenario that it is an interested BCP member/buyer looking for our advice --OR-- it is the BCP member who is linking to their own For Sale ad.

One reason it's not a good idea though is because buyers who are actively shopping on Barnstormers lose the advantage of their own initiative when a good deal is suddenly cross-posted to BCP (which represents the target market) by an uninterested party who's just posting ads for entertainment.

It's certainly in poor taste to criticize someone's plane for sale, but it's also a risk accepted by the seller when they post it for the world to see. Valuation of E/AB aircraft is whatever the seller and the buyer agree upon, and anything else is opinion.

Criticism is productive if there is a mission with a decent outcome. But, people using criticism as entertainment with no real goal can be a time waster for folks trying to learn.

rans commander wrote:If all you have to do is bitch about someone's pricing on an airplane on a damn web board then u don't have shit to do in life!!!! To give u a little history this plane was a good friend of mine who owned the finest commander 112 around and actually started the commander owners group. He was a bad diabetic and struggled to keep his medical later in years and about 10 years ago he got lymphoma cancer and beat it only to have income back again and he struggled and went through stem cell transplant treatment only to lose his life to it last summer. The time in between his two bouts with the cancer he decided to sell his commander that he had over 3,000 hours in and go the LSA route due to him having to battle to keep his medical. He spent about 2-3 months at the factory on the finishing of the building of the airplane and then had to learn to fly it. He flew about 30 hours at the factory and then flew home and flew it very little due to his health deteriorating. He equipped it with the finest of everything he could put on it even has cameras on it that u can video and watch it on the MGL as you are videoing it. Troy and Gary at Just Aircraft said it and his close friend Greg Walkers plane were the two finest and most expensive planes they had ever built. It does have the placard on the panel about the prop that allows it to qualify for light sport. His widowed wife and young daughter in college would disagree with most of you on the board the way you described their dead husband and father. There was more than 130k put into this plane and we know that we will probably not get what we are asking for it but that's what Troy at Just Aircraft thought we should start. I would be happy to talk to any of you that may be interested in it but it is not a cheap aircraft the way it is set up. We would also appreciate you with nothing else to do but slam people to keep your negative comments to yourself to keep from jeopardizing the sale of this plane for the family. Thank you Lonnie Steverson.

Wow, that was uncalled for. Not one person spoke disparagingly about the previous owner. Many of the comments were positive about the plane but realistic about the asking pricing.
As to the health history and subsequent passing of the owner, it has nothing to do with the asking price of the plane. Many sellers on here and Barnstormers have found themselves in financial difficulties. Traditionally estate sales yield lower than market price regardless of the condition and history.
The thread morphed into a discussion about the value of building verses buying a prebuilt aircraft. But it still had nothing to do with the previous owner. Many of the pilots on this site have bought and sold numerous aircraft and have a fairly good grasp of the market. Ultimately, the value of the Highlander will be between a potential buyer and the current owners. Nothing that has been discussed here will change that. BCP is a great site but it does little to affect the aircraft market.
An aircraft as popular as the Highlander invites attention on this site and one with an asking price well in excess of normal market values was sure to promote discussion and opinions.

+1

Bitching about prices is something we all do. When buying. When selling. All things considered, this has been a good thread with some interesting info.

If the ad's out there for us to see, it's out there for us to have an opinion about it.

Gump

If I put any of my stuff on barnstormers, life sucks ( opinion ). I don't need no frick'n dog and pony show.

Who said "No such thing as bad publicity?"

Yea Lonnie, Lighten up.

No one new any of the circumstances of the sale. And all were doing here is educating ourselves. The plane is beautiful and well equipped for sure. Kit planes always lead themselves to pricing disputes because people can't put a equal value on there time.

Who wants to wait a year or two when you can buy that hot bird and fly it now, is my take, but to me my time is worth big bucks. The question is how many other planes are as nice and for sale ready, to go just like that one.

I agree this thread will probably sell that thing.

That is an awesome video demonstrating a great machine.

byeBill

Beautiful aircraft.

It's worth what someone will pay for it, just like the rest of them. There's a good chance it will move at that price or close to it...Spring is coming!

I just sold my airplane. First guy that made the effort to actually come LOOK at it couldn't get his checkbook out fast enough. Priced right? Yes. Did I take a beating? A little bit. Glad it's gone? You bet.

Good luck to that family. Sorry for the loss of the loved one.

Crzyivan13 wrote:

courierguy wrote:

Emory Bored wrote:Airspeed indicator, tachometer, oil pressure gauge, cylinder head temperature gauge, compass.

You should be able to get all that stuff for a couple hundred bucks.


Map Ten Bucks.

There you go. VFR anywhere you had in mind.

FWIW: I kept track of every penny, including shipping, and had 43 K in my Rans S-7S when completed in 2007. 800 hrs free labor. Simple steam gauges and simple GPS, I'm NOT planning on flying any hard, or soft, IFR. Then I got the Bushwheels, and the wheel skis, but they don't count

Courier Guy,

Did Rans offer any quick build options then? Do you run the 80 hp or 100 hp Rotax?

I think they did offer a quick build option, but I'm cheap and like being my airplanes builder, not just the guy who wrote the check out. Not that there's anything wrong with that! Also, I wasn't bragging about the 43K I had in my current bird when it was completed, but complaining..... my first S-7 in '94 cost me 24K using a Subaru conversion I paid $5300.00 for professional converted. All I had to do was make the engine mount, other then that it was turn key and worked trouble free for 1300 hrs until I sold it. It burned about 1 GPH more then my Rotax, and cruised almost10 mph slower. Heavy too, but reliable. Let's just say I never did any dead stick ridge soaring with it like I do with the Rotax powered bird, there is still nothing out there to compare with the 912's weight, power, reliability, smoothness, and most of all fleet hours. Sure there are some up and coming promising contenders, but that is what they are, not an equeal to the Rotax.

I have the 100 horse 912S to answer your question, if I operated out of a high and short strip I'd consider the much pricier 914 but really don't feel the need as I rarely get above 10K. A turbo won't help on short landings, not at all, neither will a controllable pitch prop, just more weight, complexity and expense, I like simple and light is all I'm saying. The FI 912 version is looking good, but damn, 17 lbs heavier! Lesser fuel burn may offset that weight gain I guess.

I sold my '88 Kitfox1, my Titan Tornado, and my first S-7 all for exactly what I had in them and not a penny less. BUT, only after flying them for many more hours then they took to build, that is the builders pay I guess, and not bad at that. The only plane I ever made real money on was my BC-12D T-Craft that I recovered and built up new wing spars for, made about 3 K for a few hundred hours work I'll settle for free flying and breaking even. One last thing: every plane I built, flew, and then sold, didn't get advertised and sold instantly through word of mouth.

RC: I hope your friend's estate gets every penny they are asking for the Highlander.

That is a nice plane...