I write my PPL exam next week after a long winter of study. Miserable weather has kept me out of the air so I figured it was the perfect time to finish up the written portion. With that out of the way I can concentrate on the fun stuff when the weather improves.

After reading so many threads on BCP I've been keeping an eye out for a nice STOL 182. My wife has a corporate flying gig so she would use the plane to commute to the airport (45 miles away). She has never flown a tail-dragger and isn't that interested in trying, hence the 182. Problem is, to buy the plane we both want we're looking up near the $100k mark and that will require some 'rebalancing' of our financial affairs and that will take months.

Meanwhile, I stumbled upon a PA-22/20. Actually, I stumbled on it a month ago but I read the trip report from Alaska last night and it came back to mind. A couple oil-rig buddies bought it when they were making good money but neither of them has learned to fly it and now they are unemployed and the plane has to go. It will sell for less than US$20k, but at this point I'm not sure how much less.

This is what he told me:
"Lycoming 0-320 150hp, less than 600hrs SMOH. New altimeter, Vortex Generators, cub crafter wing tips, spin on oil filter, Harrison oil cooler, Cleveland wheels/brakes, 8.5 tires, fresh oil change and annual good through May. Lots of other upgrades/stc's.
Mogas STC
Empty weight is 1100#, gross is 2000#. So you're good for 900 pounds of fuel, gear, people, moose meat etc.
Range is 500 miles, cruises at 130mph.
We've had mechanics and enthusiasts look it over and they are surprised how structurally sound it is, although not much to look at up close."

So, the questions: Is this a suitable aircraft to finish my training and log my first couple hundred hours? I know a tailwheel endorsement is necessary, can that come before PPL? It doesn't satisfy many of my wife's desires, but at that price I'm still tempted if it passes a pre-buy. It will get her to the airport and it will get us both to wine country and it will get me into some dirt strips.

My goal when buying toys is to get in a price where I can get some utility and still get out near my entry price if necessary. Are these planes in reasonably high demand?

I'm sure I'm not asking the right questions. Any advice appreciated.

Allan

That sounds like an awesome first plane. I would be all over it before it sells. Just get a good pre buy inspection so you know what you're getting. You can finish your PPL training and get your tailwheel endorsement at the same time. Many of us learned to fly in tailwheel planes, it's really not a big deal. It will make you a better pilot in my opinion.

Allan, that sounds like a great first plane. At that price point I gotta agree with Rob, snatched that thing up and fly the heck out of it!
David

My biggest concern would be how long the plane has been sitting as you said they never learned how to fly. Definitely get a good pre-buy inspection on it.

The Pacer is a worthy aircraft. It requires some finesse and will teach you to be a good tailwheel pilot. Lots of support and available parts and STCs are out there for it. Insurance is a bit more expensive. Getting some hours in one before having to insure it will help reduce the cost if you need to insure.

If I had to go GA aircraft, that plane would be very high on my list of options. Especially with a few STCs applied.
Particularly in terms of getting good value for money, I like the Pacer.
It's not a Super Cub, but to me it's more than 80% of a Super Cub for much, much less than 80% the price.

Do it. Flew the covering off of mine. Get a good pre-buy on the struts, longerons, door posts, fabric, mags and accessory drive, and the other usual suspects on this air frame. Length AD list, some expensive ones, but probably in compliance by this late date. I'm glad others are saying good things about them...elsewhere, people were proclaiming they were squirrelly on the ground, which they are definitely not. 150 hp gives credible performance with two and all the camping gear and 36 gallons.

Pacer was my first plane, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I had about 80 hours of combined 172/citabria/supercub time when I bought it. Took about 5 hours of serious dual to transition. Flew it for a hundred hours and then traded up for my first Cessna 180. the transition was ant-climactic.

Overall, buying the pacer was probably the best aviation decision I've made. Selling it may be the worst!

Bill

Overall, buying the pacer was probably the best aviation decision I've made. Selling it may be the worst!

I feel the same way.

Pacer is my first plane. Short answer is yes. If the pre-buy is good, do it!

I own a Pacer and love it...so you know what I'm going say

I agree with all these guys that the 150 or 160 hp PA22/20 is the best airplane and get an AI to look at whatever. There are enough conversions that there is little price difference with the old Tri-Pacer, the best buy in aviation in my day. However, I have been married to the same woman forty one years. If the wife wants a nosewheel, get a Tri-Pacer. It is not a taildragger, but has a strong nose gear and will do almost the same job. No, it won't train you as well. No, it won't as likely be ground looped. What is she going to say about that?

Is that the white and red one that's in Delta? That one caught my eye a little while ago, didn't look too bad in the pictures.

Dean wrote:Is that the white and red one that's in Delta? That one caught my eye a little while ago, didn't look too bad in the pictures.

Yes. I just found out that an AME friend of mine has some connections at the Delta airpark so I'm waiting to hear the feedback.

I have to head down to Blaine for some errands so I'll probably stop by and take a look.

Great choice!

My first plane was an Champion Citabria 7ECA. A very early one with oleo gear and a C100 engine. Lots of fun to fly.

Second plane was a PA22-150. I REALLY missed the taildragger - and considered converting it, but a tripacer flown with 1 or 2 people is a nice performing and very worthy backcountry plane. We had that plane into many of the backcountry strips in Idaho. I have a nice video somewhere of a cow moose sniffing around the plane while m partner and I just prayed she wouldn't decide to poke her nose through the fabric or worse.

Make sure the fuselage is sound with a good pre buy and tubes are not all rusted out on the bottom.

Also make sure Piper SB 819 is complied with. Its about rust in the door sills. And there's a few other places rust can form. A good mechanic familiar with rag and tube Pipers should be familiar.

Lower longerons, near the tailwheel is where corrosive fungicides, herbicides, and poisons live on a spray plane. I expect saltwater does as well. I had no tube or fabric problems with many desert airplanes.

A 150hp Pacer is a helluva airplane. Never owned one, but I have time in a couple. I have three different friends who've owned the same 22/20, one after the other. I seriously considered a Pacer about 10 years ago, but all I could find was ones that needed fabric, or ones that were recently recovered and were priced accordingly. Bought a C150/150TD instead.

I will second other people's suggestions that you have someone inspect it who is familiar with Pacers, or at least with fabric airplanes. Tubing and/or fabric repair can be very expensive, and/or a huge PITA. Check out the Shortwing Piper club / website for buyer tips on specific things to look at.

About fabric: It gets changed for one of three reasons. Most popular reason; it doesn't look good. Second place; a mechanic, given other considerations, thinks he needs to get a closer look at some suspect tubing. A Maule fabric tester can be used on the tubing as well. The least likely reason for changing fabric: the fabric will not punch test high enough to suit the mechanic.

My crop duster mechanic/operator wasn't so fussy. I flew one of his CallAirs that was painted road department yellow. I don't know, but I think that is where the paint came from. Any place, including the wing, where the paint had chipped off the fabric, I could put my finger through the fabric. I asked him about this and he said, "Don't wine. The fabric just directs the relative wind around the wing. It is not structural."

I'm certainly not saying you should buy a plane with the fabric flapping in the wind. All I am saying is that most of the airplanes in my buy or lease market had ugly but safe fabric. Rotten tubing is a whole different story.

I believe Troy Hamon has owned two pacers as his first aircraft. You should read his book on the trip up to Alaska with his first pacer (14-Days to Alaska) and the trip report on this board about the second. I bet you could PM him and arrange a good conversation from a similar perspective to the one you're in now.