Well. Some of you might have seen that I was looking at a Starduster in Vancouver Washington. I sent a hard core Starduster guy (Dave Baxter) over there with his favorite mechanic (Dave Aldred) for some inspection, assessment, and collective thinking.

The airplane is a 9 outside and an 7 or so inside. Old instruments. Some control linkage looseness. Most hoses are vintage 1973. A VAL radio, no transponder. Well designed inverted systems.

It's an O-320A2(?) Lycoming with 1835 hours Since new and 635+/- on top. It had a prop strike inspection in 2002 with no mention of a magna-flux of the crank, but the crank gear was changed out at that time and the engine was put back into service. It's had virtually no use since that time and very little use for the preceding several/many years. This is not good for a Lycoming camshaft and it's assorted parts. It's got Bendix mags and it's got a pressure carb that has the original 1973 black diaphragm on it. Not good. The carb rebuild will be about $2500 and the Bendix mags can either go to Slick for a crush and exchange or they can be inspected and repaired as necessary. I would probably just do the IRAN. Bendix is a better mag no matter what transpired with all those ADs.

But you still have 150 horsepower.

The engine mount is a 20" which was the way Lew Stolp designed it but this leads to 136 lbs on the tiny Scott 3000 tailwheel without anybody in the airplane. Stardusters developed a well deserved reputation for seeking the runway edges just about any time they were moving when set up with this geometry. Present practice is a 26 inch mount.

This $10,000 airplane is really a $30-$35,000 airplane. Even if the engine doesn't grenade on the way home I'm not going to be happy with the length of the mount and the ground handling issues. Raised up for level flight the weight on the tail is 90 lbs. It should be around 70.

And it's only got 150 horsepower.

I almost fell in love. I'm going to sleep on it overnight but right now I'm in decline mode. The quest continues.

EB

Welcome to the process of making yourself completely crazy over what airplane to buy . If you can take a piece of advice from someone who's lost their !(#$* mind more than once over winning and losing that game....

Buy something that fits 2/3 or more of your known requirements, something you can afford to fly, and buy it at a cost that allows you to exchange it for a better choice if and when you come across one... but you will be flying instead of thinking about flying for that time period. The clock's spinning for all of us, and every day you do not fly is a day you will never get back. I am 100% guilty of violating this myself, screwing around with designing landing gear upgrades and not flying. Do not make the same mistake.

You would have had a hundred or more hours in some of the airplanes that you were considering previously. That's a chunk of log time, fun, adventure, friendships, sightseeing, etc. you will never have no matter what you buy tomorrow. I'm not saying to be impetuous or hasty. I'm saying to get in the game with a safe bet type of airplane, something that you can get out of easily, something that is safe to fly or something you can repair within a week or two (engine swap at the right price).

I'm rootin' for ya...

Bill

It's for the best.

Hmmm. The price seems good but would a Starduster really fit what you want to do for a backcountry plane? Do you want open air? Can it carry cargo and a passenger? I'm not saying any of the above is important or should be deciding factors. Good luck with the searching. Not an easy job, by any means (unless you happen to be a gentleman of means. Even then you have to decide between Corinthian leather and the cheaper stuff.).

Of course, too bad you didn't make it up to the area.

I flew...

...an S1-C Pitts for 14 years all over the nation, east of the Rockies. Took lots of camping trips in it. Minimal camping gear in the turtle deck, sleeping back stuffed in the fuselage behind the seat, a styrofoam box of food under the fuel tank secured with bunge cords. Odds and ends stuck beside the seat etc. Not exactly kosher....but managed to have a ton of fun. And by the way I few it many thousands of miles with a mag compass and sectional. No radio, no electrical system

I then bought a 260 hp Skybolt with electrical, radio, gps and triple the room for carrying stuff. Continued to fly and camp all over east of the Rockies. Camped from South Dakota to Florida, from New York to Texas. Had a ball. That big engine Skybolt would go anywhere and carry a ton...but wouldn't consider it a backcountry airplane for shorter rough strips do to high touchdown speeds.

I seriously considered and flew a few Stardusters before buying the Skybolt. Stardusters are such beautiful airplanes. In the end I wanted the strength, ruggedness and aerobatic ability of a Skybolt.

There are really nice Stardusters out there that can be had today for around 20 grand. You won't get much performance with 150 HP. I wouldn't consider taking such an airplane into anything more challenging than Johnson Creek. Even so you aren't going to be able to carry more than minimal gear and weight. My Pitts didn't have much room but had incredible performance. The Starduster with the 150 HP is pretty limp.

Sounds like the airplane you are looking at has many issues. You will probably spend far more "fixing it" than the total price of one in good condition. The IO-360 with 180 hp makes a nice airplane. Mostly the Starduster is just a sexy airplane. Great for riding around in, letting the wind blow in your hair, some very mild acro and looking good sitting on the ramp.

My two cents. Your milage may vary.

Bob

Emory Bored wrote:....The engine mount is a 20" which was the way Lew Stolp designed it but this leads to 136 lbs on the tiny Scott 3000 tailwheel without anybody in the airplane. Stardusters developed a well deserved reputation for seeking the runway edges just about any time they were moving when set up with this geometry. Present practice is a 26 inch mount. ....

A guy I know has a Starduster 2 which he could never keep under control on the ground. After some analysis, another guy I know (airshow pilot A&P & great fabricator) relocated the MLG mounts farther aft which made it handle much much better. Moving the engine moves the CG which affects flight characteristics, for better or worse- moving the main gear location just affected the ground handling.
I sold Dave Baxter a VAL radio about 3 years ago, he does seem to be the area Starduster guru. At the time, he was rebuilding a Starduster 2 which another friend of mine used to own- this one had a Continental radial on it. Very cool-- maybe you should see if that one's available. Definitely not what I'd consider a back country airplane though.

Emory Bored wrote:Well. Some of you might have seen that I was looking at a Starduster in Vancouver Washington. I sent a hard core Starduster guy (Dave Baxter) over there with his favorite mechanic (Dave Aldred) for some inspection, assessment, and collective thinking.

Dave Aldred is a good hand, did my private with him. However, like the others have said will it fit your needs or will you be looking for another aircraft more suited to the back country. The quest continues...