Looking to possibly purchase an aircraft that has been sitting idle for a little over one year. It’s an auction situation and the condition of sale is “As is, where is.” The agency that owns & operated it, took some steps to protect the plane, but, did not preserve it. It recently went beyond it’s annual inspection. So, the old fuel & kinda dirty oil are still in there. I was allowed to poke around the aircraft before bidding, but, since the battery was removed, could not turn on any avionics or start the motor. If I am the high bidder, the battery will be reinstalled and I will be able to get a ferry permit to fly it a few miles to my airport & mechanic in order to complete a fresh annual.

Should the oil and/or fuel be drained & changed before starting, taxi-testing, and the eventual short ferry flight?

Are there any special fluids or additives used, or other precautions that should be taken?

Thanx, Dave.

My special caution is don’t transfer money until it passes an annual and is airworthy. Also, several older aircraft I know of have title liens.

Good reading:
https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/media/faa-h-8083-19A.pdf

Given that its an "as is, where is" withholding funds until assessing it's mechanical fitness is likely not an option, it may be a "buyer beware" deal. However insuring no leans or actions against it seems like fair ball to me and a wise idea.

I have sold aircraft “As is where is” and allowed the buyer to inspect/annual it. Strange.

It’s a sealed bid auction, so, I don’t think that anyone would want to conduct a “free” annual inspection for the next owner, when nobody knows who that will be, yet? I understood the “as is, where is” part, before I decided how much to bid. I’m pretty confident that it will prove airworthy. The logbooks are extremely detailed, and it provided continuous service for the past 33 years. The aircraft passed its 2017 annual and flew for about another month, before the controlling agency decided to park it pending the auction. I’m just doing some research & planning in case I’m the high bidder.

So, what steps would you perform after taking custody of such an aircraft?

Thanx, Dave.

You’re looking at all the big parts and a set of good logs. Buy it at a good price. Ferry it to where you need it. Annual it and fix the squawks you find, and use it.

I certainly wouldn’t be afraid of year old gas or oil.

A working airplane doesn’t make 33 years of service by being neglected.

Gump

Borescope the cylinders and look for rust.
If they will let you (and I doubt they will) pull a cylinder and check the cam for rust.
Bid accordingly based on what you find.

At least you will have an airworthy certificate, and good logs. In Hawaii, the Navy/AF/Army would destroy every bit of paperwork even the placards for auctioned aircraft.

It would take about a year building a case to get a civil airworthy certificate. The whole process is very expensive. Make friends at the FSDO.

Luckily the TCDS on some military aircraft are public domain. So that helps. Along with finding military mechanics is an asset too. There are lots here.

If you purchase, do a quick and dirty 100/annual hour if possible with an A&P. Before flight or ferry permit.

Don't over think this. Ask the mechanic who is signing the ferry permit what he wants to see and go with that. There are 10's if not 100's of aircraft across the country where for one reason or another have set for months without any more prep before flight than checking the oil, sumping the tanks, looking for flat tires and a through preflight to look for damage or bird nests. Just my two cents worth.

Tim

If I was going to start an engine that's been sitting for a year I'd change the oil and filter first, and of course cut the filter open and see what's there. No reason in the world not to, and when you cut the second filter open you'll know that whatever is or isn't there is from the time of restart. I'd consult a mechanic about maybe running a little oil and MMO mix through the cylinders before starting...I think it'd be prudent, but there might be a good reason not to.

I'd sump the ever living hell out of the tanks, then drain and put fresh gas in at least one of the tanks, sump another quart out of it, and start it on that. Again...no reason not to, and it doesn't really cost you anything to know that it's running on fresh fuel. No guarantee the fuel that was put in a year ago was prime when they added it...

I'd also change the air filter, since they tend to dry out over time. And I'd clean the spark plugs. All real simple things to do that don't cost you anything and eliminates a lot of questions on the first start-up.

Good luck!

After talking custody of an aircraft like that I would check the tanks close for water and other contamination, verify that it is avgas in the tanks. Then do a good preflight and run up. Stay close to the airport for a little bit then take it home and change the oil, get it in annual and start Flying it and working all the little issues out.

I wouldn’t be overly concerned about the fuel or oil seeing it sat for a year. Since it’s at auction you’re going to just have to roll the dice. There’s really no good way of telling what’s going on inside an engine without pulling it apart. Oil Analysis have proven time and time again to not really indicate much aside from the obvious. I would top it off with good fuel, sump the tanks well and make sure there’s oil in it.

My magic formula. Mix engine oil and Marvel Mystery oil. Squirt a about 4 of shots (oil squiter) in each cylinder. Charge the battery or use a GPU. run the starter without the plugs in for whatever that aircraft's starter limits are. Squirt more oil in the cylinders, do it again. Most aviation fuel is stabilized, but I would like at least a 50/50 mix new to old. Do a general servicing of the aircraft, use the 100 hour checklist for your aircraft. I always bring a handheld radio, with a telescoping antenna, extension coax and a headset adaptor ( the rubber ducky range is pathetic). iPad/iphone or decent gps unit, my Spot transmitter and a book on tape. Then launch into hard IFR, ha.

Really a year is not much. Most people buy planes and use them intently the first year or six months. Then, run out of places to go buy hamburgers at. Then they sit for around 4-6 years until the cost of just owning the creature gets too much and they finally sell it. So I would say the greater majority of aircraft sit, without proper preservation.

Drain oil, change filter and cut open and inspect before first flight then when you get home change oil and filter again and inspect filter for any new metal or crud, this will clean out all the corrosive chemicals that have been sitting in the dirty oil for the past year, this is cheap. DONT fly it home on the old oil! Drain and change is cheap and easy!

If you can "pre oil" the engine somehow before starting that would be good.

Also before first flight sump fuel really really well including shaking the airplane to dislodge any water that may be hiding behind a fold or wrinkle in a fuel bladder. Draining and putting in fresh fuel is up to you but be very careful with static and other safety issues when draining fuel, never drain fuel in a hangar. Its amazing how many people drain fuel while airplane is in the hangar.

Kurt

I agree with pulling the spark plugs and and spinning the engine to prime. I've done it by turning the prop by hand. If you're not in good shape get a friend to help.

A little short of detail in the original post; if it's carbureted I wouldn't fly in it until pulling & inspecting the carb.

Thanx to everyone for the replies!

Was notified yesterday that my bid was accepted, and I will soon become the new owner.
Also decided to have the annual inspection completed before flying it over to my local airport.

So, please permit me a follow-up question: How many maintenance hours should an annual inspection take?

Here are some of the aircraft's details: 1981 Cessna 182R with 6,000 TTAF, 1600 SMOH on its O-470U, and no damage history.
For the past 30+ years, it has been continuously operated by the Civil Air Patrol. The maintenance records are very detailed.
It looks like anything that ever needed to be fixed, was fixed quickly and properly. It passed it's last annual inspection in July 2017,
and then flew for about another month, until CAP HQ decided to pull it off the line and put it up for auction. Then it sat around for a year.
It was not parked because it was broken. It was just a administrative decision by CAP HQ to auction off a number of their older aircraft.

So, how many maintenance man-hours should it take to complete a new annual?

Thanx, Dave.

Depends totally on what they find.
How long is a piece of string, that kinda thing.

Personally I know of one plane that went in for a 100hr check, and consumed the thick end of $80,000 to get back out again. You never know what they're gonna find.

The shop I used to work at, and may still go back to, has had the exclusive contract for CAP for twenty years. We have done everything you can to a CAP 182. Boxed & shipped them, replace wings and engines, avionics just about everything. We have had them from new to auction, the complete CAP 182 lifecycle.

The inspection (no squawks or maintenance) should take about 2-3 days. From my memory. But, the discrepancies are what will determine the cost (and downtime) as you know.

2 to 3 days???? Holy crap!!!! Cessna estimates about 8 to 10 hours, and that's figuring it's an aircraft that the mechanic hasn't seen before. If it's a shop that's never seen the plane before, I'd add a couple for more paperwork to be proven. That's just for inspection....repairs are added to that.
John