If you see an ad that says, "Sold with fresh A&P IA Condition Inspection"HOIST THE WARNING FLAG!"
I'd like to believe that all FAA certified A&Ps with or without IA are trustworthy. I'm sorry to say that after 40 years in aviation there are some crooks out there like in any business. The point here is, you need to find one that you can trust with your life (and there are a lot of those out there). I'm not A&P bashing. Someone needs to perform a pre-purchase inspection - either you, if qualified, or !!YOUR!! A&P - Better both!
Lately, I have been on the search for a higher performance experimental to put in my hangar. I have looked at 5 so far. All were advertised as either "award winners", "built by repeat builder", and "built by A&P IA", and all had just had a Condition Inspection performed by an AP IA (IA not required), 1 was done at a certified Repair Facility. While the pictures in Barnstormers made these planes look like the best of the bunch, ALL had substantial multiple issues that made them UNAIRWORTHY! The one that was still at the repair facility was the worse with cracks in all tail control surfaces, wiring that looked like a rats nest, unlabeled switches, levers, and push pull controls, poor airframe repairs and false log entries. The winner was the steel wool stuffed into a scat tube flange with no scat tube.?? Other planes had damage history (prop strike not recorded), leaking fuel tanks, mandatory Service Bulletins not complied with, paperwork issues (registration and airworthiness certificates out of date, missing, or just wrong, or 17 repeated logbook entries, "Performed Condition Inspection - No issues found."
Had I been looking for a project, some of these could have been negotiated into a deal, but since I was a few thousand miles from home, now I needed a ride. I have learned that logbook entries can be meaningless as well as the signature below it. You can't trust it and verifying isn't enough. You must have the inspection done by someone you can trust.
If you buy an airplane like this that the previous owner is trying to unload on you, you just bought a dead horse. The best way to protect yourself is the get smart yourself and bring along an A&P that has knowledge in the type of airplane you are interested in. Web sites like this one are great places to get smart on type specific issues. Talk to a DAR and builders. A logbook is a great place to spend some time. They often provide hints, like, "Refurbished cowl with new air intakes and completely refinished same, upgraded nose landing gear strut, fairing, and fork to comply with Service Bulletin XXXX, rebuilt MS MA4-SPA, replaced prop with ….. Can you say Prop Strike!
It is even more difficult with these little airplanes given that many are built, flown, and maintained outside of standard practices (that may be a good thing also). Buyer beware.
Good luck on your search
John
