Who does Owner Maintenance

[Slick Goodlin]

It would be awfully nice if OM was recognized in the US as basically being equivalent to Amateur-Built.

[TwinOtterFan]

The advantage of owner maintenance is you can change the tire without signing a maintenance log book.

The problem with it, is sometimes you never know who worked on the plane and what they did because they didn’t sign an entry in the maintenance log book.

I would buy a plane that digits maintained and I have not even met him because I have corresponded enough with him on AdCanada to trust the way he looks after his plane.

On the other hand.. There are commercially registered planes I would pass on.

Importing a plane from the USA has always been a bit tricky because they have different maintenance requirements. It’s usually not a big deal but I have heard of things like someone buying a really nice plane then finding out it needed a lot of ADs addressed.

I can understand that for sure, I've looked at two Champs now one certified, one OM honestly the OM one looked amazing, like show ready the certified one looks a little rough but its "certified" I do not know either owner from anything and because of that I do lean more towards a certified A/C.

As for importing that was strictly for a Kitfox because they are far more popular over there and are barely for sale over here, from what I have read going from Experimental to AM doesn't seem to be as rough of a task.

[TwinOtterFan]

It would be awfully nice if OM was recognized in the US as basically being equivalent to Amateur-Built.

Exactly! which is why I am still exploring that as a possibility.

[digits]

I have been doing a lot of reading and I keep coming across some sort of stigma against OM vs Amateur built. For some reason the latter seems to be far more accepted.

Amateur built are usually not available as certified aircraft. There simply is no way to get that particular type flying with certification, to achieve the performance or get the advantages of the airplane type you really want.

OM on the other hand, started out as a certified aircraft, but lost the ability to stay certified in the end. It's lost something along the way, be it parts support or manufacturer support, or something else.

You can have brand new amateur built aircraft, but OM will always be an old plane. And likely one with at least one major issue, although it might just be a paperwork issue.

[digits]

I would buy a plane that digits maintained and I have not even met him because I have corresponded enough with him on AdCanada to trust the way he looks after his plane.

Oh gosh, you are too kind. An way too kind for an online forum, you're supposed to yell and insult me!

[TwinOtterFan]

OM on the other hand, started out as a certified aircraft, but lost the ability to stay certified in the end.

I did not look at it that way, I was just looking at the spirit of TC's intended use of the category. Either way I have my answer and will continue looking at certified and possibly amateur built. The market may be turning. A few of the planes I have seen listed at insane prices have been reduced recently. Still out of my budget but I am hoping that the market will come back down to what was considered reasonable shortly.

[David MacRay]

They say, “There’s no bargains in aviation.”

[Squaretail]

I can understand that for sure, I've looked at two Champs now one certified, one OM honestly the OM one looked amazing, like show ready the certified one looks a little rough but its "certified" I do not know either owner from anything and because of that I do lean more towards a certified A/C.

Not to be too much of a downer, but beware of shiny paint jobs. It’s easy to fall in love with them. New paint and upholstery is the cheapest way one can get a good resale value on a plane. Hell sometimes it’s just a good wax job can change the apparent appeal. Some of the worst pieces of junk I have made the mistake of flying were really pretty airplanes. Certified or not.

The point being that an airplane’s value is a wider picture than appearances may initially suggest.

[TwinOtterFan]

Well I decided out of curiosity to check out the OM Champ. The certified Champ I am looking at is not a show stopper but when I dug into the books I could clearly read when the fabric was redone, what kind and what paint was used among other things, it painted a really good picture of how the plane was treated over the years.

The OM one has the engine upgraded 7AC to DC conversion I believe he called it, and the wing tank upgraded, he could not tell me anything about the upgrades or what type of fabric the plane has, I was able to figure out they only stripped and painted it in 2017 I guess that it is why it is so shiny.

Whenever I asked about the OM aircraft I would just get a short answer sometimes not even answering me, Whenever I asked about the certified plane the owner said either "here is your answer" or "well lets find out" and he would grab a logbook and show me and then walk over to the plane and explain, very nice and very helpful gentleman.

[TwinOtterFan]

Not to be too much of a downer, but beware of shiny paint jobs. It’s easy to fall in love with them. New paint and upholstery is the cheapest way one can get a good resale value on a plane. Hell sometimes it’s just a good wax job can change the apparent appeal. Some of the worst pieces of junk I have made the mistake of flying were really pretty airplanes. Certified or not.

The point being that an airplane’s value is a wider picture than appearances may initially suggest.

Do not worry about being a downer, I am here to learn, I would be lying if the shiny Champ didn't have my attention right after seeing it. Sad thing is it could be a great aircraft just not really sure how to tell.