Piston market is dead!

[joejenie]

I don't know if anyone has been paying attention, but the used plane market looks to be dead in the piston market. When I decided to build a Katmai a year and a half ago, there wasn't anything used available. So I ended up building one. Now I'm trying to sell one and can't find anyone that will pull the trigger! I've had a lot of calls, but it seems like everyone is sitting around scared to make a move. This recession is really starting to move into all facets of life. :(

If anyone is looking for a great King Katmai with all the stuff, please give me a call. I would like to have this plane gone in the next 30 days. I need the hangar room for another airplane...

[Russ]

I know resale has been discussed in the past but I would be interested in the type of calls you are getting. If these terms are appropriate, are you over or under built or was your choice of instruments/glass etc. not attractive to current buyers? Any idea how your Katami compares with the ones that Peterson is building or has in the pipeline? Are prospects passing on your plane and getting in line for their own?

[joejenie]

All good questions Russ. Mine is definitely on the high side for price due to a more expensive 1979 airframe that only had 750 TT which probably added 25k to the price. Mine also have Avidyne Traffic which adds another 12k IIRC. The IO-550 King Katmai is also another 12-14k, so as you can see, 385k could have been 325-350k with just a couple cuts. I think most of the planes come in around 325-350k if they do the complete refurbishment. I know of several that went over 400k as well, so I'm definitely not the highest. As for comparison to others he is building/doing, it would be hard to find one as nice as mine. I could have thrown another 20-30k in the dash in redundancy IFR stuff, but mine has bushwheels, so it doesn't make sense to put more stuff in the dash. It already has everything you would ever need.

I think in the end, the "experimental" stickers are killing me. No one wants to take the risk of Todd never getting it certified. After all, this project was suppose to be done before I took delivery! Todd is really getting the run around from the FAA.

I have had probably 8-10 serious calls with 4-5 that say they "want" it. But then they go cold. It's either the experimental thing or they go cold when they finally put the math to it. The other issue might be financing. When you are doing one of these projects, you have put down a lot more money than a newer plane as a downpayment (probably 20-30% or more).

Joe Rainey