N9526J

N9526J-042107f.JPGIn 2007 Jeff realized that his love of flying was not going away and that he was tired of renting airplanes.  He decided to start looking for an airplane to buy.  Jeff trained in Cessna 172s in Wilmington, NC which are a high wing.  After he got his license and moved to Delaware he started renting a Piper Warrior (PA28-151) that he really enjoyed flying.  It seemed to be a much smoother ride and easier to control.  With Pipers being fairly common he decided that this would be a good plane to buy.  Another prerequisite was enough power to carry his whole family but not burn too much fuel.  It was an easy decision that a Piper Cherokee 180 or PA28-180 is the airplane that would meet the needs and not be overly expensive.  Jeff started the search in February 2007 and was on a business trip in Chicago.  The first airplane that he evaluated was N9526J located at Lake in the Hills Airport (3CK) in northwest Chicago area.  It was a 1966 Cherokee 180C in excellent condition.  It had many speed modifications and was a mid-time engine which meant that very little major upgrades would be required anytime soon.  Being the first plane that he looked at, he was conservative and took another trip in March to see a couple of more Cherokees.  Jeff and Bobby James drove through the snow in Maryland, West Virginia & Ohio mountains to see 2 more planes.  These planes were a few years newer than N9526J but they weren’t even close when it came to the condition.  Not only that but their prices were higher.  Finally Jeff negotiated with the broker and they were able to make a deal.  The family traveled to Michigan to see Lori’s family over Easter and Jeff took a day trip back to Chicago to close the deal.  During this trip he had a pre-purchase flight & inspection, got a biennial flight review (BFR) and got checked out in the plane.  Jeff left the plane in Chicago but returned two weeks later on a commercial flight to pick it up and bring the plane to it’s new home at Delaware Airpark (33N) in Cheswold, DE.

Here are the details of N9526J:

1966 Piper Cherokee 180C (PA28-180C)
3560  Hours Total Time Since New
995 Hour Factory Remanufactured Engine
995 Hour New Black Mac Propeller
Avionics
Garmin GMA-340 Audio Panel with Marker Beacons and 4 Place Intercom
Narco MK-12D Digital Nav/Com/Omni/Loc./G.S.
Narco Escort II Digital Nav/Com/Omni
Narco ADF-841
Narco DME-890
Narco AT-150 Transponder with Encoder
Apollo 604 Loran
Piper Wing Leveler Auto Pilot
Options
Knots 2 U Flap and Aileron Gap Seals
Knots 2 U Horizontal Stabilator Gap Seals
Knots 2 U Wing Root Fairings
General Aviation Corporation Main and Nose Wheel Landing Gear Fairings
Met-co Aire Fiberglass Wing Tips
Mattson Stabilator Tips
RMD Aircraft Lighting Inc. Wing Tip Landing  Lights
Precise Flight Pulselite System
3rd Window Kit
Whelen Wing Tip Strobes
Copper Battery Cables
Tanis Engine Heater
Electric Trim
Avionics Master
Vertical Card Compass
Hobbs Meter
Dual Push-to-Talk Switches
External Power Receptacle
Brackett Air Filter
50 Gallons Fuel


Exterior


Excellent Allover Gray with Blue and Red Accent Stripes




Interior


Sharp Gray Cloth Seats with Matching Carpet, Sidewalls and Headliner


Impeccable Log Books and Maintenance History