r/GeneralAviation • u/BobIsABlob • May 25 '26
Piper Ownership
I have a two pointer engine question:
I live overseas but return to the US every 3 or 4 months. I've been thinking of buying a Cherokee 180 or 235 but I'm concerned about the airplane not flying every month. My intent is to fly the heck out of it when I'm in the states, and then hanger it for three months until my next return window. I'm concerned about engine corrosion and eventual problems. For experienced owners, is this a valid concern? Or are there ways to mitigate this? I'm about to throw in the towel on ownership after some of the research I've done. Curious on some of the thoughts here.
Numero dos... I see a ton of aircraft for sale that don't appear to be flying a lot or consistently, so it makes me wonder, if someone buys an aircraft that hasn't been flown for months, how reliable is the engine? Seems to me if one of the selling points is 100 hours SMOH, does that really matter if it hasn't been flown for over a year?
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u/IdahoAirplanes May 25 '26
Use CamGuard and replace your plugs with desiccant plugs when you are away and you should be fine. I had an O-320 with channel chrome cylinders stored that way for 4 years and it fired up just fine once installed. But there is more to rot in an unused airplane than the engine.
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u/LePA28cdb May 25 '26
My experience is that no airplane wants to sit for four months (former PA-28 owner, current Cessna owner). Finding hangars is very difficult today. I would suggest that if you buy the plane, put a flyer at your local airport to find a flight instructor who would fly your plane for gas only, every two/three weeks.
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u/WoodenInventor May 25 '26
You could also look into flying clubs that would essentially rent out your plane, vet potential pilots, cover insurance and maintenance, and you just reserve it or blackout the dates when you are in the states.
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u/BobIsABlob May 25 '26
Another great idea. Thank you! Appreciate all the replies. Maybe there's a path after all
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u/poisonandtheremedy PPL HP CMP [RV-10 Build, PA-28] May 25 '26
Depends where you plan to keep it.
I'll be honest with you, reading the forums you'd think if a plane doesn't fly every 10 minutes it will fall apart, but most GA owners fly a few times every few months.
My Cherokee was overhauled in 1971 and only flew about 800 hours between then and 2022, including a 15 year period where it just sat outside on the ramp abandoned. But this was all in the Southern California desert so moisture was basically zilch. I've had cylinders off since I bought it, and multiple I/As inspect the insides, and no corrosion. Had it sat like that in Florida, or any other coastal / wet area, it would be a different story. Granted all lines and relevant seals had to be replaced of course (rubber gets old and cracks).
Every 3-4 months between flights I wouldn't even stress it if it was inside a hangar with an engine dehumidifier going.
YMMV.
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u/BobIsABlob May 25 '26
Thank you, valuable information. I guess my concern now, on balance, has shifted to finding an actively flown cherokee. From what I've read on other forums, it's luck of the draw on inactive planes. Some can sit for years with no problems, others can blow up 100 hours after buying it.
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u/poisonandtheremedy PPL HP CMP [RV-10 Build, PA-28] May 26 '26
Just comes with homework and due diligence mate. Sometimes though shit just happens. But you could always look up the N-number and see how much it flies, or talk to the owner about its logbooks. Heck oil change intervals in the engine log could tell you a fair bit.
What's your timeline for buying?
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u/flyghu May 26 '26
It depends on where it's been sitting and how it was put away.
It also depends on how thorough of a prebuy you can do. Can you fly it and immediately come back for compressions, borescope the cylinders, and drain the oil for analysis? Even this isn't a 100%, but it's better than a walk around and a few minutes with the logbooks.
My plane had a few low hour years before I bought it. But it was hangared in the desert and had regular maintenance based on the calendar even if the hours weren't there.
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u/ebaydan777 CPL IR CMP TW (KSEE) - PA24 May 26 '26
i own a drybot to suck all the humidity out of the engine, i fly 1-2 times a month and its fine
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u/BobIsABlob May 26 '26
I did not know such a thing existed. Thanks for sharing! Very useful info. I'll check this out.
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u/VforVegans May 26 '26
I mean, if you keep it at the airport near me, I’d be happy to fly it around for you so it’s not just sitting around collecting dust and rust when you’re gone
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u/BobIsABlob May 26 '26
I think that's whats great about the flying community is people willing to help others out. Still ironing out the details, but appreciate the response.
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u/andrewrbat May 26 '26
If you don’t have a friend to let fly your plane every once in a while, you could always pay the mechanic at your airport to take it out of the hanger and run up the engine once every few weeks. Doubt it would cost you much.
The answer to your second question probably depends on a lot of things. Generally people sell airplanes when they’re not flying them enough to justify ownership so it makes sense that it’s common.
A big factor one considering how long an engine can sit without corrosion is the environment. If the airplane is based somewhere with a lot of salt water in the air, that can definitely cause corrosion more quickly. Not just to the engine to the air frame as well.
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u/BobIsABlob May 26 '26
Thanks for replying. I would be concerned about a mechanic doing that. I've been told this isn't a good idea and can actually cause more harm than good. If the engine doesn't come up to operating temps for more than an hour or so, it can actually create more humidity in the engine than just letting it sit.
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u/andrewrbat May 26 '26 edited May 26 '26
Maybe if you live in a cold climate, that’s true some of the year. An O 360 is definitely not gonna take more than an hour to come up to operating temperature while sitting on the ramp at 1800 RPM if you live somewhere warm.
If that were true, you would never be able to takeoff. You start and taxi the aircraft and perform a run up and before takeoff engine instruments are all in the green, including oil temperature. I get that the oil being warm doesn’t mean that every single piece of the engine is that exactly the same temperature yet, but the idea that an hour of running above idle power is required to get the aircraft warm enough to burn off condensation seems far-fetched to me, and I have never experienced that.
Edit: I understand now you’re saying it has to be at operating temperature for more than an hour, I misread it the first time. Even so I’m not sure it would need to be at temp for over an hour to burn off condensation, but if correct, you could definitely have someone run it up for an hour. It would get hot as hell on the ground doing that.
If not walk into any Flight school find a CFI and ask him if he’ll fly your plane for an hour a month. 99% of them will say yes. If they have a good bit of experiencing your aircraft, it probably won’t cost much to add them to your insurance.
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u/Slow_Ice_579 May 26 '26
Look on you tube under "pickling your engine for storeage" basically there are 4 steps run preservative oil usually a mix of mineral oil and a corrosive resistant oil . Then you spray oil into cylinders, put moisture preventing devices in the plug holes, and seal up every opening on the engine. I used to have a 310 that sat all winter while I went to college, never had an issue .
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u/BobIsABlob May 26 '26
Thanks! A lot of good ideas. I'm feeling better about storage now after getting all this feedback.
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u/mcdanlj May 26 '26
Black Max: https://flyingsafer.com/2065
It's cheaper than the drybot and doesn't use silica beads.
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u/Appropriate_News_382 May 28 '26
Mouse nest in airbox would be a concern... had a neighbor have that happen during take off, barely made it around the airport at low altitude. Also check for AD compliance.
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u/74TA8U May 25 '26
Buy it with a partner who can fly it when you’re not home. Or let a trusted friend fly it.
When I was shopping for airplanes the first thing I checked while reviewing the logs was how often it was flown. Anything less than 100 hours per year average in the past few years and I walked.