Rocky Mountain Airport pre-buy. Need a mechanic

[SLB_DA40]

My first post. Let me know if I should be posting somewhere else.

It seems there are two shops on the field, one is the Seller's mechanic (Rocky Mountain Aircraft) and the other (Legacy) won't return calls.

Many thanks.

[SLB_DA40]

OP here. Here are all the shops I have already spoken with that cannot perform the Pre-Buy until "next year": Rocky Mountain Air, Mountain Air, Vector, Independence, Legacy and Paul Paasch.

If you have another name or firm, all ears.

[chili4way]

Scott, it looks like you (or perhaps the plane) are located at CYBW/Springbank Airport, just west of Calgary, Alberta (i.e., not KBDR in Connecticut). If you're open to paying travel expenses, contact a Diamond Authorized Service Center in the US. They will likely charge you their "day rate," which is about 8 hours at their hourly rate, although the amount likely depends on the Diamond Aircraft model and perhaps its age (longer MX history to review). How quickly they can respond will be affected by their MX backlog and the holidays.

Which year/model of Diamond are you considering?

[Soareyes]

Or forgo an official pre-buy. Find someone who owns a similar model. Have them go through the logbooks and take a test flight. If no glaring defects, buy the plane.

[SLB_DA40]

Scott, it looks like you (or perhaps the plane) are located at CYBW/Springbank Airport, just west of Calgary, Alberta (i.e., not KBDR in Connecticut). If you're open to paying travel expenses, contact a Diamond Authorized Service Center in the US. They will likely charge you their "day rate," which is about 8 hours at their hourly rate, although the amount likely depends on the Diamond Aircraft model and perhaps its age (longer MX history to review). How quickly they can respond will be affected by their MX backlog and the holidays.

Which year/model of Diamond are you considering?

I am in CT and the plane (2011 DA40) is in Denver, CO. My mechanic has been through the logs and his only significant hang ups with them are the missing inspections for Bonding and MSI. Both "should" have been done in last month's annual.

[mhoran]

I really wouldn't skip either of these inspections. The inspections themselves are inexpensive when performed along side an annual (more if performed on their own.) Without the bonding check, the plane is not legal for night VFR or IFR. The MSI is a chapter 4 mandatory item in the current AMM; though in the EASA version of the AMM originally used for certification, it is a chapter 5 item. Because of this, some shops do not believe the inspection is mandatory. It is not involved, but may turn up items that need repair. In my case the repairs were very small.

If you can't get them performed at this time perhaps you can negotiate on the price. I would try to knock off $10k to have that set aside in case anything comes up.

[SLB_DA40]

Scott, it looks like you (or perhaps the plane) are located at CYBW/Springbank Airport, just west of Calgary, Alberta (i.e., not KBDR in Connecticut). If you're open to paying travel expenses, contact a Diamond Authorized Service Center in the US. They will likely charge you their "day rate," which is about 8 hours at their hourly rate, although the amount likely depends on the Diamond Aircraft model and perhaps its age (longer MX history to review). How quickly they can respond will be affected by their MX backlog and the holidays.

Which year/model of Diamond are you considering?

Hi. The plane is outside Denver and I am in CT. It is the 2011 DA40 XLS. Wish me luck! We have an LOI and I did manage to secure an independent mechanic.

[SLB_DA40]

I really wouldn't skip either of these inspections. The inspections themselves are inexpensive when performed along side an annual (more if performed on their own.) Without the bonding check, the plane is not legal for night VFR or IFR. The MSI is a chapter 4 mandatory item in the current AMM; though in the EASA version of the AMM originally used for certification, it is a chapter 5 item. Because of this, some shops do not believe the inspection is mandatory. It is not involved, but may turn up items that need repair. In my case the repairs were very small.

If you can't get them performed at this time perhaps you can negotiate on the price. I would try to knock off $10k to have that set aside in case anything comes up.

Thanks and I do have an update. The seller has agreed to get the two inspections done (by his mechanic) in the next week or so. I have also secured an independent mechanic for the prebuy. If it is possible/feasible, does anyone have an opinion about having the two mechanics do the inspections TOGETHER? I kinda like the idea.

Anyway, thanks everyone, and Merry Christmas!

[Chris]

If it is possible/feasible, does anyone have an opinion about having the two mechanics do the inspections TOGETHER? I kinda like the idea.

I had my pre-buy done by an independent mechanic while the plane was in for an annual inspection at its normal service center. Seemed to work well in that instance. It probably all depends on how amenable their mechanic is to having somebody else working in their shop.