AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2015 - 44

PILOT BRIEFING
BUDGET BUY

VREF VALUE

Vref, the AOPA partner
offering aircraft value estimates, suggests a base price
for the Beechcraft Skipper of
$17,000 for the 1979 model
to $19,000 for a 1981 model.
RECENT ADVERTISED PRICES

Elegant economy
Beechcraft Skipper is a classy act
B Y A LTO N K . M A R S H
BEECHCRAFT HAD a reputation as the next level up in piston-engine aircraft-a classier act-

and that certainly applies to the elegant Model 77 Skipper. It was introduced at Beech Aero
Centers in 1979, at the beginning of the end of the general aviation boom in the United States,
and went out of production three years later with only 312 built.
The Skipper ended up looking a lot like the more numerous Piper Tomahawk and was
spinnable; the Tomahawk could spin, but you weren't sure you wanted to during its early
service. It had a great safety record but a poor record for fatalities associated with spins, a
problem that was corrected. The Skipper turned heads with a roomy and comfortable interior, a few knots more speed (at 97 knots true airspeed), and a slightly slower stalling speed.
THE REAL WORLD

Solo Flight Training, a school at Ellington Field in Houston, has two Skippers-one with a
training history that has worked perfectly since it was bought, and one that sat in a garage with
deferred maintenance issues that took a while to bring up to date. Both have good records at
the school. The owner of both Skippers, Kevin Gabriel, estimates an operating cost-including
fuel, oil, maintenance, an engine reserve fund, tiedown fees, and insurance-of $65 an hour.
The aircraft rent for $105 an hour with a discount for block-hour purchases.
There aren't any really nasty things to say about them. The aircraft skin is thinner than a
beer can in Gabriel's estimation, meaning a hail storm might cause slight damage to the Skipper
while a Bonanza sitting next to it goes unscathed. Both Skippers like to draw down the left tank
first. The fuel valve is either On or Off, so tanks can't be switched-which is good in a training
environment. Instructors like the airplanes because they are easy to fly, and easy for students.
The Skippers wag their tails in bumpy air, probably because they are happy. They look and
feel like a bigger airplane, and they make a favorable impression on students who compare
them to a Cessna 150. Air vents in the panel are inadequate, but extra
WHOM TO CONTACT
aftermarket vents are available. On a hot day, Skippers do not climb
Beech Aero Club; 855-9335923; www.beechaeroclub.
eagerly with two large people aboard, but they do it.
EMAIL alton.marsh@aopa.org

44 | AOPA PILOT November 2015

org; bacadmin@beechaero
club.org

At the time this was written, no Beechcraft Skipper
airplanes were listed for
sale in Trade-A-Plane, but a
1979 model had sold a few
days earlier in mid-summer
2015 for $23,500; a 1981
model with GPS was
sold four months earlier
for $18,000. A search of
Controller.com also showed
no Skippers for sale, but the
Barnstormers.com website
listed two pilots who want
to buy a Skipper. Neither has
had any luck.
INSURANCE COSTS

AOPA Insurance Services
estimates an average-cost
Skipper flown by a lowtime pilot will cost $900 to
$1,000 per year to insure.
www.aopainsurance.org
HOW MANY IN THE FLEET?

AIRPAC PlaneBase shows an
FAA-registered fleet of 143
Beechcraft Skipper aircraft.
FINANCING

AOPA Finance estimates
$282 per month to $315
per month at 6.5 percent
for a $17,000 to $19,000
loan on a Skipper. The loan
requires 15 percent down
and a term of five years.
www.aopafinance.org
AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES

No dark clouds.
BIGGEST PLUS

Large-size Americans can
get in them.

BIGGEST MINUS

Slow.

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR

In the right light, you can
see dings from a hailstorm if
there are any. Tanks drain unevenly. Door hinges are thin
and break easily, especially if
someone loses control of the
door in high winds.
WHAT ELSE TO CONSIDER

Cessna 150/152, Piper
Tomahawk

http://www.Controller.com http://www.Barnstormers.com http://www.aopainsurance.org http://www.aopafinance.org http://www.beechaeroclub.org http://www.beechaeroclub.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2015