AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2022 - 60

I just want to fly. As the headline on an
old Aircoupe brochure suggested, " for
the fun of it! "
How many times have you heard, " If
they only still made the Globe Swift, or
the Stinson Station Wagon I would buy
one today? " That is the way I feel about
Ercoupes and Aircoupes. Having owned
five assorted models of these little sports
cars with wings, I began to search for
my sixth, a 1960s Alon model. These
airplanes differed greatly from the original
post-war, two-control Erco versions.
Among many updates were metal wings,
a sliding canopy, large baggage compartment,
toe brakes, and pedals for rudders
and nosewheel steering. A Continental
C90-16F engine produced improved
takeoff distance, rate of climb, and airspeed.
The last 50 Alons featured a
spring steel main landing gear and an
increase in gross weight.
After searching online for several
months, I found a low-time A2 Aircoupe
in Ohio with OK paint, upholstery, and
radios. My plan was to make it good as
new. A project of this nature would take a
lot of time, patience, and perseverance-
not to mention a pile of money. With a
deposit made, I tracked the delivery
flight to Florida on FlightAware. After
a fuel stop in Virginia, I waited to see
a takeoff. There was none. I got a call
from the owner who told me, " On landing,
the steering gave out and the plane
flipped over. It is totaled. " Fortunately,
the pilot escaped with only a scratch or
two. So, it was back to the drawing board.
I thought I had struck the mother lode
when I saw an ad for a 1968 Alon A2A for
sale by a dealer in Oklahoma. The company
had transformed a faded red and
blue N5479F into a real beauty with a
new N818SW identity prominently displayed
on a three-color Jet Glo paint job.
The 'coupe featured a fresh leather
interior and a fair package of consignment
store avionics. The only drawback
was the asking price of $45,000. I laid the
thought of owning it aside, but it just kept
coming back, from 2 a.m. till daybreak.
The next morning, I waited until one
minute past opening hours and called
the dealer, only to hear disappointing
60
AOPA PILOT / August 2022
news. Someone else had bought the airplane.
My airplane! I thanked him and
suggested that he keep my number on file
in case the deal fell through, or he came
across another cream puff.
About a week and half later the dealer
called me back. He said the buyer had
encountered some problems that would
prevent his purchase. Looking back, I
wish I had investigated what was behind
those " problems. " At any rate, I said I was
still interested and asked about a pre-buy
inspection. I was told one had been conducted
for the man who had to back out.
The dealer said the mechanic who had
done the pre-buy was on vacation and
I found a low-time A2
Aircoupe in Ohio with
OK paint, upholstery,
and radios. My plan
was to make it good as
new. A project of this
nature would take a lot
of time, patience, and
perseverance-not to
mention a pile of money.
his findings would not be available until
he returned in a week or so, but the airplane
had passed with " flying colors. " A
momentary case of color blindness must
have kicked in. I told him I would send
earnest money to hold the 'coupe, but the
full purchase might be held up because I
was about to put my Bonanza on the market.
He suggested a trade and asked me to
send the Bonanza specs to him.
In a couple of days, we exchanged a
virtual handshake. My only caveat was
that the 'coupe would be delivered to
Fort Myers, Florida. The whole deal was
orchestrated by a title and escrow service
and went well-until the last day.
The agent said there was a " cloud " on
the title of the Aircoupe. A previous seller
had used a wrong owner designation on
the bill of sale. Because the airplane had
already passed on to several other owners
since the error, I hesitantly agreed
to move forward. I later discovered
that the person who signed the original
(erroneous) bill of sale had died in 1997.
A daughter of the deceased offered to
sign an amendment to the original bill
of sale. It was filed with the FAA, and I
was told the matter would be cleared up
in due time.
Late September 2021, Alon N818SW
arrived at Page Field (FMY). At first
glance it was as advertised, except for
a conspicuous wrinkle at the end of the
right aileron. I looked in the logbooks
to see if there was a mention of it, to no
avail. A friend of mine once said, " When
someone says there is no damage history,
that probably means nothing was written
down. " I was going to learn that lesson in
short order.
The pilot handed me a piece paper with
a list of squawks he experienced during his
two-day flight to deliver the aircraft. First
was a loud whistle coming from somewhere
around the canopy. Second, the
fresh air vents were inop, which is not
good in Florida. These items were followed
by news of a couple oil leaks, a
shimmy in the nosewheel, a jumpy altimeter,
a slightly tilted artificial horizon, a
questionable airspeed indicator, and a
wandering directional gyro. The paint
job must have rendered me temporarily
insane because I was convinced that
these squawks were all minor issues.
I shook hands with the ferry pilot and
wished him a safe flight as we exchanged
keys. I must admit, I sniffed back a couple
of tears watching the Bonanza fly
west. We had a good 14 years together.
The following week, I took 8SW
to Roger Smith at Carter Aircraft in
Sebring, Florida, for a post-buy inspection.
First on the multiple-item punch
list was the repair or replacement of the
right aileron. Fortunately, I was able to
find a like-new one at a fair price.
Under Smith's supervision, I
removed the instrument panel and proceeded
to make sense of the rat's nest
of added and not-so-subtracted wiring.
Several modifications to the panel were
made to accompany new instruments
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2022

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