A couple of new additions to Courtesy's website...

Warbirdnerd · **Joined:** Fri Apr 30, 2004 7:34 pm **Posts:** 2923

CF-5D
http://courtesyaircraft.com/Current%20I ... 0CF-5D.htm

B-25 Sunday Punch
http://courtesyaircraft.com/Current%20I ... 0B-25J.htm

whistlingdeath77 · **Posted:** Tue Jul 19, 2011 5:49 am

i can go halfs with someone on the b-25? In halfs meaning i'll pay half for the armorall for the tires because thats all i can afford!

Fouga23 · **Posted:** Tue Jul 19, 2011 6:30 am

Amazing that you can get 3 B-25's for the price of 1 P-51 or spitfire! I wonder how long it will last before that bubble bursts.

wendovertom · **Posted:** Tue Jul 19, 2011 10:13 am

the B-25 as cool as it is just does not hold the same "mystique" that the Mustang or Spitfire does. Kinda like a Land Rover Defender 90 vs a Lamborgini Countach. What I would not give for either one but if you had them both sitting there and had to pick one. . . .

Tom P

Speedy · **Posted:** Tue Jul 19, 2011 10:18 am

I was surprised at how relatively cheap that A-26 listed below Sunday Punch was....that's almost pocket change these days.

Mike · **Joined:** Tue May 04, 2004 8:54 am **Posts:** 3331

Interesting to see that Anders Saether's P-51D N167F and A-26 N167B have been withdrawn from the Courtesy website. Does anyone know what the current situation is with these 2 Norway-based aircraft?

Fearless Tower · **Joined:** Thu May 26, 2011 5:14 pm **Posts:** 365

Speedy wrote:

I was surprised at how relatively cheap that A-26 listed below Sunday Punch was....that's almost pocket change these days.

As with anything - price is typically driven by demand. Not too many people can afford to pay the cost to operate these old planes....it is bad enough that the parts are becoming difficult to come by, but with AVGAS ranging over 6 bucks in some places....not too many people can afford to operate these planes. Hence, not many buyers so the prices are low.

cwmc · **Joined:** Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:43 am **Posts:** 322

Gas is the cheapest thing about owning any airplane.
Chris...

Fearless Tower · **Joined:** Thu May 26, 2011 5:14 pm **Posts:** 365

cwmc wrote:

Gas is the cheapest thing about owning any airplane.
Chris...

That's true, but burning 140 gph at $6/gallon increases the op cost significantly.

Django · **Posted:** Tue Jul 19, 2011 3:41 pm

I really like that B-25.

Would the A-26 be comparable in operation costs to the B-25? Is that one airworthy? Obviously the B-25 is more popular, but that is a big jump in price for a comparable WWII bomber, IMO.

Fearless Tower · **Joined:** Thu May 26, 2011 5:14 pm **Posts:** 365

Django wrote:

I really like that B-25.

Would the A-26 be comparable in operation costs to the B-25? Is that one airworthy? Obviously the B-25 is more popular, but that is a big jump in price for a comparable WWII bomber, IMO.

Unfortunately, while I have some experience with the B-25, I know very little about A-26s, so I can't say for sure. I suspect that the A-26 will cost a little more to operate than the B-25. For one, the A-26 uses R-2800s (same engines on a DC-6) vs the R-2600s on the B-25. I would imagine that the R-2800 burns a bit more fuel.

Also, there are a few things in the description that may be affecting the value. It is an Experimental Category vs Limited Category that most B-25s are in. I believe that would prevent you from selling any rides in the aircraft. Plus it says the interior is 'stock' which means that it is probably pretty ratty inside. Could need alot of maintenance. I am also not sure how airworthy A-26 numbers compare to B-25s these days. That could make a difference.

kmiles · **Posted:** Wed Jul 20, 2011 8:18 am

With the R-2800 you have to add 20-25 gallons per hour per engine on the fuel burn. The plus side to that is that the A-26 is probably 75-100 knots faster than the B-25 so you will get there faster. In addition to the increased fuel burn, the overhaul price for a R-2800 is quite a bit higher than the R-2600. The A-26 is not quite as easy as the B-25 to offer rides in, so the possibility to helping offset the operation costs by offering rides is not as good. If you want to get somewhere fast, and in style, the A-26 would be a better choice than the B-25. That is why so many of them were converted to executive transports.

Fearless Tower · **Joined:** Thu May 26, 2011 5:14 pm **Posts:** 365

kmiles wrote:

If you want to get somewhere fast, and in style, the A-26 would be a better choice than the B-25. That is why so many of them were converted to executive transports.

That is true and possibly a good explanation of why the A-26 price is lower. These days nobody flies warbirds fast (with the exception of Reno I suppose). Econo cruise is much more common.

Django · **Posted:** Wed Jul 20, 2011 11:36 am

Thanks, that all makes sense.

This may be crazy, but could you run the -2600s on an A-26 as a more cost effective solution?

The real deal breaker though is probably the revenue rides.

Fearless Tower · **Joined:** Thu May 26, 2011 5:14 pm **Posts:** 365

Django wrote:

This may be crazy, but could you run the -2600s on an A-26 as a more cost effective solution?

Assuming you could get the FAA to buy off on the alteration (royal pain in the empanage these days), I suspect that the expense to engineer the whole thing would make it not worth the trouble.

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A couple of new additions to Courtesy's website...

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