Jump to content
Touring Motor Gliders Association (TMGA)

Importing a TMG


marjoh2005

Recommended Posts

I'm a current glider pilot and own an experimental home-built Schreder HP-11A.  I've been thinking about getting a TMG and have seen what appear to be some good deals overseas through segleflug:

http://www.segelflug.de/osclass/

Specifically, there seems to frequently be SF-25's that seem ridiculously low priced.  Would anyone know the reason for this?  Particularly if you have specific experience with the type?   

Also, does anyone have recent experience importing a TMG from overseas?  

Thanks!

Mark 

N9821

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Be very careful. Start a spreadsheet.  Enter line items for each thing you must do to ensure that you are really getting a good deal.  Then assign a value to each.  

For example, what will it cost to get a good pre-buy inspection?
What will it cost to repair known issues?
What allowance will you make for unknown issues?
What will it cost to properly crate it and ship it to your airport?
Have a line for the cost of factory support. 
Have your spreadsheet reviewed by knowledgeable people. 
I suspect that most ‘bargain’ ships will not be much of a bargain in the final analysis.
 
Paul Randall, CFIG
Sent from my iPhone
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Mark,
 
There are two Schiebe - one Super Falke with folding wings & one S28 Tandem - for sale in the US. Both are about 30:1
I looked over the Super Falke........ Rotten wood and messed up engine.
The S28 is coming with a factory trailer......however my son don't like the tandem configuration. .......last time he contacted me - about 3 month ago - he was asking 20k
Due to been a wood based Fabric covered wing and tail design you must put lots of pre buy inspection in this part. The fuselage is strait forward ......no worry there.
 The Engine is a Limbach L1700 with 60hp at 3400 RPM
Limbach is back in business - a L 1700 engine factory overhaul is about 20k 
When overhauling is necessary put a L2000 with 80hp at 3400 RPM -about 25k - in the airframe. Both engine having oil temperature problem - easy fix - VW Bus oil cooler and 
Extended VW -bus oil pan ( 1.5 L more oil ) with oil filter and SAE 25-60 oil will fix this.
The prop is about 8K overhauling and must be done every 1000hrs or 5 years.
I have a contact how is doing AC import from Europa - door to door with all proper paper work is about 9k. When doing it by your self the container from Bremen to Houston is about 6k. 
I got myself a Grob 109 locally from NH a few month ago after a year looking in Germany for a nice TMG. 
German is my native language - I can hear when some one is BS'ing me in German -
Lots of this was going on. Even when things were looking good - sending my German flying body's to look over the AC turned out most of the time been a wast of time.
There just not such as a cheap aircraft. 
What you save in the beginning you will pay two folds to get it to a point you like.
 
Hope this helps
Klaus
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for all the great info!  Klaus, do you have contact info for the person selling the SF28?  When I check the FAA website for registered aircraft, I only find 3 SF28's registered in the US:  one in Georgia, Michigan and Nebraska.  I've recently sent an email to the owner in Nebraska but haven't gotten a response.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...