Mixed feelings- Do I want my Cruisair to be valuable?

NC74392

New member
The Cruisar Sr. is an excellent aircraft. By rights, one should sell for about $80,000 instead of about $30K considering the performance you get, looks, and economy of operation.
HOWEVER- every time I get my yearly Ad Velorum tax form and I can honestly write down the obscenely low price I paid for NC74392, I hesitate to wish for discovery of these "diamonds" of ours.
I wonder at the predjudice against our "Cardboard Constellations". If you look at it objectively, a Howard DGA-15P is built with the same materials as a Cruisair Sr., it's harder to handle, and yet, their value is skyrocketing :!: What up wit' dat?
Funny, but I have a feeling our Bellancas will be the next "discovery" in the used plane (oops- PRE-OWNED plane) market.
This may or may not be good news :?
 
Just imagine how the Viking owners feel. You can find low time Vikes with twin Rayjay turbos, full panels with coupled autopilots, slaved HSIs, tanking 90 gallons, going for 60K. Then again, the purchase price and the maintenance price are two entirely different matters, but that's beside the point. I'd have trouble paying the avgas bill.

It hardly shocks me in this age of SUVs the size of armored vehicles that the DGA would escalate in value. They're HUGE and you get to look down at everybody (except anyone directly in front of you) as you taxi around in your airborne equivalent of the Humvee.

Sorry for the digression, Dave. I wonder if the answer is predjuice or simply ignorance.

Jonathan
 
I've always felt the Viking was THE most undervalued plane out there. If I could afford one as a stablemate to NC74392, I would!

Might be kind of fun to be the "Bellanca Collector Guy".
 
That would be Dan Cullman, Dave - a collector and genuine expert on New Delaware Bellancas. He has a monthly column in the newsletter.

Jonathan
 
Back
Top