It seems there is no other content area that has enjoyed as much growth on the likes of YouTube as there has been with private pilots and accident reporting. Perhaps it’s just my content mix, but it seems every week now there is someone else reviving a long-dead airplane, which is a different level of table stakes than dragging an old Camaro out of the barn. In addition, pilots spend a fair amount of time documenting their own work along with the performance of others, particularly as it relates to crash reporting, a category you don’t want to find yourself in. If you’re a proven pilot, perhaps you’ll want to check out this 1972 Cessna 414 listed here on Facebook Marketplace for $199,000.
I will admit to being intrigued at the idea of becoming a pilot. However, given there’s no stirring reason for me to introduce this level of risk into my life, and also because I don’t have a spare $200K lying around, I don’t foresee it happening. That being said, those of you that can take off for a quick island getaway, or simply hop over the traffic on a nearby interstate, have my admiration. This particular Cessna model is noted for its spacious cabin which allow you to transport up to 7 passengers in comfort. However, a key gripe with this model is that limited cargo capacity means those guests can’t bring a ton of luggage with them.
For whatever reason, I’ve gone down the YouTube rabbit hole of post-crash reports, and it’s amazing how many times being over the weight limit of private aircraft has sent pleasure seekers plummeting to the ground. In general, there’s a significant amount of responsibility on the part of the pilot to ensure that a variety of pre-flight checklists are adhered to, from weather conditions to pre-flight weight. Skipping any one of those can be fatal. Of course, on top of that, you want an aircraft that has been maintained to the highest standards possible, and with an excellent avionics package and recently overhauled engines, this Cessna checks those boxes.
The listing notes that one engine was overhauled in 2024 and another in 2004; both props were overhauled in 2008. In the world of aircrafts, the other Continental engine may need servicing again soon, but I don’t claim to have a baseline for how many years can transpire between rebuilds. All that being said, the listing claims this 414 is otherwise ready to go and can be flown by its next owner from its current home base of KARB in Ann Arbor, MI. For any of our pilot readers, how would you rate this aircraft and its asking price? Thanks to Barn Finds reader Jack M. for the find.
Love seeing the planes, trains, boats, and motorcycles on here. 😎
Lavery, operating near or above the weight limits is a dangerous game all around. Every summer without fail I see trucks and vans, nose of vehicle pointed to the sky, loaded to the max, trailer in tow. The Edmund Fitzgerald obviously ran into a most nasty, wicked storm.
But she was loaded well up near the max. Reported 50 knot winds, 25-35 foot waves by other Captains. Hard to believe that kind of situation can be whipped up on a lake… Then snap a 700ft boat w 75ft beam in half. The song always reminded me of the danger of travel if you get caught during some dangerous weather.
https://youtu.be/FuzTkGyxkYI?si=e_JK8AK2y6g44amD
Hi Stan, oh you had to bring the Edmund Fitz into this. There was a documentary about that, and there were several probable causes. The ship was not overloaded. Some claim the hatch doors weren’t secured, but they interviewed the daughter of the guy in charge, and she said her dad loved that ship, and would never let that happen. Some say she ran around, but the most plausible scene was a “rouge wave” called “The 3 Sisters”, and they think the front and back were on a wave and the center unsupported. When they salvaged the bell, the lifeblood of a ship, mounted it on shore with a display and during the ceremony, a gust of wind came up, and the bell rang 29 times, the precise number of men lost,,,,
Enjoy your birthday weekend 🎂 Howard 🤝
Mother nature is relentless and unforgiving. She has taken many adventurists and stupid people alike. Everyone is on the same playing field with her.
member that adage…when u lose one engine, on a twin, how far can u go on the good one??…to the scene of the accident…
no, not true…have travelair, king air, dc-3, 40 hrs…see aviation poem, ‘aviation in itself, is not inherently dangerous…fly safe, soloed 61
Nick, they say that for a private pilot, you’re more likely to get killed when an engine quits on a twin than on a single engine. Why? Because in a single engine plane when it quits you only have one thing to think about…if you can’t land, hitting the softest, cheapest thing you can find as slowly as possible! In a twin you’ve got a lot more options, thus a lot more chances to do something wrong. That’s why folks who do it for a living (and private pilots who have the time and money) spend a lot on expensive recurrent training. Plus insurance companies require it.
Jeff, my friend, you aren’t alone in that canoe. Yesterday I turned 70, and in those 70 years, I did pretty much everything I wanted to do in life with very few regrets. There is one however, I never learned to fly. If I may interject here about “crashes”. Statistically, flying, per mile traveled, is the safest way. Estimates vary, but almost 93,000 flights take off every day, transporting almost 3 million people. Colorado is a “fly over” state, and sometimes a dozen contrails are the only clouds in our blue sky. Wise guy pilots upon landing say, “Thank you for flying_______, and be careful, you are leaving the safety of flying”. It’s true, you have a much greater chance of getting hurt ON THE WAY to the airport. I love flying, it’s the airports I can’t deal with, and will fly only if I have to. SO, crashes are very rare, sadly everyone is “dirty laundry”.
This is a bit overkill for a casual flyer, and I’m no expert, but I think a small jet is the way to go for any serious flying. I’ve flown a few times in small planes, and found the top wing is far preferred over a bottom wing. Bottom wing you can’t see anything. BTW, looks like a “sunny” day in Michigan,,,
In an unrelated issue, I want to send a heartfelt concern for the people in L.A. I know I blast them, but nothing funny about this. My daughter and SIL live in L.A., and it’s tense. This is something that has never happened, and despair is off the charts. Not sure what to do really, she says outpouring of help is happening, these people lost everything, overpriced classic cars included. Not a religious man but these people need more than prayers here. Do what you can, eh?
Happy birthday Howard! Many more Buddy! I join the 70 club soon myself. Best of luck to your Family and everyone else in the fire area. Take care, Mike.
Thanks Mike. If our rock stars are living into their 80s, we should live to be a freakin’ hundred. Too bad it doesn’t work that way. Take care, have a safe New Years.
I.always thought flying a plane would be great. I also enjoy the wide variety of items on Barn Find. I am now 71. I ride a Harley Davidson. Safer than flying. Not likely. But I see more. If I win the lottery I will buy a bunch of items on Barn Find. That $12.00 i won a little while back did not go far.
Being on the ground and wishing that you were in the air …. or being in the air and wishing that you were on the ground.
Until you are associated with a complex plane like this, it is hard to imagine how expensive they are to own. I can’t imagine this plane will be less than several thousand dollars a month own even if it is just sitting in a hangar. You MUST be current and proficient to fly these safely ( regardless of what youtube would indicate), and doing that will also add 10’s of thousands ( or hundreds if you need to hire a pilot) more to the yearly bill. FightSafety anyone? Flying is pretty basic, an ultralight doesn’t even require a pilots certicficate. Sadly, complex planes like this can very quickly eliminate the unwary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfOfNoGWV9M
Speed costs money, how fast do you want to spend?
Liability insurance costs made flying unaffordable. Small planes lead the pack in accidents. Pilots with too few hours flying with too much confidence lead to preventable accidents.
Generally the engines are good for around 2000 hours between major overhaul, so the one engine is probably due. Here’s what a professionally rebuilt one costs: https://www.airpowerinc.com/tsi0520nb1br
Buing an airplane is COMPLETELY different from buying a car…. and miltiply that by 10 for used ones. Having it inspected is crucial…. and this is not an airplane for beginners. As to insurance, liability is one thing ”hull” insurance (collision) is another…. very expensive. Be a good enough pilot that hull insurance is not needed.
Why was my comment deleted? It was based on personal experience, to the point, was not political and had a news clip attached.
It wasn’t deleted. It just went to moderation because we look at all the comments that have links in them. It’s live now.
Thanks Jesse.
It must be discouraging for a seller to have a rebuilt engine and installation cost half the asking price for the plane!!!
With the RH engine nearly 500 hours past TBO, any more flight on it is rolling the dice. Plus my insurance wouldn’t cover loss if anything was beyond TBO.
Right: Continental TSIO-520-NB | Overhauled 2004 | 2081 Hours SMOH (TBO 1600)
Faithful paying customer, huh?
So let’s see. Here in the SF bay area, it’s about 10-20 grand to get a pilot’s license. Add another 6k for multi-engine rating. Figure about 2-300$/hr operating costs.
And while your pilot’s license is good forever, every 2 years you need a flight review and medical exam. And to carry passengers, you need to log 3 takeoffs and landings in the past 90 days.
Realistically you would go in with 3-4 other pilots and divide up the costs. Or lease the plane back a flying club, and have the club cover the costs, even if it means you would hae to “rent” your own airplane.
I think I have flown on that airplane several years ago. They are fine airplanes.
I flew a lot of airplanes back in the day including WW2 trainers, bi-wings, Cessnas and Pipers. My favorite was the open air bi-wing.
I love it when B/F lists an airplane, the comments are outstanding. I think that it is because lots car guys ,including myself have at some point had a love of flying. We can’t afford an airplane or are no longer able to participate at a level we would like, so we have our cars. We just wish we could have an airplane.
When I was 16, I took flying lessons in a Cessna 150. The airport we flew out of was surrounded by trees on one side, and power lines on the other. That was a puckering experience, coming in for a landing, the first few times. While attending flight school, we noticed a family of five getting into an old Beechcraft, with all their luggage. Ten minutes later, an airport employee ran into the room, and said a plane had crashed on takeoff! Never made it over the power lines. This being the 70’s, the entire room emptied and we ran to the crash site. It was the Beechcraft. Turns out it was, yep, overloaded. Amazingly, all survived. Needless to say, I never got my solo license. At 16, I had the car bug, bad. And flying took too much of what little cash I had.
Old airplane salesman here. I think the 414 has a reputation for being underpowered. It’s basically a 421 cabin with smaller engines. In service the Continental 520s (310hp) on the 414 are more reliable than the geared 520s (375hp) on the 421. TBO is about 1500 hrs, and you’d look at $50,000+ to overhaul one. Can’t really tell from the picture, but radios and autopilot…the next most expensive thing to pay for after engines…look OK if not cutting edge. Even more than buying a used car, maintenance history and damage can make a huge difference in what it’s worth.
Well I guess buying this is one way to teach yourself how to fly you can only crash once
Why would you want to purchase a 53 year old Cessna 414 – save your money and use it to buy airline tickets (splurge and go business class) – overall less expensive (think about hangar costs, fuel, maintenance, AD Notes and insurance) and safer for all involved. Owning a general aviation aircraft is usually a vanity statement that you will soon regret. Go with the used Corvette, Pantera, etc. – forget about Tesla, Rivian and all the other EVs that will be worthless after their batteries are exhausted (anyone interested in a used Nissan Leaf that will go 35 miles between recharges?)
My Boss, 2 designers, a mechanic and a salesman can walk out of their house at 7am in Dyersburg TN and in 20 minutes be in the air. 1+15 later they can be in the plant in Kingstree VA , do a days work and be home in time for dinner. If they go on the airline they have to leave the day before from Memphis, do a days work when they get there, and spend another night to catch the airline back to Memphis, then drive home. If your people’s time is worth anything, you’ve saved 2 day’s pay for 5 skilled people, saved lodging and meals for 2 nights, you’ve given them more time with their families which makes them more willing to keep working for you, and you have the flexibility of leaving when you want to, not when the airlines want to. This kind of airplane can make a LOT of sense and save money to boot!
Kingstree VA ??? Doesn’t appear on any maps ???
There are old pilots and there are bold pilots…..but
There are no old, bold pilots.
Elbert, you’re right! I go to a lot of places in the East…it’s in South Carolina! I’ve been making a living flying for more than 60 years, brain is getting fuzzy.. That’s why I hired a copilot!
I have owned 3 different planes in my life and my favorite was a Mooney M20E and granted I had great avionics with redundant IFR systems and the cowl assembly was completely reworked for speed along with different wing tips and all antenna were in the wing tips. I owned this plane for 10 years and my cumulative cost to fly this plane was over 500.00 per hour, again that’s including all costs!
Drive in and fly home.
A good friend of mine was picking up “sports” at a remote pond here in North Maine. It was one of those dead loggie days of high humidity and low lift.
The sports insisted they all come out with their camping gear in one flight.
He knew better.
But he still did it.
The plane barely cleared the water and clipped the top of some spruce trees, going down and catching fire. The passengers were OK but he ended up with first degree burns on 45% of his body
This takes me back to my early teens when I flew with my dad and a friend of his from southwestern Iowa to Plainview NE in a Cessna single engine plane on day. I’d wanted to learn to fly from the time I was a young kid and even told people I was going to be a pilot when I grew up, but that experience ended it for me. I’ll stay on the ground in fast cars and on motorcycles thank you very much. :-)
After about 30 hours training and solo flying, and four near misses , I decided flying was not for me. Too dangerous, and expensive. A person has got to know their limitations. Good luck to those with the temperament and resources to try it.
Flying is the most fun you can have with your clothes on, and they pay you to do it!
Twins like this, particularly ones with reciprocating (piston) engines are murderously expensive to maintain. The impending ban on leaded aviation by the EPA, in concert with the FAA, will make things even more expensive to maintain, as the engines will likely have to be overhauled again or replaced to make them compatible with the new unleaded fuel, despite the FAA’s best efforts to make any unleaded aviation gasoline fully “backwards compatible” with leaded fuel. That effort is running into some problems, and some experts in the oil industry are now saying the goal of backwards compatibility is an impossible dream.
There are Diesel aviation engines that burn jet fuel, and the Cessna Piston Twins (414,421), can be converted to turboprop engines, but either conversion is expensive and time consuming, if straightforward for any competent FAA-licensed “Airframe & Powerplant” mechanic. Oh, and BTW, the FAA won’t allow anyone who isn’t an FAA-licensed “A &P” to do much more than change the oil and pump up the tires, so unlike a car, you’ll be paying professionals to do about 95% of the maintenance on your airplane! Cha-Ching!
Somebody looking for a complex plane probably isn’t looking for this one. 20 year old paint, one engine needs overhaul still. High fuel burn rate, low load capacity, problematic engines. It has spent it’s life outside by the looks of things, so may need a new set of tires. No mention of an annual inspection, so probably not. An annual inspection alone will be near enough to $4000.00, with no repairs, and a pre-purchase inspection would be around $3000.00 – both inspections include no repairs or parts. The cost could be a lot more or a lot less, but one would have to know what the scope of the inspections are.
It is a lot of money for a lot of guaranteed expense, with a dwindling market for these planes. This plane, along with many others of similar vintages, are also available on Trade a Plane. It would be interesting to see how long it takes to sell one of them.
90k tops
Remember the late Brian Dennehy as the bush pilot in Never Cry Wolf.
“ADVENTURE, kid”,,,that was a great scene.
yepper
Listed 8 weeks ago and still for sale . . . selling older used aircraft is tough since potential purchasers are far and few between.
Pressurized piston twins tend to be maintenance hogs since they have to tap turbocharger pressure to pressurize the cabin. And since there never were very many of them, engine parts can be hard to find. For several years I flew a Pressurized Navajo when they were new (1975), and even then engine parts were scarce.