Marc Zeitlin
Exalted Grand Poobah
This Varieze, serial # 160, was started in 1976. It has been previously registered and flown as N289E, but is currently deregistered without an "N" number, registration or airworthiness certificate. A previous owner had reserved N26BG for it, but apparently that number was never used. The current owner, who was planning on refurbishing it, passed away two months ago and his widow would like to see it completed and flown.
Pictures of the aircraft both when it was flying and in its current state of disassembly are available here:
On the wing attach fittings on the main spar, there is residue from duct tape adhesive. It looks as though it could be corrosion, but it's not. The plane is outfitted with long-ez main gear mounting rather than the wimpier Varieze gear mounting. Along with the gear, there's a large, removable hellhole access panel that allows for gear removal if required without any damage to the fuselage - this is, in my experience, a great maintenance help. Apparently the transparency in the canopy was damaged and a new oversize canopy (not installed) comes with the plane.
It has a manual nose gear retract system, but there is a Wright Nose Gear actuator that was never installed as well. What looks to be a brand new Sterba prop in its box also comes with it.
The O-235 engine is disassembled - there is no engine paperwork. I'd make the assumption that you'll need to work on the engine.
The aircraft is located in Tehachapi, CA, at KTSP in a hangar. Make an offer to the owner - given the prop, nose gear system, and basic airframe, I'd expect an offer of at least $5K, but we'll see how it goes.
If there are any technical questions about the aircraft / project, please contact me directly at:
If you're interested in purchasing the aircraft, contact Denise at:
Pictures of the aircraft both when it was flying and in its current state of disassembly are available here:
Overall, this looks to me to have been a fairly well built Varieze - the W&B (obviously long out of date, but still somewhat indicative of quality) showed a weight in the high 600's - most of the VE's I see are in the 720 - 750 range, so this is lighter and I BELIEVE that was with the O-235 on it, although I cannot be sure. The contouring of the wings and canard is very good and the interior is clean, from a layup perspective. Although external examination of wing attach fittings is NOT an indication of what may be going on internally, they look very clean with no corrosion whatsoever on either the wings or main spar attach fittings.
On the wing attach fittings on the main spar, there is residue from duct tape adhesive. It looks as though it could be corrosion, but it's not. The plane is outfitted with long-ez main gear mounting rather than the wimpier Varieze gear mounting. Along with the gear, there's a large, removable hellhole access panel that allows for gear removal if required without any damage to the fuselage - this is, in my experience, a great maintenance help. Apparently the transparency in the canopy was damaged and a new oversize canopy (not installed) comes with the plane.
It has a manual nose gear retract system, but there is a Wright Nose Gear actuator that was never installed as well. What looks to be a brand new Sterba prop in its box also comes with it.
The O-235 engine is disassembled - there is no engine paperwork. I'd make the assumption that you'll need to work on the engine.
The aircraft is located in Tehachapi, CA, at KTSP in a hangar. Make an offer to the owner - given the prop, nose gear system, and basic airframe, I'd expect an offer of at least $5K, but we'll see how it goes.
If there are any technical questions about the aircraft / project, please contact me directly at:
and copy the owner's wife, Denise.
If you're interested in purchasing the aircraft, contact Denise at:
Thanks.
