Jeff,
Not sure what you are talking about--but Al's airplane is very rough looking. From the pictures I have seen, it is not a particularly pretty airplane. (I think there might be another Hodges on the field that you may be thinking of---but not sure). Not even sure if the Gib can see out the canopy due to all the scratches. Now---if you are saying that the plane has good "bones"----ok if you say so. It is too hard from pictures to tell if it has good bones. Sometimes, even in person it is hard to tell if it has good bones (was that 7 layers of glass on the rudder or only 3?). But a good indicator of good bones is reputation of the builder (not sure who built Al's plane though). Beyond good bones is condition of the airplane as per the maint logs. How often did you change the oil, how much oil did the motor burn, are all the logs up to date. Lax logs mean lax maintenance. I have not seen those logs---but I (me) would not comment until I had. Is the plane airworthy as per FAA regs? Since the plane was built, did the plane have major mods----and were they properly documented? People have damaged planes---and insurance companies have refused to pay if major mods were done without proper documentation. How were conditionals being conducted? Are they properly signed off by either an A&P or the builder of that particular aircraft? What about all the documentation for the installed equipment? Is it there and complete. How about electrical diagrams, plans, CPs, templates, etc. Does it look like the owner has been well organized in keeping up with the aircraft as well as all the paperwork. All these things matter. Don't know where this particular plane stands----but all buyers should know these things before buying. You can always buy a "wreck" and fix it up. Just make sure you know what you are buying.
While there are quite a few people who actually learned to fly in the Longez, I would be somewhat nervous selling to a low time pilot. One of the things that you want to do----is that if you have lots of people wanting to buy your plane------the strategy is to sell to the person with the good combination of conservative flyer, experience, etc.
