Bob Hinkel agreed, in advance of the transaction, to ferry a Bellanca Cruisair I purchased in ID. After I bought it, he reneged saying his health was poor. He agreed to do an annual inspection and to remedy any squawks so we could fly the plane back to TX. He invoiced me over $4k to adjust the gear swing, fit a new tail wheel, fix a balky generator (turned out to be a wiring short), and replace the plug leads. He handed off the plane in a filthy state. The gear swing was not right, the solenoid was clunking on every time we hit a bump while taxiing. It would not fully extend on landing either. He had to be cajoled into fixing it, got nasty, and threatened to dump the plane outside on the ramp. Yes, a fabric plane with a wood wing. When I returned two weeks later to claim the plane, it had a fuel leak from the pump. That was worked on by Cascade. We attempted to fly it back to TX, power seemed off, got as far as AZ where we had to leave it due to a bad oil leak (oil cooler had 3 fresh punctures in the honeycomb) and an oil temp excursion (first diagnosed as gauge but turned out to be wiring). Also, the starter, which was weak, fried. The battery died. The generator, tested by Hinkel, had to be rebuilt as it was sparking badly. The ignition switch had an intermittent malfunction. One magneto had loose points so the timing was off. The carb mixture was also off. All that cost $20K to fix within 4 flight hours of Hinkel's annual. On the flight from AZ to TX, we experienced low fuel pressure and then a breather tube fire due to fuel in the oil via a leaky pump diaphragm; also discovered a wing tank leak. I guess we were luckier than one of his other customers, who experienced an engine out after his "annual". Bob, sadly, is no chip off the old block. He inherited his business from his Dad who was by all accounts a great guy. Not so much the son. read more

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