Man buys abandoned flying boat found in Florida for $40,000 but it has more than a couple of unexpected issues

A man who bought a flying boat for just $40,000 after finding it in a Florida hangar soon realized the aircraft had quite a few unexpected problems. 

YouTuber and plane enthusiast James Web – from the Jimmy’s World YouTube account – bought an Aventura 2 flying boat. 

The unusual aircraft had been sitting untouched for around eight years before he rescued it. 

But getting the thing back up and running wasn’t quite as straightforward as he’d have hoped.

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The flying boat had been abandoned and parked for eight years

You may remember Jimmy’s World – aka James Webb – as the guy who bought the Jetstar private plane that used to belong to Elvis Presley and transformed it into this unique RV. 

He snapped up the private jet at auction and soon realized it would never fly again, so spent hundreds of thousands of dollars transforming it into a one-off motorhome in just 18 months.

More recently, he got his hands on an Aventura 2 flying boat, which he found for sale in a Florida hangar.

The aircraft, which was built by Florida-based Aero Adventure, had just 500 flying hours registered in total – meaning it was barely run-in. 

So, would Webb be able to get it back into the skies to clock up some more flying hours?

After forking over $40,000 Webb said he thought he got a ‘pretty good deal’ – noting that the Aventura 2 kit would have cost $64,500 new and that wasn’t including the engine, propeller, and any of the avionics or radios.

However, it wasn’t perfect and Webb revealed that he had to hold onto the choke to keep the engine running, it needed new tires, and the carburetors were badly damaged and would need a full rebuild.

It started off well, but then things took a turn

Nonetheless, things initially looked promising for Webb and the Aventura 2 – all its cylinders ‘tested near perfect’, he was able to easily rebuild the carburetor, and the new tires it needed only cost $14. 

“I’m loving how this project is going so well,” Webb said.

“Probably the easiest one I’ve ever done.”

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be too long until things took a turn for the worse. 

Just as Webb and his team got themselves ready to take the Aventura 2 outside to start it up, a piece of the bleeder port hose snapped right off the radiator  – stopping Webb’s progress in its tracks.

Thankfully, he was able to track down a replacement online and with the new radiator installed, Webb asked Justin – an expert from engine-maker Rotax – to take a look at the plane. 

Justin said Webb’s DIY handiwork looked ‘good enough’ to give the plane a try. 

While it started off OK – albeit still requiring Webb to hold onto the choke – it wasn’t long before the engine faltered, and Justin had to step in to sort it out. 

After spending a couple of hours fixing up the Aventura 2, the plane roared to life.

While the engine was running again, they still had a bit of work to get it back to the skies.

But they vowed to do everything they could to get it there, so watch this space.