Under-rated airplanes

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Roger, Roger

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What are some of your favorite under-rated airplanes?
In the category of 4 seat piston singles, I have to go with the PA-20 and 22 family. For the same price as a beat-up, run-down, ex flight school 172 you can get an airplane with recent fabric and low-time engine, that will lift as much as or even more than the 172 and fly as fast, and you even get your choice of which end the 3rd wheel goes on.

How bout some other categories?
Bush airplane?
WWII era fighter?
Jet fighter?
Other ideas?
 
Well the C177 is known as underrated and I will find out tomorrow whether or not I like it as I start the 10 hour complex requirement for the Comm...
 
Do gliders count?

Blanik LET L-33 Solo

Many people pay minimal attention to it because it is aluminum and not fiberglass, but the thing is amazing. Average 34:1 performance, but the quality all around is top notch. Very quiet, comfortable, maneuverable, ventilated and roomy. Unfortunately, many people treat them like a Schweizer because they are metal, and fly them as such instead of like a more fragile fiberglass glider that it resembles. There have been many many ground loops or hard landings leading to wings and tailbooms being destroyed.

001825.jpg


My dad's that he sold a few years ago. Out of the 20ish different models of gliders that I have flown, this one was probably my all around favorite, although only average performance.
 
Grumman Single Engines, both the AA1 series and the AA5's. The original AA1 wasn't built as a trainer with a wing designed for speed and featuring sharp stall characteristics. However, the plane was sexier, faster and less expensive to buy than many other trainers of the day, so a lot ended up in flight schools with predictable results. Subsequently, the wing was redesigned which made the plane much more suitable for low time pilots, however the reputation stuck and has even been applied to the 4 seat AA5 series which never had any of the issues related to the earliest AA1's.

The AA5 Traveller, AA5A Cheetah and AA5B Tigers offer some of the best looks and best performance for their HP of anything on the market. Until the DA40 came along, there really wasn't a 4 seat, fixed pitch, fixed gear single that could keep up with a Tiger. With a 130-140 knot TAS in cruise, Tigers will keep pace with retracts like the Arrow and Cutlass and even the venerable fixed gear 182 (though they don't get off the ground as quick and won't haul as much.

In today's market an AA5A (especially one with the High Compression STC) or AA5B Tiger represents a fantastic value. As something of a cult airplane, many have had extensive renovations and upgrades to the avionics making them arguably as capable as some of today's factory airplanes.
 
Bellanca Viking (don't leave it in the rain lol, but the 300 hp Continental is great!)
Beech Sierra

Definitely the Cessna 177RG Cardinal as previously mentioned.
 
A150K said:
Well the C177 is known as underrated and I will find out tomorrow whether or not I like it as I start the 10 hour complex requirement for the Comm...
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I've never flown an RG Cardinal, only a fixed gear. They are smooth rides, comfortable, and fairly quick. Landing is slightly different, as you fly it faster that your normal 172. Cross the gate at 75 and you'll be all right.
 
Blanik LET L-33 Solo
Click to expand...

There is a guy from another club who brought his L-33 this past weekend to soar at our club. I was impressed by the overall quality of it. I dropped him off at 1800 and he stayed up all day just about it in that thing. I was expecting more of a 1-26 performance out of it.
 
Cessna 337 Skymaster (always liked the idea of twin centerline-thrust engines, a neat idea—my father flew the O-2 version out of Da Nang for a year)

Grumman's seaplanes (Albatross, Goose, Mallard, Widgeon—love 'em all)

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (perhaps the most underrated WWII fighter)
 
I am admittedly biased as it was my first complex airplane, but as mentioned above the Beechcraft Sierra was a lot of fun to fly. Two cabin doors is nice in the Florida heat and it seemed roomy enough inside.
 
A150K said:
Well the C177 is known as underrated and I will find out tomorrow whether or not I like it as I start the 10 hour complex requirement for the Comm...
Click to expand...
My understanding is that the early models with the small motors and the non-slotted stabilators gave the rest of the series a bad rep. Never flown one, but I've worked on one and I have to say those enormous doors are the bomb.
trafficinsight said:
Cessna 150 ;)
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I loves me some baby Cessna.
Apophis said:
Cherokee 140!

Oh wait, never mind. You said underrated, not underpowered. :cool:
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Well, if selling price vs. features is any indication, the 140 is under-rated. 4 seats, 150 HP, and somewhere in the 800-900 lb useful load range, and you can get a nice one for $30k. Beats the socks off a 172 in bang for your buck. I have a major soft spot for Cherokees because I work on them all the time.

tlewis95 said:
Do gliders count?

Blanik LET L-33 Solo

Many people pay minimal attention to it because it is aluminum and not fiberglass, but the thing is amazing. Average 34:1 performance, but the quality all around is top notch. Very quiet, comfortable, maneuverable, ventilated and roomy. Unfortunately, many people treat them like a Schweizer because they are metal, and fly them as such instead of like a more fragile fiberglass glider that it resembles. There have been many many ground loops or hard landings leading to wings and tailbooms being destroyed.

001825.jpg


My dad's that he sold a few years ago. Out of the 20ish different models of gliders that I have flown, this one was probably my all around favorite, although only average performance.
Click to expand...
Of course gliders count! Nice pic of the Pride Aircraft ramo BTW.

ppragman said:
C207 down in america.
Britten Norman Islanded
Beech Queen Air
Taylorcrafts
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Why do you think the Sled is underrated in the lower 48? I alway just assumed there wasn't really a market down there for something that will haul a crapload of stuff but not go far or fast... Places like Southeast or the bush where there are no roads were more it's forte.
 
Symphony 160
Cessna 210 - There is a reason they are a lot flying freight.

If I think of any others I'll have to edit this.
 
n57flyguy said:
I've never flown an RG Cardinal, only a fixed gear. They are smooth rides, comfortable, and fairly quick. Landing is slightly different, as you fly it faster that your normal 172. Cross the gate at 75 and you'll be all right.
Click to expand...

Flew it today and loved it. Sight picture is a little different since it sits nose high, but nothing major. As you said, 75 and you're fine. We'll actually be taking it to TUS tonight (as long as the weather holds up) to knock out the dual X-C. It's quick, but not so quick that it's hard to stay ahead.
 
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