Aircraft Purchase
- Thread starter mav2005
- Start date
I fully expect that thing to be "Flintstone powered". Yabba Dabba Do!If I sell my car, I may be able to afford this ...
-mini
roundout
VNAV monitor
Mooney Eagle or Ovation. You can get a 2000 Ovation for 250k. That plane will do 180kts on 15-17gph and carries 89 gallons usable fuel. Sturdiest little airplane in the sky. Mooney is the perfect plane for 1 or 2 people with bags. More than that and you have to start offloading fuel.
pilot4500
IT Architect/ Former Cirrus Charter Pilot
So you don't have to buy gas for it? Awesome!:nana2:
Three words - BO-NAN-ZA!
Seriously though, I say take some time as you climb the ratings ladder. You'll be flying over some very inhospitable terrain in an area where weather is made. Those ridges often start unstable airmasses upwards to build into major storms and even just a windy day can present real challenges as it passes over all those ridges. You'll need to take your time and work to gain some experience, lest you become a "100 knot pilot in a 150 knot airplane". That mixture is an accident waiting to happen. You can't ever let an airplane take you somewhere your brain hasn't already been.
Good luck and be careful.
Nihon_Ni
Well-Known Member
I think you'd be happier with a little larger airplane that will satisfy most of your requirements while you are getting your instrument rating, but still be able to be insured by a student pilot when you get started. A basic 4 seat model will fit that bill nicely: C-172, PA-28, AA-5, etc.
Another factor to think about is finding a CFI who can give you private pilot lessons in your chosen steed. If you pick a basic model, you shouldn't have trouble. When you start getting into things like Staggerwings and C-182s you may have trouble. I owned an AA-1 for many years and my wife started taking lessons in it. We had to search all over the county for a CFI who had 10 hrs in type to satisfy my insurance company's minimums. We finally found a guy 50 miles away who qualified and was willing to teach in it.
You'll also want to have a discussion with your insurance company about soloing your new bird. Find out what their requirements are for the airplane you choose. The more ramp appeal an airplane has, the less likely that your insurance company will want you to solo it. I remember reading an article about a gal who was learning to fly in a T-6. They were built for flight training, but after she had amassed 95 hrs of dual (if memory serves), her insurance company still wanted her to have more instruction before she was allowed to solo it.
WacoFan
Bigly
Michael is correct. I have been around more round engines than flat ones so I will say this - if you ever approach a radial engine equiped airplane to fly, and it has been sitting for more than 30 minutes and there is not a puddle of black gold underneath...add oil, it is out.
The airplane you buy depends on more than numbers; it should suit your personality, physique, skills, age, and above all it should meet your standards for the kind of equipment you use in life.
All that aside, it's a noble goal to fly yourself, and learning to fly is a great idea for fun, but owner-pilot GA is obsolete as personal transportation on the east coast.
If you read Flying magazine, check into the experiences of Richard Collins and Dick Karl. They pretty much exemplify the kinds of missions that owner pilots like to think themselves capable of flying, and that, back in the day, made a lot of sense. They're both selling: Collins sold; Karl should have when he had the chance. I sold mine last month, after years of doing exactly the missions you are talking about. It just didn't add up anymore. In fact, strictly speaking, it never made financial sense; but now, you have high fuel costs, Lockheed-Martin corruption and ineptitude, unreasonable airport fees and policies, insurance costs (which frighteningly enough represent the real actuarial risk of the GA enterprise), crazy hangar costs, airport "security", nonsensical routings, TFRs, the NOTAM system from the 1850s, and in general the joys of dealing with a U.S. government that acts like the Cowardly Lion.
Let's just say that if you're on the east coast, you're better off with a fractional. A Pilatus would work nicely....
All that aside, it's a noble goal to fly yourself, and learning to fly is a great idea for fun, but owner-pilot GA is obsolete as personal transportation on the east coast.
If you read Flying magazine, check into the experiences of Richard Collins and Dick Karl. They pretty much exemplify the kinds of missions that owner pilots like to think themselves capable of flying, and that, back in the day, made a lot of sense. They're both selling: Collins sold; Karl should have when he had the chance. I sold mine last month, after years of doing exactly the missions you are talking about. It just didn't add up anymore. In fact, strictly speaking, it never made financial sense; but now, you have high fuel costs, Lockheed-Martin corruption and ineptitude, unreasonable airport fees and policies, insurance costs (which frighteningly enough represent the real actuarial risk of the GA enterprise), crazy hangar costs, airport "security", nonsensical routings, TFRs, the NOTAM system from the 1850s, and in general the joys of dealing with a U.S. government that acts like the Cowardly Lion.
Let's just say that if you're on the east coast, you're better off with a fractional. A Pilatus would work nicely....