Picking an airplane

[GoldenRivet]

Gentlemen, Ladies...


... i have decided that i have worked way too hard this year. My first deployment call came on january 7th to Memphis, TN where i remained until April 23rd. I got home the night of the 23rd and was redeployed on another assignment the very next afternoon. The second assignment lasted only a month, but i was rerouted to a new one on May 25th. I have been on the current job since.

this year i have been home the first 7 days of January, one day in April, 2 days in May, about 8 days in July for a total of 18 +/- days at home.

its been rewarding in a lot of ways, but the time to go home and hybernate for the winter draws near. My current contract runs out on September 3rd, at which pooint they have the option of renewing for up to 30 days or cutting me loose. I have already decided i will not be staying past October 3rd on the road.

the big news is... My wife has given me the green light to buy an airplane! and i think i am going to go ahead and move forward with that possibly some time in October.


I have narrowed it down to two final choices

1. Cessna 150 Commuter - It is inexpensive to obtain and inexpensive to operate. This airplane can be had for a "song" at an average cost of about $18-25,000. it sips fuel, requires little maintenance and is cheap to insure. the downside is, it is a two seater. and it wont haul a lot of weight. two average Joes with full fuel could put it very near the upper end of its maximum gross weight. additionally, they are slow. depending on conditions and loading in the sub 90 - 100 kt range.




2. Grumman AA5A Cheetah - the cheetah is a "slippery" airframe. It uses bonded skin instead of rivets giving it excellent speed per horsepower in its class due in part to the lower parasite drag the design offers. frequently in the 120-130 knot cruising speeds with a 4-5 hour endurance. it also boasts four seats, which, depending on the loading, all four can be safely occupied and still see decent performance numbers. they are in the upper end of $30-40,000 range to obtain.



the problem is... a lot of my flying, perhaps 95% of it, will often be done alone, or with only one other occupant. However there may come the rare occasion when a third or even fourth seat would be nice to have. I also have a few folks i could get into a four seater, that wouldnt even be contenders for a ride in a 150. but thats a lot of extra cash to drop on having 2-3 seats unused 95% of the time.


which do you think i should shoot for?

[Mr Quatro]

I assume you are talking used?

All told, 3,289 AA-5s and AG-5s were produced by the five manufacturers between 1971 and 2005.

I like this one:

[GoldenRivet]

used. yes

[Buddahaid]

The 150. If it doesn't work out you can sell it without incurring much loss. If it proves to small you can upgrade.

[GoldenRivet]

My only problem with the 172 is that they tend to be wildly overpriced when compared to similar performance of the Piper Cherokee / Warrior or the Grumman Cheetah / Tiger.

A Cessna 172 will easily fetch $50-75,000 for a mid 70's model with modest airframe and engine hours, look at warriors or similar products and your instantly facing asking prices in the 30-40K range.

I think 172s tend to be inflated in their "value" simply because so many people learn in them, then they get out and want to buy what they learned in.

[em2nought]

My choice is an aerobatic Sopwith Pup, but not in this horrid paint scheme, has to be PC10 or PC12 http://www.culpsspecialties.com/site.../images2/pup3/

[Jimbuna]

Go for a USMC Harrier John. You can park her just about anywhere on your land surrounding your property and save a lot of cash on airport hanger fees into the bargain

[Onkel Neal]

If 95% of your flying is solo, then the 150. With the savings, you can rent a 4 passenger plane for the other 5% right?

I envy you, having a plane would be really cool. Keep this thread posted with your test flights and purchase, John, I'm interested.

[nikimcbee]

If beer is offered, can it make it to Or-gone?

[Gargamel]

In the wood working world, they say to buy your last tool first.

Which one do you really want? Which one will you enjoy using more? Don't get a plane just because you can, and then say I wish I had picked the other one because XYZ.

This is your toy, your baby, get the one that makes you the happiest.

[GoldenRivet]

Originally Posted by Gargamel

In the wood working world, they say to buy your last tool first.

Which one do you really want? Which one will you enjoy using more? Don't get a plane just because you can, and then say I wish I had picked the other one because XYZ.

This is your toy, your baby, get the one that makes you the happiest.

good advice

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

If beer is offered, can it make it to Or-gone?

yes it can, it would be a long trip but it would do it.


one i am looking at is in your neck of the woods already

[Commander Wallace]

Cirrus Airrcraft builds a number of aircraft, including smaller lear jet type aircraft. There is also the Cirrus VK-30 Kit built aircraft that is about $ 64,000 for the airframe minus the engine. The VK-30 is also a 5 seat aircraft featuring a retractable landing gear.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirrus_VK-30




The engine is a unique pusher prop located in the back of the airframe as opposed to more conventional layouts. The VK-30 features a composite construction and was designed to achieve a natural laminar flow over the fuselage, wings and tail to give the aircraft a low drag design
The powerplant was a Continental IO-550-G developing 300 HP ( 224 kW )

The VK-30 was discontinued about 1993. The cirrus SR 20 and SR-22 have been the best selling airplane for over a decade. A unique feature of these aircraft are the parachute system that can be utilized in the event of an engine failure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirrus_SR22

I'm sure this is cost prohibitive for most, especially the SR 20 and 22 and probably outside your ball park. Then again, they are probably the safest small planes flying. There are other kit built aircraft like the Prescott Pusher that may fit what you are looking for.

[Mr Quatro]

The Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter is my favorite single engine plane, but I would have to win the 353 million dollar lotto tonight to purchase both of us one. They only cost $55,000 brand new back in 1960's. Very versatile aircraft even used by the CIA back in the Vietnam days:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilatus_PC-6_Porter

The Pilatus PC-6 Porter is a Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) utility aircraft. The majority of aircraft are powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turboprop engine, which drives a fully reversible, constant-speed, three-bladed HC-B3TN-3D (or an alternative four-bladed HC-D4N-3P unit) Hartzell aluminium propeller via a reduction gearbox. Pilatus claims that it possesses unique STOL capabilities, capable of landing in places only otherwise accessible by rotorcraft.[19] It is fully capable of being operated from unprepared rough airstrips, in remote areas, hot climates and at high altitudes in all-weather conditions. In particular, the undercarriage employed provides for high wing and propeller clearances, making the PC-6 less susceptible to damage than conventional nosewheel-type undercarriages.

Later-manufactured PC-6s are equipped with a Garmin G950 glass cockpit in place of analogue instrumentation; the majority of earlier-produced PC-6s can also be retrofitted with a glass cockpit as well. In addition to its flight functionality, the G950 system acts as a remote maintenance unit and electronic flight bag all in one. Two large 10.4-inch liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) are present, functioning as the Primary Flight Display for all key flight information and the Multi-function Display for system/mission management respectively; fully independent secondary flight instrumentation is also provided to provide backup altitude, attitude, and airspeed information in the event of complete electrical failure

[em2nought]

Here is the best kind of airplane, the free kind you win in a raffle http://rafflecreator.com/pages/15439/cessna-150-raffle

[GoldenRivet]

Update:

Found a couple of really nice Cessna 150s

rolled one into maintenance hangar for a pre-buy inspection but it was revealed at that point that the aircraft has sat for the past 5 years and needs about $14,000 in maintenance to get it flying. so i passed.

Second Cessna 150 looked like a really nice one, and im sure it is, but 10 years ago it was flipped over in a wind storm while parked at an airport in North Texas which caused substantial damage requiring the tail to be re-built and wings to be replaced. it has flown the past 4 years without incident, but this greatly impacts the ability to sell it should the time come.

also found a Grumman, looks like a bargain, but the interior has had zero refurbishment since 1975. i have been haggling back and forth with the current owner, but given that it is located on the other side of the country, getting to it to see it, inspect it and bring it home are obstacles... fairly easily overcome, but obstacles none the less. a new interior, which wouldn't be an immediate need will run about $10,000.

also, virtually every aircraft on the market is NOT compliant with the looming ADS-B mandate. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automa...0%93_broadcast)
so that would be another $1,500 - $6,000 depending on how high tech fancy the ADS-B appliance is.




still cheaper than a woman


EDIT: speaking of women, my wife has put here two cents into the bucket and says that anything i get needs to have 4 seats so if she and the kids want to go its possible, so it looks like im completely out of the Cessna 150 market