SIGforum.com Main Page The Lounge Pilots, need your feedback and advice. Looking at purchasing a plane.
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If you want a Mooney, buy a Mooney. I bought a J model with under 100 hrs in my logbook. Transition was more challenging than the 182 I considered initially, but it was well worth it. Doesn’t get any more efficient than a Mooney. 150 knots true on 9.5 GPH in cruise. The 182 will do 135 ktas on 15?- need to check my 182 #s as I haven’t owned one. Regardless- check your trip times for 1200 miles. The old adage is that a 182 does everything good, but it does nothing great. Not knocking the plane- but it’s a rough choice for a 1200 mile trip. The beech product would be a step up from the Mooney in terms of quality. I liked my J, but I love my Bonanza. Have to try on the Mooney before you buy one. Definitely a smaller plane than the Beech or the 182, but only you can determine if it’s too small. For me, solo was no big deal. Add a passenger- ok. 2 passengers it starts to get tight- definitely wouldn’t go 1200 miles with 3 in the cabin. Comparing io550 powered Mooneys vs Bonanzas, the Mooney will be slightly faster on the same fuel. Comfort is subjective, but I find the Beech to be a more comfortable plane to ride in. 1200 miles is about a limit of what I would want to fly in a day- that’s roughly 7 hrs of flight time with one stop (turbo bonanza). The J model would have been ~ 8.5 hrs of flight time. The 182 is likely ~10 hrs which may or may not push you to 2 stops. Now- recalculate times assuming a 15 knit head wind. Everything you’re looking at buying will be a really long trip for 1200 miles and challenging for a VFR only or even new IFR pilot. Resident insurance agent at mooneyspace.com is a friend- chat with him about your situation and see what he says. I suspect you’ll be better off waiting until after you’re a certificated pilot rather than still a student, but see what the agent says. It will take a while to find the right plane, and remember- there are no bargains. The cheap planes have a higher price tag in the purchase contract. Buy a “cheap” plane and be prepared to spend some big $. | |||
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| Ammoholic |
It has been a long time since I have purchased an airplane, but my rule of thumb back then was, "Buy a good one, ready to go, not a fixer-upper. Then plan on dumping at least $5,000 into it at the next annual if not before." Given the inflation since I last bought an airplane, I'd guess that number is somewhere between $10,000 and $15,000. Nobody ever said aviation was cheap... | |||
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Skull, You have received a lot of input and opinion so far. I can’t offer anything special except to give you my perspective on your situation. Like many pilots, most of my initial training occurred in Cessna 150 and 172 aircraft. After my PPL I trained in 172s for my instrument rating. As I started to make trips in my flying adventures I looked for capable cross country aircraft. The Aero Club where I trained had a C172RG that I used often. I felt like I was really traveling to be moving at 130kts after flying the 172s. I received checkouts in, and flew, as many different aircraft as I could find. Warriors and cheetahs and tigers and arrows and Mooneys for the low wing aircraft. Cessna 177 and 182 and 206 for high wing aircraft. Way back then renting wasn’t cheap but wasn’t as crazy expensive or as difficult as it is now. Eventually renting became just too expensive. I found a group to join and now fly an A36 Bonanza. But that is only possible due to the sharing of expenses. I wrote all of that just to point out that you should try to fly as many different aircraft as you possibly can. But I would not plan on renting long term. It will cost you a small fortune. Your choice of a Cessna 182 sounds like a great fit for your mission. You said that most of your flying would be short to medium flights. While the 182 might not be the fastest cross country platform, you said your long trips were about 3 per year. So the 182 would be perfect for the majority of your flying and adequate for the few long trips you might make. Your PPL will not be the end of your training, it is a license to learn. Instead of being in a hurry on your trips, take the time to build hours, see the country, and hone your skills. And a 182 would be great for that. You can always trade up later for something that flies higher and faster. In the beginning you should enjoy the travel and learning and not be in a hurry. So if a trip from Montana to west TN takes a couple of days each way, just enjoy the ride. You would be flying yourself instead of a commercial flight or driving. That is always a plus. As for the club idea, that is a great way to share the cost of an airplane. If you can afford a C182 go ahead and purchase one, and then advertise for 2 or 3 partners. That will allow you to more quickly build an engine overhaul reserve and avionics upgrade reserves. It also keeps the aircraft flying more often which is good for the airplane. | |||
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| Member |
Skull Leader, Check out this potential 1976 182P candidate. https://gsaauctions.gov/gsaauc...c/?sl=N1OASI22001001 | |||
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blame canada |
They're essentially a really loud 210. They fly a bit different, easy to fly. The systems are like most any other complex high performance single. I really like them, but...they are really, really loud. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "The trouble with our Liberal friends...is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." Ronald Reagan, 1964 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Arguing with some people is like playing chess with a pigeon. It doesn't matter how good I am at chess, the pigeon will just take a shit on the board, strut around knocking over all the pieces and act like it won.. and in some cases it will insult you at the same time." DevlDogs55, 2014  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ www.rikrlandvs.com | |||
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| blame canada |
The biggest think IMO about transitioning into a 182 from anything lighter, is the weight of the nose. It is a weakness in the airframe, and many pilot's transitioning into the skylane prang the nose gear. Put weight in the tail, and get really good at landing the mains first and keeping the nose off the ground as long as possible on rollout. I think the O-470 is a great engine. Prone to carb icing, as mentioned, something you train for. Just squirt a little carb heat every little bit as a part of your scan and flow. I had a company skylane for a while and we had a carb ice gauge installed which was useful and gave something to do in the cruise. A skylane is very easy to fly, but can be broken if abused. I think they fly like a truck, but I transitioned from a 200HP RV6A that flew like a rocket. I was used to babying the NLG, so I just had to get used to the sight picture and backpressure required to keep the nose of the ground. 100LL is an approved fuel for the O-470. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "The trouble with our Liberal friends...is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." Ronald Reagan, 1964 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Arguing with some people is like playing chess with a pigeon. It doesn't matter how good I am at chess, the pigeon will just take a shit on the board, strut around knocking over all the pieces and act like it won.. and in some cases it will insult you at the same time." DevlDogs55, 2014 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ www.rikrlandvs.com | |||
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| blame canada |
I'll add that airplanes need to fly. One of the numerous terrible things an owner can do with an airplane is not fly it. Having partners helps to keep the plane flying regularly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "The trouble with our Liberal friends...is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." Ronald Reagan, 1964 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Arguing with some people is like playing chess with a pigeon. It doesn't matter how good I am at chess, the pigeon will just take a shit on the board, strut around knocking over all the pieces and act like it won.. and in some cases it will insult you at the same time." DevlDogs55, 2014 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ www.rikrlandvs.com | |||
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Member |
I can imagine, with having the engines in line with you, rather than offset on the wings like a traditional twin. Even my cheap electronic noise canceling headset did a good job of reducing cabin noise, and that was early 00s. Really wanted a set of Boss, but the $1k pricetag didn't work for a broke high schooler. The Enemy's gate is down. | |||
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SIGforum.com Main Page The Lounge Pilots, need your feedback and advice. Looking at purchasing a plane.
Main Page The Lounge Pilots, need your feedback and advice. Looking at purchasing a plane.© SIGforum 2024