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My first aircraft was a Sundowner. Ireally liked it. Knot for knot will burn a little more fuel than the comparable PA28/172. Cabin is much roomier. Two entry doors is a real bonus. No scooching over the pax seat to get to the drivers side. Landings are a NON-ISSUE. Super easy to land smoothly-...

Some thoughts… Insurance may, or may not kill you. One person might have issues with a $3k tab. Others might be able to stomach $10k and sleep well at night. Only you can decide what $ figure for MX and Ins will ‘kill you.’ The Cessna 182 is the best all-around, Swiss Army knife airplane imho...

I did somewhat of the classic progression. Sundowner - T182T - Matrix - Meridian - 414A - Cheyenne. All enjoyable planes except the 414A. I'm done buying planes though. Im not giving up the Cheyenne until they make me.

Mooney to TBM is not a huge jump. Honestly turboprops are so much easier to fly. If you can start the engine without blowing it up you are golden. Well, and pay the fuel bill. Would depend on hours, but you’d need at least an instrument rating, obviously. Might need 20-30hrs supervised flight...

Build a Sonex and trailer it like a glider.

Short of maybe giving them away for free - maybe - nothing will ever bring back that volume. Training costs have skyrocketed in real terms. As has insurance. Plus flying is waaay more complicated than it used to be in much of the country because airspace in much of the country is much more...

If insurance on a retract would (financially) kill you, then you probably shouldn’t be throwing money at home-baked aircraft mods and kooky solutions. Just buy a real fixed gear and enjoy living within budget. Plus, ask yourself why that Lance is in your price range…..

I fly an 8a. That little gen would be nice to charge the battery we use to power lights and intercom. With LED lighs, and a pocket full of batteries, no need for it IMHO.

Watch The Box. VTF just means you are getting vectored (i,e, headings) to intercept the final course. In many cases that is what you get. If you are unsure, ask the controller “will this be vectors to final?” Some controllers are aholes and will shame you. Most will confirm VTF and give you an...

A Seminole on one engine is a somewhat gentle ride to the crash landing. Any piston twin will only make that crash landing somewhat more gentle, at best.

You won’t really know your limit until you meet it. Do not let other pilots influence your personal limits. I can tell you, after 1800 hrs, that my limits vary based on terrain. I fly to central IL frequently, and I am entirely comfortable with crosswinds twice what I would consider at home...

Your instructor is the one you should be asking. After I was signed off, I did a lot of flying in the 25mi area, just for fun, when I couldn’t fit a lesson, prior to passing my ASEL. I didn’t stretch the boundaries, I was just happy to be up there. I have 1800 hrs and am still learning. Don’t...

Commercial will help on insurance. Every year, the market gets tighter - especially because you are aging. InsCos are getting more and more critical of older pilots. 70 is the new 80, one might say. Having a Comm Single or Multi ALWAYS looks better (i.e. more desirable) to an underwriter. A...

Awesome! Good for you. I remember those heady days. 1800hrs later I still get a thrill walking to the flight line.

LOL. Any of them is fine from a decent school. The requirement is typically a BS. Period. Airlines don’t really give a poop. Now, if you are asking us what degree should you have in the backpocket should flying not work out, that is different. A 2.8 in Astrophysics from CalTech will beat any...

Sorry, gotta call bs on this. Runway of this length, P1 turning the corner at the far end with a Comanche calling ready to go??? If I were in the Comanche I would have said ‘Thanks, dude.’. Phenom was NO FACTOR and this incident was in no way worthy of an FAA cavity search. Pure BS. Full stop...

And not just pilots. The controllers are students too. I have been in more scary ATC induced ‘situations’ flying into VRB than in the rest of my flying combined.

It’s all about time and money. What is, say, 15 minutes, worth to your pax. I cannot believe any turbine powered plane can beat your piston over such a short flight. A Baron might be 40gal for 1 hr trip. A King Air might get you there maybe 10 mins faster for twice the gallonage. A Mustang...

Solberg. Family run. Really nice. Somerset is very close, a little shorter, but also nice place. Hacketstown is pretty rustic, and tie-down only IIRC. Pa taxes really make the I78 commute worthwhile, even with high gas prices. Princeton is a nice field but you would wnat to settle between...

I have had good experiences with TAC. I have had expensive experiences with Signature.