Best GA airplane?

[David Megginson]

I hestate to reply to such an obvious clickbait thread, but the best airplane is the one you can afford to fly and that you can stay current in.

 

[William Pete Hodges]

The best GA plane for me is one the that meets my mission and I can afford to buy, fly, and maintain.

For me that is the 1964 Super21 Mooney. My mission: 375 NM to land on a 2200 ft grass strip in 3 hours with wind and burn 26 +/- gal of fuel. Fly home several days later with one fuel stop. It carries enough, is fast enough, gets high enough, is easy on fuel and is good on moderately short fields of grass. Not excessively roomy but I rarely carry more than one person with me and fly solo alot.

 

[j1b3h0]

Good all around airplanes that are fun to fly, go kind of fast, carry what you want them to, and easily perform the missions one likes are rare. Super Decathlon does everything well—loops from level flight, cruises at 140+, carries a couple of fat guys, takes off and lands short, and is reasonably comfortable. Few airplanes will do all that. Bonanza, Mooneys, Comanches work well, so do most planes-so long as they are well-chosen for their mission.

 

[aterry1067]

The absolute best airplane is the one you build yourself to suit your specific mission, wants, and needs.