Light airplane for 130 mile commute......

Slipkid65 said:
Still a little early to decide, but I am definitely leaning towards something with a carbed O-360, fixed gear and prop. AA-5B. Cherokee 180 or possibly something like a 172/180. We'll see!

Thanks for everyone's insight. It has been very helpful!
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Go Tiger. You will not regret it IMO.
 
Haegon said:
Slipkid, would you consider a partnership? I am based at KISM and am looking to buy soon.
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Given his use cycle, this would not be a good plan for the partnership. But, never know - it could work.
 
Haegon said:
Slipkid, would you consider a partnership? I am based at KISM and am looking to buy soon.
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Most likely not, but you never know!

The airplane will be based at KIMM (Immokalee) or possibly APF, and will only up in the Orlando area about 12 days per month in 3 or 4 day stretches, sometimes more, sometimes less.
 
Any updates from original poster ? did you buy a plane yet ?
 
comanchepilot said:
As to tailwheel airplanes . . . .MCO does get cross winds - and often - and only has N/S runways - trust me when I say he does not want to groundloop a taildragger and close down a runway at MCO for an hour . . . .
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Probably true. I forget, getting older , that so few pilots can fly a taildragger well. 30 years ago no one would have mentioned this. Too bad.
 
Dav8or said:
Go Tiger. You will not regret it IMO.
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I learned in Grummans, they're not hard to fly. Being in Florida, having a pullback canopy that you can keep wide open while taxiing, and partly open in flight, is a big advantage.
 
Jimmy cooper said:
Probably true. I forget, getting older , that so few pilots can fly a taildragger well. 30 years ago no one would have mentioned this. Too bad.
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no need for that kind of talk. Use the tool most suited for the job. As an analogy, I love my vw turbo with the 6 speed manual on a windy country road. But when I was sitting in traffic in chicago I'd drive our toyota with an automatic transmission. Same as commutting in an airplane, make the commute as easy as possible with a low-wing nose-dragger what is wind and jetwash tolerant.
 
FormerHangie said:
I learned in Grummans, they're not hard to fly. Being in Florida, having a pullback canopy that you can keep wide open while taxiing, and partly open in flight, is a big advantage.
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Yep. If somebody told me I had to fly a certified fixed gear plane, Tiger would be it. They are fun.
 
B350ATP said:
Any updates from original poster ? did you buy a plane yet ?
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No, Still not sure I'm gonna do it. There are lots of moving (and expensive) parts involved, so we're looking at every option.
 
Jimmy cooper said:
Probably true. I forget, getting older , that so few pilots can fly a taildragger well. 30 years ago no one would have mentioned this. Too bad.
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If I were buying an airplane for fun, it would most likely be a Decathalon or something of that ilk. In this case, I want as little drama as possible before and after 11+ hour days of flying.......
 
FormerHangie said:
I learned in Grummans, they're not hard to fly. Being in Florida, having a pullback canopy that you can keep wide open while taxiing, and partly open in flight, is a big advantage.
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I used to fly a Tiger back in the day and really enjoyed it. The simplicity, roomy cockpit, sliding roof, along with the added speed per HP put it at or near the top of my list.
 
Geico266 said:
Why would anyone fly a certified when they could fly experimental? :dunno:
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Any experimental airplanes out there with 4 seats, +- 900 lbs useful load that goes a minimum of 120kts, that I don't have to build for under $50k?

If I end up doing this, I need this thing in the next few months. I can't spend 5 years building the thing, because, regardless of what happens, I probably won't need it for more than 3-4 years.......
 
Henning said:
I still say an amphip of some type.
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As cool as they are, unless I could land on one of the lakes at MCO, I can't see how an amphib would be of any benefit in this case.......
 
Slipkid65 said:
As cool as they are, unless I could land on one of the lakes at MCO, I can't see how an amphib would be of any benefit in this case.......
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You can land at lakes all over Florida, bays as well. Then there is always the Bahamas. You can buy a Lake in your price range.
 
Henning said:
You can land at lakes all over Florida, bays as well. Then there is always the Bahamas. You can buy a Lake in your price range.
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I could, but why would I when all I need to do is go from KIMM to KMCO and back 3-4 times per month?

An aluminum airplane in salt water is not something I even want to contemplate. When I worked in MX, we had a Super Seabee on the cert that would get splashed in salt water every few weeks. It was my job to flush the bilges, regrease the fittings, wash the airplane etc. It was over 2 hours of work to do it right. No thanks! As fun as it was to fly, after a while, the novelty of flying it with the owner wore off when faced with having to clean it afterwards....

I'm looking for SIMPLE transportation. An Amphib is anything but.
 
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JHW said:
no need for that kind of talk. Use the tool most suited for the job. As an analogy, I love my vw turbo with the 6 speed manual on a windy country road. But when I was sitting in traffic in chicago I'd drive our toyota with an automatic transmission. Same as commutting in an airplane, make the commute as easy as possible with a low-wing nose-dragger what is wind and jetwash tolerant.
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You obviously are not tail wheel proficient. The Texas taildragger would suit me just fine for this mission or a 152 . Either one except the taildragger is a lot more fun, easy to fly ( with proper training) and would be an excellent plane for his son to learn in. Most mentioned are overkill for this simple trip. I own a cayman porsche and I drive it everywhere, everyday. It has a PDK transmission which will do in a manual easily. I also owned a 911 which I drove daily. Your arguement is silly if you are proficient in taildraggers. Most are not.
 
Jimmy cooper said:
You obviously are not tail wheel proficient. The Texas taildragger would suit me just fine for this mission or a 152 . Either one except the taildragger is a lot more fun, easy to fly ( with proper training) and would be an excellent plane for his son to learn in. Most mentioned are overkill for this simple trip. I own a cayman porsche and I drive it everywhere, everyday. It has a PDK transmission which will do in a manual easily. I also owned a 911 which I drove daily. Your arguement is silly if you are proficient in taildraggers. Most are not.
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I was proficient in taildraggers years ago. I'll go out on a limb and say I could probably be proficient again in short order. It's far from rocket science, and after 30+ hours in the SNJ-5 and about 15 in a Super Seabee, I have nothing to prove to anyone in that regard.

They are fun though. Some of the most fun I ever had flying was in a friend's 7AC. No electrical system, no radio. Nothing better for bashing around the pattern on a nice day, but I wouldn't like to take it 100+ miles into a Class B on a regular basis any more than I'd like to drive my '66 GTO convertible 360 miles roundtrip to work and back.

I wore out 2 manual shift sports cars commuting to work. Nowadays I commute in a clean '04 Crown Vic Police Interceptor (my first auto trans in over 30 years) and have never been happier. No car payment, minimal mx, nice ride, safe, tows my trailer, easy to fix when it breaks (which is rarely) and best of all, zero guilt about leaving it parked in an airport employee lot for days at a time. I call it my "free" car.

I'm looking for the GA equivalent of a Crown Vic....... ;)
 
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Slipkid65 said:
I was proficient in taildraggers years ago. I'll go out on a limb and say I could probably be proficient again in short order. It's far from rocket science, and after 30+ hours in the SNJ-5 and about 15 in a Super Seabee, I have nothing to prove to anyone in that regard.

They are fun though. Some of the most fun I ever had flying was in a friend's 7AC. No electrical system, no radio. Nothing better for bashing around the pattern on a nice day, but I wouldn't like to take it 100+ miles into a Class B on a regular basis any more than I'd like to drive my '66 GTO convertible 360 miles roundtrip to work and back.

I wore out 2 manual shift sports cars commuting to work. Nowadays I commute in a clean '04 Crown Vic Police Interceptor (my first auto trans in over 30 years) and have never been happier. No car payment, minimal mx, nice ride, safe, easy to fix when it breaks (which is rarely) and best of all, zero guilt about leaving it parked in an airport employee lot for days at a time. I call it my "free" car.

I'm looking for the GA equivalent of a Crown Vic....... ;)
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If you were proficient in taildraggers then you would be up to speed quickly. If not then a decent 152 would suffice. It would be a crown Vic with a nose wheel. For a 130-50 mile trip it should do well.
 
Jimmy cooper said:
If you were proficient in taildraggers then you would be up to speed quickly.
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I am sure it would be no trouble at all. As I said, I've done it before and flying a taildragger is certainly not rocket science, any more than driving a manual transmission. It's just a little more work than a trike, which is exactly what I don't need in this application.

Although I haven't shopped it yet, I'm sure insurance is more expensive for a taildragger as well, especially for someone without any recent experience in them.

If not then a decent 152 would suffice. It would be a crown Vic with a nose wheel. For a 130-50 mile trip it should do well.
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Too slow, uncomfortable and not enough useful load. It'd be more akin to a smart car vs a CV. ;)
 
Jimmy cooper said:
You obviously are not tail wheel proficient. The Texas taildragger would suit me just fine for this mission or a 152 . Either one except the taildragger is a lot more fun, easy to fly ( with proper training) and would be an excellent plane for his son to learn in. Most mentioned are overkill for this simple trip. I own a cayman porsche and I drive it everywhere, everyday. It has a PDK transmission which will do in a manual easily. I also owned a 911 which I drove daily. Your arguement is silly if you are proficient in taildraggers. Most are not.
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you obviously are quite full of yourself. I'll bow before your superior skill while i try to sort out how to slap a nosewheel on my pawnee before i kill myself in it.
 
Update.......

A co worker is selling this:
1965 M20E
Lycoming I/O-360A1A 200 hp - 1750~ SMOH, last compressions between 74-78
Hartzell prop - 250~ SNEW
I think roughly 4500 TTAF
New Concorde battery (Oct '14)
6-pack panel config, 2 VOR/ILS (IFR certified 12/13)
No corrosion (spent majority of its life in the Rockies)
Small seep in right tank (I couldn't honestly point out where, it's what my seller told me though)
All LASAR speed mods (TAS between 152-155 any altitude, runs about 9.5 gph around 10K')
vacuum retract step is safety wired up (pinhole leak somewhere in the bag)
I also have a Garmin Aera 560 with mount and XM antenna I'd throw in with it

It'll come with a fresh annual as well......

Any ideas what this is worth?

I'd still like to keep things simple (fixed gear/prop), so I am still leaning towards a Tiger or Cherokee 180. The asking price seems reasonable when compared to other ones I've seen, even with the high time engine.
 
Slipkid65 said:
Update.......

A co worker is selling this:
1965 M20E
Lycoming I/O-360A1A 200 hp - 1750~ SMOH, last compressions between 74-78
Hartzell prop - 250~ SNEW
I think roughly 4500 TTAF
New Concorde battery (Oct '14)
6-pack panel config, 2 VOR/ILS (IFR certified 12/13)
No corrosion (spent majority of its life in the Rockies)
Small seep in right tank (I couldn't honestly point out where, it's what my seller told me though)
All LASAR speed mods (TAS between 152-155 any altitude, runs about 9.5 gph around 10K')
vacuum retract step is safety wired up (pinhole leak somewhere in the bag)
I also have a Garmin Aera 560 with mount and XM antenna I'd throw in with it

It'll come with a fresh annual as well......

Any ideas what this is worth?

I'd still like to keep things simple (fixed gear/prop), so I am still leaning towards a Tiger or Cherokee 180. The asking price seems reasonable when compared to other ones I've seen, even with the high time engine.
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no, but that leaking tank will cost you at least $1k to patch with no guarantees that another leak won't form, 7-10k to strip/reseal or bladder install (that would do both wings). mooneys are notorious for tank leaks. the engine is high time, and you can kick around how much longer you think it will go. fresh annual doesn't mean much. I'd definitely have a mooney mechanic do a prebuy if you're serious.

honestly, without a WAAS gps or autopilot, I wouldn't go over mid 30's. there are a few e models on barnstormers. look at what they're asking.
 
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Low 30s. No info on the radios which could affect the price considerably. If they are Narco, deduct $3k, if they are newer King add $2k.
 
Thanks guys..... The tank issue is definitely a concern. He's asking $30k, with, I assume, some wiggle room.....

It's got a Garmin SL30 as well as an Apollo GPS (not sure what vintage). Other than that, the panel is definitely dated, but for my purposes, would be more than adequate as I don't plan on (purposely) flying IFR too often in it.
 
How much has the plane flown in the last 24 months? If it's a regular flyer I wouldn't worry about the engine time.
 
Jaybird180 said:
How much has the plane flown in the last 24 months? If it's a regular flyer I wouldn't worry about the engine time.
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I know he flies it regularly, but not sure of exactly how much. He's upsizing because his wife is expecting twins.

FWIW, I'd be putting a max of about 6-8 hours per month (avg) on the thing, probably less, so the high time doesn't really bother me. I only need it for a few years. If I ended up getting this, I'd just plan on selling it with the run out engine after 2-3 years.

I am probably gonna pass on this one.....
 
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Slipkid65 said:
I know he flies it regularly, but not sure of exactly how much. He's upsizing because his wife is expecting twins.

FWIW, I'd be putting a max of about 6-8 hours per month (avg) on the thing, probably less, so the high time doesn't really bother me. I only need it for a few years. If I ended up getting this, I'd just plan on selling it with the run out engine after 2-3 years.

I am probably gonna pass on this one.....
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Two engines:hairraise:
 
Jimmy cooper said:
RV4 fun to fly. You'll keep it.
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If I were getting an airplane to keep, an RV would be on the short list and would probably work pretty well for this purpose. I'd love to build one, and may someday, but right now, an airplane is a solution to a temporary problem.

They're also a little spendy for what I need right now.
 
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So, it sounds like you're flying 130 mi once a week or so?

You might end up saving not a lot of time vs driving. (But having more fun!)
 
Save a bunch of money and get a 152....it's a commuter, not a weekender. Cheapest is bestist!!
 
Ahh, ok, this thread was old. I missed the commute route.
 
Yeah, the time savings, most of the time, won't be that great, but the sanity savings is infinite! ;)

Driving, it's 180 miles of real life "Pole Position"..... Flying, it's under 100 miles.....
 
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