What Airplane would you buy?

FloridaPilot

FloridaPilot

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If you could buy an airplane up to 600K what Airplane would you buy and where would you go?
 
A Piper Malibu. Best plane for the buck.
 
Iquique Chili, for winter, summer in the euro alps or Rockies, maybe some overwintering in New Zealand. Stay a couple months in each place. What plane would I buy? None I'd buy a new paraglider or two or three, use the 590,000 bucks left over to fly every day. Fly for fun, no travel needs as I'd already be where I wanted to be.
 
I'd get a T6, paint it up like a Zero and go around dive bombing and raising hell with the money left over.
 
Aerostar 601P with Machen upgrades.

Bahamas, W Canada, etc.
 
Glasair Sportsman and the floats to go with it. I would go wherever I wanted to.
 
Lancair IVP. Pretty much everywhere North America.
 
I'm a simple guy with humble dreams. I think I'd buy a low time 400 Comanche and have the paint, interior and panel done to make it like new. Then I'd use the other $300,000 or so to fund the gas bill and have an engine fund on the ready so I wouldnt have that looming and keeping me from using the thing. Then I'd do all that I could to emit lead from my tailpipes over the homes of the green weenies that complain about things such as carbon footprints. I would fly that fire breathing beast every day if I could. Oh my, could somebody please hose me down. It's not good to think such impure thoughts, and my beloved Bonanza would be hurt if she knew I carried these feelings for another.
 
For $600k, I'd do some haggling and get this Aerostar 702P that's for sale:

http://www.aerostaraircraft.com/N700GP.html

I don't even have my PPL yet, and I still like to shop :)

EDIT: Oops, I forgot to answer the "where would you go" part of the question...

Would probably live in the Rockies, in the Denver area, and fly around to the various western national parks (especially Yellowstone), and also to wine country (Sonoma, Napa) to visit friends of mine. I have family in Tampa, so might fly there, too, on occasion.
 
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Doctor who did my medical has one of those.

What would I buy? Probably a nice A36. 6 seats, good speed, and comfortable.
 
RV-10 and a hell of a lot of fuel.....:yes:
 
Clipped-wing PA-11 Cub, and I'd check out every grass strip I could find. And as much as I love flying out of KAPA, spend the rest on a move to an airport that's not routinely at 7000' DA. Gotta be able to have some fun with a passenger, after all.
 
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Buying an airplane just to go somewhere is like having sex only to procreate. Yeah, people do that, but there are a lot better reasons. For 600 large, I could have a veritable stable of airplanes from which to choose.
 
FloridaPilot said:
Where would you go? and would you have the nm range?
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We put 300 hrs on it the first year. A lot of nonstop eastbound New England and Mid Atlantic. Where ever 7 hrs of fuel could get me.
 
If I had $600K to spend on an airplane...

I'd change my RV-7 fuselage kit order to quick build, and buy a new engine and prop and not skimp on the panel. The next chunk I'd set aside for a couple thousand gallons of avgas.

Hmm, still over half a mil left. OK, let's add a really nice, freshly restored Champ for some low & slow local pancake runs and just puttin' around. OK, now we're at half a mil.

Let's say $225K for a nicely done RV-10; after all, we have grandkids. Sheesh, a lot left over still. OK, we'll pre-pay a couple of years' worth of hangar rent. Now, what to do with the rest... I wonder of a couple hundred gran under the table would buy me a medical renewal. :)

There. Three airplanes, gas, hangar, and we'll go wherever we bloody well please. I'm thinking anywhere between Anchorage and various places in the Caribbean.
 
FloridaPilot said:
If you could buy an airplane up to 600K what Airplane would you buy and where would you go?
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Purchase price is one thing but maintenance cost is another and equally important. First I would ask myself what can I afford in typical operational cost. Also it is easier to say where I wouldn't go - I wouldn't attempt to cross any ocean.
 
1978 T210M, that still has all the landing gear doors, with some WAAS GPS and a decent autopilot and pocket over well over $400K
 
Is 600k the purchase price? Older eclipse jet. Best bang for the buck.
 
This is what I bought :D
 

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My wife wants a Corvalis. So I'd probably buy a Corvalis. We intend to make a transatlatic flight as soon as we retire. Then when we get back we want to take a few months (or more) and see all 57 States (except Hawaii).
 
I'd buy and build a Just Aircraft Super STOL and go land in places airplanes normally can't land. Have fun. Go places slow when the weather is good, hole up in the hotel when they aren't.
 
kgruber said:
I'd buy a King Air.
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King's are awesome! I saw one at SNF this year (350i) to be exact. Did you know they have a 350ER? With a range of over 2,000 nm that is amazing for a turbo prop!
 
LoneAspen said:
Can you really buy a twin turboprop for $600k? I was thinking that class of plane would be over a million (assuming great condition and engines, and updated avionics).

EDIT: Very nice plane, BTW :)
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You can buy a very nice -10 Merlin III for under $600k. 300knots of pretty fuel efficient load hauling machine!! You just need to make sure you have access to a pretty good size runway and have your stuff together when you fly it. Not the easiest plane to fly but for those with the skills (not me) it has all the positives of a king air 200 for 1/4 the price! Garrett -10's are awesome engines with very high tbo as well!!
 
What Airplane would you buy?

I would buy an Mooney Ovation 3


Fly to Belize and Cozumel with my Scuba Equipment to go diving!
 
Plenty of twin turbines in that range. I personally would buy a MU-2 or a Commander 690B with the dash-10 engines. The money would almost stretch to a Commander Jetprop (the 695). Those suckers have over 2000nm range and will cruise at 300kts.
 
LoneAspen said:
Can you really buy a twin turboprop for $600k? I was thinking that class of plane would be over a million (assuming great condition and engines, and updated avionics).

EDIT: Very nice plane, BTW :)
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Yeah, if you look around and don't get hung up on having the perfect airplane. Mine is a 1985 model, last year of production, with under 6K hours and 2200 SMOH and the SPZ-500 autopilot, which was a big selling point to me. That's the good. The bad is the logbooks were lost from 1985 to 2000, they are re-created and very complete since 2000, so that is a ding, but the shop I use maintained it for 5-6 years prior to the guy I bought it from, so it was a known quanity for them. :D
It had a GNS530W and Collins digital which is fine, but I decided to do a little upgrade in the avionics department ;) So, now I am closer to $700K in it. :dunno: Something that folks get too wrapped up in with turbines is engine times, why pay for an engine with 3000 hours left to overhaul, if you are flying 100 hours per year? I certainly didn't want one run out and have to overhaul anytime soon, but I've got 12-1300 hours left and the amount of flying I do, that will last me 10-15 years. Of course I will have sold it long before that time. :D

 
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If I was financially comfortable enough to blow $600,000 on airplanes, I seriously doubt I would buy just one.

I would have a Cessna 337 with the STOL kit and the IO-520 engine conversion. This plane would be used for my wife and I to explore the Caribbean.

I would have a Double Ender on floats for low and slow flying. If this plane never materializes, I would then have a Leza Aircam on floats for the same purpose.

I would have either a Lancair Legacy, or a Glasair III just because they are cool. Although I have to admit, these planes scare me a bit. They don't land off field very well.:eek:

Oh, and I would need a much bigger hangar!:D
 
DaleB said:
If I had $600K to spend on an airplane...

I'd change my RV-7 fuselage kit order to quick build, and buy a new engine and prop and not skimp on the panel. The next chunk I'd set aside for a couple thousand gallons of avgas.

Hmm, still over half a mil left. OK, let's add a really nice, freshly restored Champ for some low & slow local pancake runs and just puttin' around. OK, now we're at half a mil.

Let's say $225K for a nicely done RV-10; after all, we have grandkids. Sheesh, a lot left over still. OK, we'll pre-pay a couple of years' worth of hangar rent. Now, what to do with the rest... I wonder of a couple hundred gran under the table would buy me a medical renewal. :)

There. Three airplanes, gas, hangar, and we'll go wherever we bloody well please. I'm thinking anywhere between Anchorage and various places in the Caribbean.
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Your mix needs either a "serious" classic like a Cabin Waco, or something with an open cockpit like a Ryan ST-M or a Stearman.
 
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