what would make a good plane for x-country flying

GBSoren said:
I was recently down this same road, trying to decide what plane would be the best fit for my mission. I had to rule out all the single door planes right away, I am to claustrophobic and don't feel comfortable without a door on both sides (I know, stupid but it is what it is). I also really didn't want a high wing, just don't like the look, personal preference. One other thing, would prefer fixed gear, just simpler and lower insurance costs.

I ended up narrowing my search to the Socata TB10, but had a real hard time finding a nice one at what I felt was a fair price. Much easier to find are pretty good TB-20's, more $'s but you're also getting a lot more plane for the money. I "settled" on an older TB-20 with low engine hours, it's not fixed gear but 2 out of 3 ain't bad. The G1's are slightly faster than the G2's, flying it home after the purchase we got 160kt true at 11.5, at "normal" cruise alt for shorter flights I'd expect low-mid 150 range. G2's have a little more headroom in the cabin and that costs you about 5kts. I'm only about 5'9" so it hasn't been an issue, although I have gone to an in the ear headset over my Lightspeeds Tango's, which I did bump on the top now and then, but more because of always wearing a hat and glasses.

So far I love the plane, it's solid and a blast to fly!

Good luck in your search!
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Those are some neat planes. They look fast just sitting there. My dream plane is a TBM.
 
Bonanza for me. Quick, reliable, easy to repair, solid performer in IMC, technicians everywhere, parts when you need, and a great support community with the American Bonanza Society.

Cirrus is the top choice if you can afford one.
 
A bo saves you an hour over a cherokee 180 at 540nm. So unless your doing that frequently I wouldn't spend the extra cost in acquisition, maintenance, and insurance. Just my take cause I've been down this road already. If I started doing longer flights frequently then yes but 2 to 400nm a bo is not going to save much in time.

Cherokee's are great regional planes and super stable to fly and cheap on maintenance, parts, and insurance. Heck I think my Cherokee insurance is cheaper than my truck insurance. When I was first looking into buying I was looking at Bo's and mooney's and insurance quotes I got was well over $2k. Cherokee first year was $680!
 
simtech said:
A bo saves you an hour over a cherokee 180 at 540nm. So unless your doing that frequently I wouldn't spend the extra cost in acquisition, maintenance, and insurance. Just my take cause I've been down this road already. If I started doing longer flights frequently then yes but 2 to 400nm a bo is not going to save much in time.

Cherokee's are great regional planes and super stable to fly and cheap on maintenance, parts, and insurance. Heck I think my Cherokee insurance is cheaper than my truck insurance. When I was first looking into buying I was looking at Bo's and mooney's and insurance quotes I got was well over $2k. Cherokee first year was $680!
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I did that too....and decided the Six just wasn't cool enough....or fast enough....so I sold the Six.

The Bo is a head turner....:D
 

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TexasAviation said:
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As for me, I have a very similar mission to yours and just put an offer down on a Cherokee 180. Pre-buy is happening Monday. Yeah, more power and retractable gear would be nice for a cross-country machine ... but I'd rather spend my limited budget on actually flying than on the extra maintenance and insurance for a plane like that. Cherokee 180s are a screaming deal for what you get per dollar.

I've been smitten by the Tiger, too. Sweet, sweet plane. If my Cherokee pre-buy doesn't go well, I might start looking at Tigers again.
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+1 for a Tiger for the OP's mission. Bought one 6 months ago, have enjoyed it a lot. Always fun to fly, quite fast for fixed gear, fixed prop, 180hp airplane( I get around 130 kts, no wheel pants, lots of antennas, ...). Very simple systems. I bought one from the 70's with original paint and interior (it was not in horrible shape, and it had recent plexiglas), it was priced less that any of the Cherokee 180's I was looking at. I like the Cherokee, too. It definitely will operate out of a shorter strip than a Tiger, if that is important for your mission.
 
midcap said:
You remember what the insurance rates were?

That's what I'm worried about some expensive 5000 dollar part breaking on the gear.
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So you think there are no $5000 parts on a FG plane???:yikes:
 
simtech said:
A bo saves you an hour over a cherokee 180 at 540nm. So unless your doing that frequently I wouldn't spend the extra cost in acquisition, maintenance, and insurance. Just my take cause I've been down this road already. If I started doing longer flights frequently then yes but 2 to 400nm a bo is not going to save much in time.

Cherokee's are great regional planes and super stable to fly and cheap on maintenance, parts, and insurance. Heck I think my Cherokee insurance is cheaper than my truck insurance. When I was first looking into buying I was looking at Bo's and mooney's and insurance quotes I got was well over $2k. Cherokee first year was $680!
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That's the thing, a 550nm trip to Orlando would be somthing I would do at least twice a year and then various spots all over florida. My wife really likes beach vacations and Florida has some of the best. Then again, it's probably good to break a 5 hour trip up into two legs.
 
edo2000 said:
+1 for a Tiger for the OP's mission. Bought one 6 months ago, have enjoyed it a lot. Always fun to fly, quite fast for fixed gear, fixed prop, 180hp airplane( I get around 130 kts, no wheel pants, lots of antennas, ...). Very simple systems. I bought one from the 70's with original paint and interior (it was not in horrible shape, and it had recent plexiglas), it was priced less that any of the Cherokee 180's I was looking at. I like the Cherokee, too. It definitely will operate out of a shorter strip than a Tiger, if that is important for your mission.
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the local strip is 3000 feet. Not sure how the tiger would do with that.
 
Since you want to stay with a fixed gear, what about a 182 or a Dakota? both have higher gross weights than a 172 or cherokee.

tuwood said:
I found the comfort, automation, and safety features of the Cirrus to be unmatched
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I agree with tuwood, the Cirrus is really the best of both worlds. It would be the aircraft I would buy if my wallet could handle it.
 
Ryanb said:
Since you want to stay with a fixed gear, what about a 182 or a Dakota? both have higher gross weights than a 172 or cherokee.


I agree with tuwood, the Cirrus is really the best of both worlds. It would be the aircraft I would buy if my wallet could handle it.
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Yeah the cirrus would be nice but budget is realistically about 50k.

So a dakota is a cherokee with more HP?
 
Ryanb said:
Yeah I know, there are so many. Not sure if I saw your budget or not but here is one for thought.
http://www.controller.com/listings/aircraft/for-sale/1432957/1979-piper-dakota

Not too bad considering it has a fresh engine.
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that's a very clean plane. My budget is about 50k, so that one is a little out of budget.

If I were going to spend a lot more money I would just get a Cherokee 6/300 and that plane would fit every mission I could imagine. Maybe I should rent until I can just buy a six.
 
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