1 person commuter aircraft

weilke said:
SLC is a Delta hub, they fly this as a non-stop for $261.60. The outbound friday night leaves at 6:05pm, the return on sunday night at 9.46pm.

A 9:46pm departure leaves you enough time for an early dinner in Salt Lake, btdt.

If he tries to do this in a bugsmasher on a schedule, he will figure out pretty soon that wed afternoon is not an accepted time to show up for work if you are scheduled to show up on monday. In the best case scenario, after trying this for about 3 trips, he will have a nice plane up in Salt Lake to spend time with his wife on the weekends. In the more likely worst case scenario he is going to push the weather and end up in a hillside, dead.

Very valid point, it happened last night, 3 dead in Snoqualmnie pass skud running the pass, and hit the wall.

From podunk to podunk in the flatlands up to 500nm, GA is competitive for a weekend commute. Between two major airports and with icy rocks in between, anyone who tells him that sneaking through the valleys in a bugsmasher at night is a viable alternative to the airlines is not being honest.
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I'm not telling them to do that, merely telling the posters here there are alternatives to going V2 and V4 out of Seattle, when you say that Portland east is skud running in a valley tells me you never looked at a chart for the area.
 
airguy said:
You could easily build one for that as a simple VFR machine, but for the trip he's wanting to commute on, I would not fly a VFR-only machine. I have a buddy in Houston that's losing his medical and selling a very nice hard-IFR Lancair, but it's still above the $50k limit by a fair margin. It's gonna be tough to find a good fast IFR machine for $50k.
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the kit and the engine will put you over budget. now add the equipment package .
 
Tom-D said:
I'm not telling them to do that, merely telling the posters here there are alternatives to going V2 and V4 out of Seattle, when you say that Portland east is skud running in a valley tells me you never looked at a chart for the area.
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You are right, it's not a valley, it's a gorge (with powerlines accross).

I am not saying that you can't make that trip on a good day without getting into either bad terrain or bad weather. I am saying that doing this on a schedule every week and including nights is going to be fraught with risk.
 
weilke said:
You are right, it's not a valley, it's a gorge (with powerlines across).

Yep, with an Victor airway at 8000'

I am not saying that you can't make that trip on a good day without getting into either bad terrain or bad weather. I am saying that doing this on a schedule every week and including nights is going to be fraught with risk.
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Do weather for the trip today. here it is the middle of February and you could make the flight direct. many days this is the case when the ice machine has been put out of order by global warming.

this isn't a case where it is a must do every weekend, as the first post said.
 
weilke said:
You are right, it's not a valley, it's a gorge (with powerlines accross).
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Actually you are right, for the first 1000' of altitude, then it turns into a valley nearly 25 miles wide. when the higher rocks are obscured in the clouds the gorge is usually 2500' or higher. It's usually the same as the west side until you get to the Dales, then it will turn broken then scattered the farther you go east.
Remember eastern Wa and Or. are desert, there is a reason for that.
 
Tom-D said:
this isn't a case where it is a must do every weekend, as the first post said.
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The return-flight is a must-do once he has headed out. That or a $1200 plane ticket.
 
weilke said:
Have you tried to fly a bugsmasher on someone elses schedule ?
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The owner of this plane will be flying on his schedule, not someone else's. His wife is an instrument rated pilot. If the weather looks bad one weekend, she'll understand why her husband is not coming to see her.

I make a 355nm trip once or twice a month in a cessna 152. That's probably similar to making a 600nm trip in a more capable machine. My brother lives just outside of Nashville. Direct, its 355nm over the Appalachian mountains. Go right over mt. mitchell. If the weather is bad there I can add 50nm to the trip and go around the mountains.

This trip is on my own schedule. The forecast is somewhat reliable 2 days out. Have not gotten stuck there yet. I've had to cancel the trip a few times. But that's never an issue. I don't have a non-refundable hotel reservation or a rental car. Neither does the person considering this plane. I just call my brother friday morning and say "sorry dude, weather isn't looking so good, see you next weekend"
 
weilke said:
The return-flight is a must-do once he has headed out. That or a $1200 plane ticket.
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I don't know about this trip but i've researched the prices for a southwest flight to/from BNA and if I buy the ticket 1 day in advance the price is $250 vs $70 for a flight purchased 3 weeks in advance. If I were to get stuck there it would cost be about $450 to fly home and then fly back next weekend to get the plane.

The person considering the aircraft's wife is an instrument rated pilot... she could just fly it back to him the following weekend.
 
I would go for that Glasair 2ft in a heartbeat. Of course, I am building one for myself right now. The LongEz was another fun recommendation. They are really fast and efficient, but you will want to find one with a Roncz canard, not the GA, as light moisture tends to induce a significant pitch change, and a light rain is always a possibility. I have a VariEze too, but because of the same GA canard, wouldn't think that would be the best choice for the mission (and the Roncz was never an option for the VEZ)

Airlines??? Yep, that is the one that makes sense, but this isn't about that. Truth be told, those of us that are pilots but don't do it for a living have already made a decision (becoming pilots) that doesn't make any real sense.

I'd tell them to buy the Glasair, make sure that their boss knows that they will be working remotely on Mondays a few times a year to wait out the weather, and enjoy the adventure.
 
Tom-D said:
and the maintenance at annual time ? How much? Vs the GlassAirII ?
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well, obviously, it's going to be a little bit more, but a Mooney is fairly cheap for a retract since the gear is manualy operated (Johnson bar) and has rubber discs instead of standard shocks.

One other thing to consider, since feces does occasionally occur, I'd rather be in the chrome-moly steel cage of a Mooney in a crash, rather than that plastic thing.


Since your friend's budget is $50K, here's a nice M20E with a low time engine for $39K. With the money left over, he can buy and install Monroy long range tanks that add 30 gal.

http://www.controller.com/listingsdetail/aircraft-for-sale/MOONEY-M20E/1966-MOONEY-M20E/1226827.htm?

Looks like a winner to me! :thumbsup:
 
Midget Mustang worked N-Tx to S-La for me; doesn't get cheaper to buy or run than that. With a GTN-6/750 and G-300 it would be nifty.
 
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Henning said:
Midget Mustang worked N-Tx to S-La for me; doesn't get cheaper to buy or run than that. With a GTN-6/750 and G-300 it would be nifty.
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Got one to show that is with in budget?
 
??? Didn't you give a $50k budget? You get a sweet one for $22k, good ones go for $10k-$18k.
 
Henning said:
??? Didn't you give a $50k budget? You get a sweet one for $22k, good ones go for $10k-$18k.
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The only one I saw was on Barnstormers, @ $65k.
 
Tom-D said:
That is a nice Mooney. and a good buy.
They've been sent the link.
What do you estimate the yearly maintenance will cost?
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I've heard so much fuel tank leaking problems and maintenance issues with those Mooneys that, altought I always loved the plane, I just don't want to fly in one anymore...

A good Van's RV-6 is still a very relevent plane for the job. It'll climb and cruise over the terrain with ease - and it'll do it quickly. Plus, with about 7000 Van's flying, I think we can all agree that it's a solid and reliable platform :wink2:
 
lockeed said:
I've heard so much fuel tank leaking problems and maintenance issues with those Mooneys that, altought I always loved the plane, I just don't want to fly in one anymore...

A good Van's RV-6 is still a very relevent plane for the job. It'll climb and cruise over the terrain with ease - and it'll do it quickly. Plus, with about 7000 Van's flying, I think we can all agree that it's a solid and reliable platform :wink2:
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Show me one that is as well equipped as the GlassAir at $50k
 
Tom, the Glasair may be not as well known as the RV6, but it's a solid aircraft, and at 50K, you got yourself one hell of a machine if it's in good shape. Extremely hard to beat IMHO.

The demand for Rv's is always high, so price tend to follow... But for 50 you could find a good one.

http://www.barnstormers.com/classified_622931_RV-6A.html

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lockeed said:
Tom, the Glasair may be not as well known as the RV6, but it's a solid aircraft, and at 50K, you got yourself one hell of a machine if it's in good shape. Extremely hard to beat IMHO.

The demand for Rv's is always high, so price tend to follow... But for 50 you could find a good one.

http://www.barnstormers.com/classified_622931_RV-6A.html

.watermarked_e492462b82bc85704ec9448debebe29c.jpg
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That is spectacular. I would go that route. Try to find one with 200 HP and C/S prop.
 
lockeed said:
I've heard so much fuel tank leaking problems and maintenance issues with those Mooneys that, altought I always loved the plane, I just don't want to fly in one anymore...

A good Van's RV-6 is still a very relevent plane for the job. It'll climb and cruise over the terrain with ease - and it'll do it quickly. Plus, with about 7000 Van's flying, I think we can all agree that it's a solid and reliable platform :wink2:
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Having been inside leaking mooney tanks it really isn't that bad to fix.

I only have three maintenance gripes with mooneys
1 tight cowlings make reaching things hard, I understand the why but it's still a pain.
2 manual back up extension on the later mooneys is fragile.
3 things go sideways in a hurry if the tight tow limits are violated, and sometimes in places you wouldn't normally think to look.
 
Anthony said:
That is spectacular. I would go that route. Try to find one with 200 HP and C/S prop.
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Why? The 200 HP engine is heavier and more expensive to overhaul than the 160's or 180's. The RV-6 wasn't engineered for that engine in the first place, so the cowling installation and space under the cowling may be an issue.

Regarding the prop, CS props are nice, but in an X/C airplane, a properly pitched fixed pitch prop is lighter, less expensive, and offers the same cruise performance.

One more thing. Would you really want to put the extra engine and prop weight on the nosegear of an A model RV.
 
Kyle,

You're right. I was thinking of the RV-7/7A. My mistake.

I'd like the C/S prop for all the reasons they are used in aircraft. Having a climb prop when you need to climb and a cruise prop when you are straight and level. If there was one thing I could change on my Tiger it would be the installation of a IO-360 with C/S prop. Overhaul costs? Over 2000+ hours, what does that work out per hour? A few bucks? No big deal to me in the big picture.
 
Anthony said:
That is spectacular. I would go that route. Try to find one with 200 HP and C/S prop.
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The GlassAir has it beat with equipment list, engine/prop Time, fuel burn and speed.
 
Skylane81E said:
Having been inside leaking mooney tanks it really isn't that bad to fix.

I only have three maintenance gripes with mooneys
1 tight cowlings make reaching things hard, I understand the why but it's still a pain.
2 manual back up extension on the later mooneys is fragile.
3 things go sideways in a hurry if the tight tow limits are violated, and sometimes in places you wouldn't normally think to look.
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The Mooney will not fit the maintenance budget, 50k is top of the budget for this buyer they could not afford to have a 10 grand annual the first year. And I won't work on one, I just got my hands healed from the last time.
 
Tom-D said:
The GlassAir has it beat with equipment list, engine/prop Time, fuel burn and speed.
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Understood Tom. I was speaking conceptually, not of specific aircraft. Plus the RV is aerobatic. On those weekends he can't go visit, he can roll that thing and do some overhead breaks. :D
 
Anthony said:
Understood Tom. I was speaking conceptually, not of specific aircraft. Plus the RV is aerobatic. On those weekends he can't go visit, he can roll that thing and do some overhead breaks. :D
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So's the GlassAir.
 
Tom-D said:
The Mooney will not fit the maintenance budget, 50k is top of the budget for this buyer they could not afford to have a 10 grand annual the first year. And I won't work on one, I just got my hands healed from the last time.
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:rofl::rofl:
 
Tom-D said:
The only one I saw was on Barnstormers, @ $65k.
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That would have to be a racing legend/top competitor with a provenance. Normally you get them as designated on the plans under 20 with modest avionics, and around $13k as a minimalist.
 
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