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On size: The short fuselage planes also have a better useful load in most cases. We took four people (average 175 pounds), 36 gallons of gas, and all of our stuff for a week camping at Oshkosh in my 180 and actually hit the CG limit before the weight limit. That said, if someone is tall or...

Yup.. Even with something a bit faster than a 182 commercial still wins sometimes due to cost, time, or weather considerations. Especially in the winter. Actually, I more often find myself choosing to drive either for cost or weather issues, and I tend to regret that the most! Given the...

In the interest of full disclosure, I own two Pipers (and three O-360s).

TB20, sure... TB10/TB200 will more or less match a 28-180 on performance, burning more gas and carrying less. TB200 might eek out 5 to 10 extra knots above 7000 or so as the IO-360 is happier up there than the O-360, but I've flown both in the 3000 to 6000 foot range mostly and they are CLOSE...

Depends on the mission. Cherokee 180 will carry more, cruise faster, and burn less fuel than an equivalent TB series airplane. And who cares if the avionics came from the factory or not? Socata is a fine airplane and ergonomically beats pretty much everything in the class, but you pay for it...

I spoke with the folks that developed it... don't think an article is going to go into more detail... its not a bad unit, but more of a tablet based AHRS with an elegant mounting solution than a true backup instrument like the Sandia. Depends what you need.

It sounded too good to be true, so I contacted them and asked, and well... it is. It can interface with some avionics, but with more restrictions than the website says, and it does not have any air data capability. Sounds like the website developers copy pasted stuff from non-certified...

I'm not a fan of many AOPA services (they have wasted my time and money), but the fact is they are selling a product that provides protection against liability and subrogation when the client is dealing with a legitimate, properly insured organization renting an aircraft. In the majority of...

S-Tec builds the servos as well. So you either need a box that plays with S-Tec (the 60PSS is the only one I know of that is STC'd) or you need to replace the servo (probably with a PET-1 of the appropriate variety), disable the Alt hold of the 30 (don't know the legalities of that) and have...

By that guess I'll guess you have not dealt with S-Tec autopilots much. They are great systems and very reliable, but any service at all, be it an install, repair, or upgrade, is not going to be in the ballpark of what a sane person would guess! That said, I can't see the need to upgrade... if...

You forgot a DER...

DA40s are nice, but not revolutionary. To be honest, I was so excited to fly one the first time I was a bit disappointed. It is a bit more spacious than a 172/PA28 for someone my size, but not much. It is a bit faster than the same, but not much. Access is great with the big doors, but I've...

Sadly there is no upgrade option for the STEC30 to vertical speed/GS hold that I know of. STEC offers the 60PSS for around 12K list to add altitude hold, VS hold, and GS to single axis autopilots. They may have a a discounted option available if it can use the existing STEC30 servo, but I'd...

I've got a lot of time in PA28-180s, and 1200 feet, though possible without obstacles, would certainly be pushing my personal limits. Things like runway slope, winds, obstacles, etc. would determine if I'd attempt it on a given day. As far as doing it if I had no previous grass experience--not...

There are plenty of things left to the DPE's discretion that allow the difficulty of the checkride to be adjusted without flagrantly ignoring the PTS. Sometimes DPEs mix things up for totally legitimate reasons, but certainly a few have used that discretion to play games to keep certain...

Niner is not unusual, and normally I'll say it in a readback if the controller used it. Tree is less common, and I have only heard fow-er and fife a few times. I don't recall the exact situation, but I remember one controller who would not accept my readback unless I used tree and fife in...

Military may not be looking for folks with an ATP, but they definitely prefer prior training. USAF gives applicants for pilot slots significant credit for flight hours, and recently increased the credit given. I would imagine JetBlue will be looking for the same: PPLs, maybe with an...

Seriously, with a 12 hour duty day and 7 on 7 off they only work 3 months!:eek: But I'll sure appreciate those "slackers" if I or anyone they know ever needs them! :yes: I've had the chance to work with some pilots in the medical field, and it is good to know the quality of people we have...

I'm a huge fan of PA28s. I own one, instruct in several, and generally love the aircraft. However, a couple of points: Most 182s have Continental O-470s, at least until the restart of production. New 182s switched over to Lycoming IO-540s. PA-28-235s and -236s have Lycoming O-540, similar...

Those are three great options to look at. For your budget, there are tons of aircraft, so if you give us a bit more detail (how far typical flights are for you, what your payload will typically be) it would help define an aircraft. What you are looking at in terms of operating costs will...