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Cheers, Sorry to hear the CPA has degraded. First Mike Busch left, then John Frank died, and now they've moved to an off-airport location. They used to (still?) offer useful maintenance model-specific seminars at their Santa Maria hangar in addition to the massive information contained in the...

Cheers, Who buys new airplanes? (1) the flight mills (think training of large numbers of aspiring airline pilots from many countries). Buy a new C-172 ($379K MSRP), use 5-yr accelerated depreciation, rent it out for 1000 hr/yr (after all, this IS a flight mill), and at the end of five years...

Cheers, Use an escrow company and also have them perform a title search on the airplane. That way both parties are assured they are getting what they agreed to ... no suspense, no cheating. Think of the small fee involved as insurance. Don

Cheers, I have written many positive and a few negative reviews on AirNav. In one case regarding an aging review, the FBO objected, and I worked with Gina to have an updated acceptable negative review published. I have no issues with their objectivity. However, I agree that fuel prices are now...

Cheers, No question about it, the Diamond is the safest and, I feel, the best low-power (<200 hp) "4-seat" airplane on the market. Used prices for this aircraft reflect this. Diamond did it right in other ways too: they used perhaps the most reliable piston engine ever made, added a...

Greetings, I've flown most of the models of aircraft mentioned in this thread, and many others, and've liked all of them. That said, I tool around in a C-172 that is thirty-nine years old, albeit nice in every way, because I can afford it and not more. Cherokees and Skyhawks didn't used to be...

HF 'fessed right up to his mistake, which is to his credit. I'm guessing he also filed an ASRS report about the incident within ten days, too. The latter would protect him from any FAA enforcement actions, as it would for any of us. Best, Don

'Sounds like a fabulous trip. I have some ideas for you. First, don't miss flying through Monument Valley in the cool of the morning, and make sure you have your camera with you! Stop at Page (just to the west of Monument Valley) and take a short walk to the Ranch House Grill for the best chili...

Don't get emotionally committed to purchase ANY airplane until after the results of the independent mechanic's pre-buy inspection are in. Deal breakers might include significant corrosion and uncertain, potentially "service limits" provenance on the last engine overhaul. Regarding density...

Hi again, I've one additional comment to add. The freezing level will drop as you proceed north from LA. It will often be surface-4,000 ft in wintertime by the time you reach the Willamette Valley. You need to be especially careful in a C-172 to avoid overflying thick layers of ice-laden...

I'm concerned about the precedent the "deal" to close KSMO in 2028 sets. KSMO is a major regional GA airport serving a large area from about LAX to the south to Van Nuys to the NE. Nearly all bizjets will need to go elsewhere (correct me if I'm wrong but I believe a 4000-5000 ft minimum runway...

Here' my Pirep for an iPad 2, purchased in 2011 with 32 GB, together with the original Bad-Elf GPS. I ran WingX with no problem until 2013, then switched to Garmin Pilot to interface with my Garmin GDL-88 ADS-B. Both of these applications have run great, right up to the present day. However, I...

BTW, this is my first post here.... I fly my C-172 (lots of hours) up and down the West Coast quite a bit, especially between the Bay Area and LA. Here are some of my thoughts on routing as far as the Willamette Valley, especially in winter. (1) An instrument rating might come in handy; if...