Beech Sport.

They have 2 doors, which makes them better than Pipers. :p
If you aren't in a big hurry, and don't have to carry a big load, they are a wonderful, well built, honest airplane.
 
Shepherd said:
They have 2 doors, which makes them better than Pipers. :p
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Not all of them; the left door was an option from '68 to '71, or thereabouts, and standard after that. A certified aerobatic version was also optional.

It has a solid, well-built feel for an entry-level airplane. No bad habits I can recall, except that they strongly object to being landed nose first, and will respond to such indignity with enthusiastic porpoising. Consider the nose gear's role in life solely to keep the prop from hitting the ground while taxiing.
 
Owned a BE-19 since 96. Slow (120mph cruse) and a little underpowered, great handling plane and roomy for a single. Would be great with an O-360 powering it. Flown mine all over the country, Alaska and Canada. 60gal of fuel, burns 8.5gal/hr, usable fuel around 56gal.

Maintenance is straight forward and fairly economical. There are a few plane specific things such as preforming a weight and balance that is different than most planes because of the trailing link gear (use the manual when doing weight and balance). Bolts for the trim tab linkage are special. Uses rubber ( discs/pucks/donuts or bisects per say) instead of struts for the gear. They run about $1500 a set, my plane is a 74 model and I have never changed them but its something I need to pick up for when I need them.

Took the rear seat out of mine, great 2 person plane...:)
 
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I had the Super Musketeer (200hp IO-360) for about five years. Even with that big engine, it was really slow. Like 115kts. But, it was built like a tank. Trailing link gear made even bad landings good. And I put it down easily in crosswinds I would never even think about in a Cessna.
 
GRG55 said:
We Piper fans count the oil dipstick door in the cowl to even things out. ;)​
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Call me crazy, but I prefer a single door.
I've always liked Beech's though...that aerobatic option is cool.
 
Pilawt said:
Not all of them; the left door was an option from '68 to '71, or thereabouts, and standard after that. A certified aerobatic version was also optional.

It has a solid, well-built feel for an entry-level airplane. No bad habits I can recall, except that they strongly object to being landed nose first, and will respond to such indignity with enthusiastic porpoising. Consider the nose gear's role in life solely to keep the prop from hitting the ground while taxiing.
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Yeah. I've seen that twice. Both times runway asphalt got gouged up and one of them caught on fire. I thought I remembered them being Sundowners. Maybe Sports and Sundowners do the same thing
 
I have a little time in a Beech Sundowner. As others have said,solid airplane and comfortable because of the cabin width. Stable instrument platform. Slow...

For $25K with a 25hour Penn Yann rebuild it looks like a good deal.

John
 
jsstevens said:
...For $25K with a 25hour Penn Yann rebuild it looks like a good deal.

John
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IF you can get it for that...auction, plus it hasn't hit reserve yet. I'd say not good deal, but instead "great deal", for $25k, with that low time engine AND Stratus.
 
Sweet airplane, I love Beeches, learned in a Skipper and Sundowner.
 
It is up to $31K with 6 hours to go and still not hit reserve - stay away.

It is getting close to a later model Sundowner price and which you can inspect logs, get a pre-buy, etcetera.

I just paid $37K for my 1981 Sundowner and got a chance for a test flight, log inspection, and a pre-buy. Mine has 1350 TT on it.

The Penn Yan rebuild does add alot of value to this one, and maybe $31K is not too much if you had a chance to fly it and inspect it before purchase. But then again it has still not hit reserve yet.

That type airplane regularly is for sale on Trade A Plane for low $20K's. Add $20K for the engine, and that may be where that reserve is - around $40K. Plus that plane is painted. Again - well within Sundowner territory.
 
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