Fighter Pilot looking for advice on the GA world

Take a look at the Cherokee Six. If you can get it in the doors it will haul it. Although it would likely blowout the top of your budget.
 
William Pete Hodges said:
Just a quick note: I disagree that for under 100 hrs per year you are better off renting. While from a cost only standpoint that is technically true, renting requires scheduled access to an airplane that earns its living renting to anyone everyday. Owning your own plane means unlimited access anytime without pre-scheduling your flying time. It also means you are the only one using it, so it will never be unavailable without your knowledge. Need to take the bird out-of town for a week or two? No problem!
Unlimited access and limited abusive use are two things in favor of owning that rental airplanes can't match.
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Not disagreeing with you, but the economics mount up against you. And also, with low hours per year, you are looking at possibly issues with corrosion in the engine.

How about, in MANY cases, if you aren't going to fly at least 100 hours per year, rental may be a better option. Both have tradeoffs.
 
William Pete Hodges said:
Just a quick note: I disagree that for under 100 hrs per year you are better off renting. While from a cost only standpoint that is technically true, renting requires scheduled access to an airplane that earns its living renting to anyone everyday. Owning your own plane means unlimited access anytime without pre-scheduling your flying time. It also means you are the only one using it, so it will never be unavailable without your knowledge. Need to take the bird out-of town for a week or two? No problem!
Unlimited access and limited abusive use are two things in favor of owning that rental airplanes can't match.
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As someone who has always rented and never owned, I couldn't agree more.... and I would also add to that the ability to leave your "stuff" stashed in the plane just the way you like it. It's maybe silly in the scheme of costs, but having your spare pencil where you want it, your yoke clip for your ipad set up just the way you like it, or whatever.... that all came to be a minor aggravation for me...having that cockpit organization time eat into my preflight time and paying rent to do it.
...but it was the mystery maintenance, or lack thereof, that tripped me into deciding that owning is the only way it makes sense to keep flying and that's why I stumbled into a very very long rusty pilot period.... that life got in the way of and made even longer....
 
Tarheelpilot said:
rv-8
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I recommend you take your wife up for a nice, long ride in a tandem airplane. Funny! Some women don't get a thrill out of looking at the back of your head. Some even like a side-by-side so they can chat with you while watching common scenes, watch or help with the avionics and so forth. Women! What do you think about that?
Now, if she is a pilot also, she my say you can look at the back of her head.
Funny secret about women passengers. Many see airplanes as a way to see mother, visit the children, go on a nice vacation or even spend some time with you. Figuring out crosswind compensation, VFR flight altitudes, doing stall and steep turns, maybe not so much.
Mission is hard to figure out realistically in the first place, and then mission has a bad habit of creeping or changing after you get the plane. "Hey," she says. "We could have driven and then we'd have a car instead of using this ex-police car at the weird little airport."
Washington sounds like a great place to broaden out into back country flying. Then you hopefully aren't saying to yourself, "Gosh, I could be at Mach 1.2 now." Piper Tri-Pacer or Pacer, Rans S-20.
Don't forget to get checked out in gliders while you're waiting for the right airplane. OMG! That is what rudders are for, you think. But what a nice change.
 
I'm in an LSA partnership In Western WA(Zenith CH650), and have my own solo owned plane. I'm selling the LSA share because I just bought the other (Glasair Sportsman). But, the LSA with 4 partners has a been a very good experience. Super cheap flying in a very capable little plane. And 4 partners that all do our share of maintenance and costs. I was worried about the partnership thing prior to buying in, but would do it again.

I wish I could keep the partners and move to the new plane with them. But the economics are pretty drastically different. On that note, if I don't make a hundred hours a year in the new one, I don't care, I'm looking forward to the new adventures. I can always sell or make a partnership out of it later.
 
jnmeade said:
I recommend you take your wife up for a nice, long ride in a tandem airplane. Funny! Some women don't get a thrill out of looking at the back of your head. Some even like a side-by-side so they can chat with you while watching common scenes, watch or help with the avionics and so forth. Women! What do you think about that?
Now, if she is a pilot also, she my say you can look at the back of her head.
Funny secret about women passengers. Many see airplanes as a way to see mother, visit the children, go on a nice vacation or even spend some time with you. Figuring out crosswind compensation, VFR flight altitudes, doing stall and steep turns, maybe not so much.
Mission is hard to figure out realistically in the first place, and then mission has a bad habit of creeping or changing after you get the plane. "Hey," she says. "We could have driven and then we'd have a car instead of using this ex-police car at the weird little airport."
Washington sounds like a great place to broaden out into back country flying. Then you hopefully aren't saying to yourself, "Gosh, I could be at Mach 1.2 now." Piper Tri-Pacer or Pacer, Rans S-20.
Don't forget to get checked out in gliders while you're waiting for the right airplane. OMG! That is what rudders are for, you think. But what a nice change.
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Rent her a car and hand her the keys.

:devil:
 
I like to quote the immortal Morrie Dollahan from Kalamazoo, Michigan: "Just get yerself a Bonanza. That's what you're gonna end up with, anyway."

Probably the best advice I ever got.
 
Tools said:
Goto the airport of your choice and start networking. That’ll help ya with hangar, maintenance and local flying bud stuff.
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This is great advice. I got a hangar slot solely due to continuing to speak to people I met early on, including a wonderful DPE nearby who knew a guy who ended up giving me a perma-slot at his new FBO.

Also recommend helping anyone you can. I am newly back to GA, but was able to hook up people with advice due to multiple lives. It's a small world and a positive approach is a boon.

Tools said:
Didn’t fly GA again until 10 years into the airlines. This is more dangerous than the boat at night! I recommend finding a mentor.
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I'm in a marginally-similar boat. Back-seater (flight doc) with long GA hiatus, now needing to fly a real civ commuting mission. Lots of helpful people out there, including @Pinecone.
 
EvilEagle said:
Where are you in WA? A backcountry plane may be just the ticket!
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I just bought a turbonormalized TKSed Mooney (an engineering marvel). I am very excited.

If I didn't need to commute in wx in high country in the North I would be really thinking hard about a Husky or something like that.

With regard to comments about happy passengers in tandems, there are some interesting threads elsewhere about putting avionics back there. E.g. even a Garmin Aera with cross-load. Let the backseater work flight planning, stop planning, etc, like at least a Nav-lite since you can't cop to having a WSO in a GA plane ;)....
 
*shhhhhh* side by sides are for meow meows, not manly red blooded fighter pilots. He should stick to the real thing and go tandem tail draggers all the way. Leave those ghastly side by side training wheeled EABs to us meow meows to have at a discount :stirpot: :biggrin:.
 
Gilbert Buettner said:
I like to quote the immortal Morrie Dollahan from Kalamazoo, Michigan: "Just get yerself a Bonanza. That's what you're gonna end up with, anyway."

Probably the best advice I ever got.
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But that is because you were a trash hauler. The OP is a FIGHTER pilot. :D :D :D

You know I am teasing you Gil. :D
 
dkmt said:
I just bought a turbonormalized TKSed Mooney (an engineering marvel). I am very excited.
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Awesome. Are you also over on Mooney Space?

And if you haven't found it, look up Mooney Flyer online magazine. Some great articles over the years. All issues are available online.
 
Pinecone said:
But that is because you were a trash hauler. The OP is a FIGHTER pilot. :D :D :D

You know I am teasing you Gil. :D
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Hey…..I’m a fighter pilot that owns a bonanza. :)

I’m also a Bonanza owner that can’t roll my eyes hard enough when Bonanza owners say “the 35/33 flies more like a fighter”. :rolleyes::cool:
 
EvilEagle said:
Hey…..I’m a fighter pilot that owns a bonanza. :)

I’m also a Bonanza owner that can’t roll my eyes hard enough when Bonanza owners say “the 35/33 flies more like a fighter”. :rolleyes::cool:
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Adolph Galland said that about his Bonanza but the fighter he was comparing it to was an ME-109. :rolleyes:
 
Crashnburn said:
Beat me to it.
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When we decided to get back into GA after raising four kids and sending them to college, I looked back at our boating experience - driving out to the lake, assembling the sailboat, launching it, retrieving it, disassembling it, trailoring it back home, rinse and repeat.
We found a lot/house/hangar on an airpark and moved here. Now I just walk out the back door, open the hangar and go flying. Far better than having to drive to an airport everytime I want to fly. A side benefit is that we have multiple A&Ps here with at least two IAs.
We love it here, she has room to garden, I have room to play with airplanes (rebuilding a Woody's Pusher and working on a Tailwind).
Oh, and there is no hangar rent!
 
OKDonn said:
When we decided to get back into GA after raising four kids and sending them to college, I looked back at our boating experience - driving out to the lake, assembling the sailboat, launching it, retrieving it, disassembling it, trailoring it back home, rinse and repeat.
We found a lot/house/hangar on an airpark and moved here. Now I just walk out the back door, open the hangar and go flying. Far better than having to drive to an airport everytime I want to fly. A side benefit is that we have multiple A&Ps here with at least two IAs.
We love it here, she has room to garden, I have room to play with airplanes (rebuilding a Woody's Pusher and working on a Tailwind).
Oh, and there is no hangar rent!
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I don’t think I could ever go back to renting a hangar at a public airport. Airpark living is the best! Every morning at least three, sometimes as many as nine, planes head out to breakfast. We all get together a lot - often daily - and talk about planes, several A&Ps, guys who can - and have - build or fix anything, and who have some of the most diverse flying experience (international heavy pilots, fighter pilots, ultralight and gyrocopter guys, one kitbuilder who soloed around the world twice, a Reno racer/owner, it goes on and on).

If there’s an airpark close enough to you and you’re approaching having a permanent home, think about a hangar home.
 
The correct answer is whatever airplane your wife likes the best.

That said, mine has never much liked climbing in over the wing (neither have I, but I get to fly the damn thing once in it, she doesn’t), even when the wing was attached to a pair of turbocharged six cylinder Continentals. So the twin was replaced with a 210 which has the same easy in/easy out as the 182 which came before it.

If your wife doesn’t fly and/or the aircraft is not to be used for transportation primarily, get a low and slow taildragger. Your smile will be permanentent.
 
Afterburner Blowout said:
The Beech Musketeer looks just about perfect. Glad to see a positive review!
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Near Boise?, I can take you for a Demo flight in this one...

1701373507095.png1701373622360.png
1968 BEECHCRAFT MUSKETEER B-23 • $65,900 • FOR SALE • 1968 Beechcraft Musketeer B-23. Extremely low time clean Musketeer for sale. Total Time: 1508.2! ESMOH 875.4 Lycoming 0-360 A2G 180 HP. ADSB out. Front seat shoulder harness. Clean interior and good paint. Micro vortex generators. Open to reasonable offers cash buyers only. • Contact Richard Bouge , Friend of Owner - located Boise, ID 83714 United States • Telephone: 2085711693 • Posted November 10, 2023 • Show all Ads posted by this Advertiser • Recommend This Ad to a Friend • Email Advertiser • Save to Watchlist • Report This Ad • View Larger Images

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
brcase said:
Near Boise?, I can take you for a Demo flight in this one...

View attachment 122874View attachment 122875
1968 BEECHCRAFT MUSKETEER B-23 • $65,900 • FOR SALE • 1968 Beechcraft Musketeer B-23. Extremely low time clean Musketeer for sale. Total Time: 1508.2! ESMOH 875.4 Lycoming 0-360 A2G 180 HP. ADSB out. Front seat shoulder harness. Clean interior and good paint. Micro vortex generators. Open to reasonable offers cash buyers only. • Contact Richard Bouge , Friend of Owner - located Boise, ID 83714 United States • Telephone: 2085711693 • Posted November 10, 2023 • Show all Ads posted by this Advertiser • Recommend This Ad to a Friend • Email Advertiser • Save to Watchlist • Report This Ad • View Larger Images

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
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this still avail?
 
I'M retired Air Force. Flew F111Ds and As mostly plus OV10s in SEA war. During my AF career owned Mooney by myself and later a Cherokee 235 with 2 partners. Since retiring I have owned a quarter share in PA31-310 Navajo (3 kids an 8 grandkids). For your mission I would strongly recommend a Cherokee 235 (now called a Dakota.) The IO540 is bulletproof and even in Idaho or New Mexico it will haul 4 adults and full fuel. Very decent cruise speed on 12gph, parts easy to find, and will give you lots of room to grow your family.
 
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