first plane purchase

[wabower]

And if you want something comfortable that doesn't require gear retraction after landing or look like you just sweated your way through a student-pilot cross country, those are available too.

 

[dukeblue219]

The man says he has a budget of 250k for a plane and you guys are going to suggest a 150? Are you kidding? I owned a 150 and had to take it on a 105 nm trip once when my Lancair was down for maintenance. A little headwind combined with climbing over a hill made it a 2 hour trip instead of 40 minutes in the Lancair. No autopilot and a yoke instead of a stick gave my arm a charlie horse. The slower speed amounted to a larger fuel bill for the privilege.

I agree. I think a Lancair is just as extreme for this as a 150, just in opposite directions. I think a late model DA40 might be an excellent way to combine speed with simplicity and reliability. It's going to get him there fast, it looks sweet, and it's perfect for both ifr training and cross country flying as a low time pilot. A nice SR20 would be good as well.

 

[Mike5250]

Buy my mooney.

And you can climb out at 120kts, cruise at 160kts decend at 200kts. About right? I only have a few hrs in a m20j.

 

[LandSickness]

Now THIS is what I call a commuter, sans the certificated operating cost budget busting.
RUTAN = DAVINCI

 

[DavidWhite]

And you can climb out at 120kts, cruise at 160kts decend at 200kts. About right? I only have a few hrs in a m20j.

The first 2 are about right, I usually descend around 185 in smooth air, or 170 in rough.

 

[wabower]

I agree that there's no reason to spend anywhere near 250k for the travel he wants to achieve. After that number is reduced to reality, plenty of options remain.

Let's see -- 10 times a month is 120 round trips a year, with about 2 hours or a bit more each round trip, or some 240-300 hours a year, depending on speed. Divide that $25K/year by 240-300 hours/year, and that's an operating cost of $80-100/hour. The turbocharged, high performance, pressurized, retractables about which you've been talking cost at least twice, maybe three times that per hour in operating costs.

For an operating budget of $80-100 per hour over 240 hours a year, with $250K to spend on purchase, you're looking at something in the 4-seat, fixed-gear 180-200HP class, like a new or nearly-new Cirrus SR20, Diamond DA40, Piper Archer, or Cessna 172SP. For trip lengths of 160nm, those will give you nearly the same times door-to-door as the fire-breathers about which you have been talking, but within the operating budget you desire. I'd suggest you try to fly the all and see which one makes you happiest. In addition, there are legacy aircraft which would fill the same bill but with less than half the initial investment include the legacy Cessna 172/177, PA28-161/181, Grumman Cheetah/Tiger, and Beech Sundowner -- decide if you want to save some investment money by going that route.

 

[NineThreeKilo]

ifr with about 250 hours mostly in 172s thats all thats available around here. budget for the plane is 250k with an annual operating cost of 25k. 90% of the time it will be just myself 6'1 200lbs

Yea, you don't need to be in a retract or anything over 140kts.

How bouts a 182 or Grumman AA5