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Ken Ibold

Ken Ibold

Final Approach
Joined
Feb 21, 2005
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5,888
Location
Jacksonville, Florida
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Display name:
Ken Ibold
I've been on the ownership sidelines for a few years after the untimely demise of my last airplane (and my last partner) but I think it's time to jump back in the pool and get another airplane.

Mission: Occasional 400-500 nm cross countries, but I am prohibited from using private aircraft for work, so my platinum status on Delta will remain secure. Generally this will be a fair weather flier, but I do want IFR capability

Budget: $150,000, plus $1000/mo for fixed costs, mx and ins.

Experience: Previously owned a Mooney 201, two Piper Lances, a Citabria and a Pitts. ASEL, ASES, IR, ~2000 hours

My biases: I do not like the ergonomics of Cessna singles. At all. Will not buy one. Air conditioning would be nice, but this limits the candidate pool too much to be an absolute requirement. Generally speaking, newer is better (subject to condition, of course). Glass panel not necessary.

As you might expect, I have already picked out my faves. (I've logged time in about 80 different models.) But maybe someone will throw out something unexpected ...
 
I love this game. Need a little more for mission though. Do you like to frequent the islands? Fly with low IMC? How many people do you like to be able to carry? Visit short/grass much?

A nice twin will fit in your budget easily if you fly with low IMC/over water much. If you are opposed, you could swing a late 90's Ovation for close to your budget.
 
Radar Contact said:
I love this game. Need a little more for mission though. Do you like to frequent the islands? Fly with low IMC? How many people do you like to be able to carry? Visit short/grass much?

A nice twin will fit in your budget easily if you fly with low IMC/over water much. If you are opposed, you could swing a late 90's Ovation for close to your budget.
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I love this game, too. The islands are not out of the question. I've done it many times in a single, but a twin might be interesting. Generally with widespread low IMC I scrub, but I religiously hone skills and shoot for ATP checkride accuracy. Flying mostly alone or with one other on the local stuff. Problem with family travel is that since the 3 kids are grown we now have 4 Samoyeds, so in those cases we just take the motorhome. Short field is not a requirement. Grass is fun, but that would be gravy.
 
Ken Ibold said:
I love this game, too. The islands are not out of the question. I've done it many times in a single, but a twin might be interesting. Generally with widespread low IMC I scrub, but I religiously hone skills and shoot for ATP checkride accuracy. Flying mostly alone or with one other on the local stuff. Problem with family travel is that since the 3 kids are grown we now have 4 Samoyeds, so in those cases we just take the motorhome. Short field is not a requirement. Grass is fun, but that would be gravy.
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If I lived in Jax, I would be going to the islands a lot. One of the many reasons I wanted a twin was for the over-water/lower IMC reasons. That said, your people/distance part of the mission don't really call for it. I still say if you aren't opposed and want the added safety over water you can get a real nice twin under your budget with lot's of money left over (obviously not a newer one though). Of course I'm partial to 310's but a 55 Baron/Aztec would also fit the bill. For what it's worth, I can easily maintain 7000ish single engine. Based on the new info, I know you've been there done that but instead of an Ovation (which is my favorite single for some reason) maybe a late model MSE?
 
I’ll say a short nose 310, maybe even an old Tuna Tank unit. You can get a good one for well under $100k leaving you a lot of room to make it “yours.” The ergonomics in my opinion are fantastic (much more width than a single you’d be looking at) and the economy is really pretty decent for a Twin. 470s are bulletproof (mostly). Get one with no de-ice, radar, etc, just keep it a simple fun plane.

If you buy an old one you can say every time you fly “Out is the clear blue of the western sky comes... SKY KING!!!” That never gets old.
 
Clearly it’s time for that third Lance!
 
Don't forget the extra bottle of Grey Poupon; never know when someone might ask.
 
I also prefer twins, but that seems overkill for this:

"Mission: Occasional 400-500 nm cross countries..."​

The chute in a Cirrus might address the overwater concerns, but that's a purely personal decision.
If you are often flying solo, what about an RV-7 or '8?
 
If you want a more comfortable, capable cross country machine than a Vans RV, and generally fly solo or with only one passenger, the Ovation suggested in post #6 by Radar Contact gets my vote too.
 
Thanks for all the feedback.

Early Ovation certainly is a sentimental favorite, as I loved my M20J. (When did air conditioning become an option?)

SR20 also is on my radar. Diamond DA40 is another. Being in Florida there is some appeal to composites.

RV might be worth pursuing. My Pitts was Experimental Amateur Built and I do like the relative freedom of experimentals. I love the looks of the Lancair 360, but finding good ones is tough, and I've never flown one.

I hadn't really given much consideration to twins, but you've given me some food for thought. I would up the budget to go DA42, because I really like the way they fly, but too many unanswered questions there.
 
No school like the old school. Sorry, 150 AMUs doesn't buy much outside the Ex/Ab world.
 
Ken Ibold said:
I hadn't really given much consideration to twins, but you've given me some food for thought. I would up the budget to go DA42, because I really like the way they fly, but too many unanswered questions there.
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The DA42 would be a fairly perfect fit for your mission as well. I tend to forget about it since you don't see many of them. If you're specifically wanting a newer aircraft, I think it's a great option.

I've only flown in one once and I enjoyed it. The ease of FADEC diesels for starting (not to mention the ability to then sign up for contract fuel programs) is nice.

The one negative about a twin is that a lot of people have a hard time taking it up on non-mission activities, like bombing around for sight seeing, counting cows, etc. That's a lot of why we're looking at an old Cub to augment the MU-2.
 
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