what airplane would you buy

mpdan89

Filing Flight Plan
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Feb 26, 2015
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Iraan, TX
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Squirrel
What airplane would you guys buy if you could handle a 100k loan and still fly 100 hours per year.

Im looking at:

2 seater/my wife is terrified of flying so no family trips
Off field capability
10gph or less
Hold enough stuff to camp and hunt on the weekends
Able to carry a 300 pound animal carcass

Im at 3500ft msl, high desert, high winds, every day all day.
 
Hold enough stuff to camp and hunt on the weekends
Able to carry a 300 pound animal carcass

Those two requirements will most likely push you into something that started out with four seats. Usually it's pretty easy to pull the rear seats.

Are you considering experimental? How fast do you want to go?

If you truly want off-field capability then you're looking for some sort of high-wing, conventional gear although there are some guys flying trikes off-field. Maybe a Stinson? or a Cessna 170. The fuel burn will keep you under 200 hp. I'm sure other folks will have better ideas...
 
Just Aircraft. Either the Highlander or the Super STOL. Looks like fun! Takeoff runs over downed trees and stumps are ridiculously short, imagine what they'd be from a smooth surface . . .

http://www.justaircraft.com/superStol.php#gsc.tab=0

P.S.--Per their website, factory built models are available, 80s to 90s depending on engine and avionics selections.
 
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I dont need to fly fast, i only need to fly 200 miles in any direction. Im mainly trying to stay away from high performance aircraft to keep cost down. I only weigh 150 pounds so i figured i could carry a good size deer, hog. The 300 pounds includes camping gear. I pack light and freeze at night.
 
I forgot to add, i would prefer to stay away from experimental, id rather just buy and fly without worrying if someone put the bolt in the right way.
 
Get a 182 (preferably a straight tail for back country) and take the back seat out. Mine burns 11GPH instead of 10 but you can get a nice older one for less than $50k...keep the other $50k in the bank to help pay for that extra (whopping) gallon per hour.

Also, an auto gas STC is available for all but the latest models which will help keep your fuel costs down...and engine happy.

It'll take off with anything you can stuff through the doors. Weight and balance calcs are optional (but still advisable).
 
2 people (~400lbs.) with a 300 lb. payload with full fuel brings us to 840 lbs. payload if she hold 40 gallons. With extended 80 gal. tanks, your up over 1000lb. payload.

And you want 10g.p.h. or less, no high horsepower, and STOL with a $100K budget.

That's a tough shoe to fit, but I'm going to say a used carbon cub or a used Husky or American Champion in the 160-180h.p. range. The Husky/Champion will still probably burn a tad more than 10g.p.h.
 
I guess ill just go with a cub. Its rocky out where i am and i dont think i could get a c180 in there.
 
I dont need to fly fast, i only need to fly 200 miles in any direction. Im mainly trying to stay away from high performance aircraft to keep cost down. I only weigh 150 pounds so i figured i could carry a good size deer, hog. The 300 pounds includes camping gear. I pack light and freeze at night.

Don't forgot your banjo and straw hat. Just kidding
 
Yes i know, i said it.... Cub.. Thats why i asked this question in the first place because i was trying to avoid the cub myself.
 
If you think you can get a Cub out with 300lb of hog, and you and you can't get a C180 out with the same hog and you - well, I am at a loss here.
 
Its not going to be the whole hog, its going to be field dressed. So lookin at 200 pounds. I only get what i eat. I throw the rest away.
 
I should mention where i want to fly has no runway. Its nothing but rock and mesquite bushes.
 
I should mention where i want to fly has no runway. Its nothing but rock and mesquite bushes.

That sounds like a C180 to me. That's what that plane is made for. I think half of Alaska has one. I wish I had one. Awesome planes.
 
I guess c180 it is. I have a c150 now and just building hours.
 
PA18-180 on AWBs, done
 
If the hog is just field dressed, but still in one piece, the big doors of a Maule would come in handy:
1207p-maule-interior.jpg


You will also need some space for your hunting gear.

180 / 182 / Maule seems to be the most common aircraft for the type of operation you are looking for.
 
If you are only going 200 miles get a helicopter.
 
What airplane would you guys buy if you could handle a 100k loan and still fly 100 hours per year.

Im looking at:

2 seater/my wife is terrified of flying so no family trips
Off field capability
10gph or less
Hold enough stuff to camp and hunt on the weekends
Able to carry a 300 pound animal carcass

Im at 3500ft msl, high desert, high winds, every day all day.

Cessna 180/185 PeePonk Mod. Hands down winner.
 
I have actually looked at maules, a friend of mine has one out here and i have flown with him out into the canyons. Another friend has a c170 but is severely limited to what he can do. The friend that owns a maule also has a cub. He flies the maule more. I just dont want to buy more airplane than i need or can handle. I have not been able to personally look at c180s yet. The aviation community here is kind of dead.
 
I forgot to add, i would prefer to stay away from experimental, id rather just buy and fly without worrying if someone put the bolt in the right way.

Well...that really has nothing to do with it being certified or experimental.
:wink2:
You can find bad workmanship in both kinds.

PS. I like Maules too.
 
Well...that really has nothing to do with it being certified or experimental.
:wink2:
You can find bad workmanship in both kinds.

PS. I like Maules too.
I do too, but I like the bearhawk more. I'm 99% there with permission from the girls to start building one when we get back the the usa.
 
Get a Piper Pacer. Pull out the back seat and put some bigger tires on it. Get one with an O-320 on it and you should be fine for what you need to do.
 
[...] I just dont want to buy more airplane than i need or can handle. [...]

Frankly, you sound like somebody who never operated an aircraft in the back country and who doesn't really know what his mission will look like. Admittedly, I have zero experience Super Cubs, I however doubt that they are easier to handle than, let's say, a 182.

Speaking of 182s - why not have a closer look at a straight tail 182, as suggested by Tim? It is a trike, what makes it easier to handle and even the guys a backcountry pilots.org praise it for the versatility and capability in the back country: https://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/why-is-the-straight-tail-182-prefered-for-backcountry-9838

This gentlemen lands with his 182 for example at Cabin Creek: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKw3iCiX9o4

Really nice straight tail 182s are offered for 50 - 60k, more basic ones for even less. 180s and Super Cubs are significantly more expensive, Maules are somewhere in between, but usually younger. Expect a bit over 11 gal. / hr. for 180 / 182 or a 235hp Maule, if you pull the throttle back. I would guess that a Super Cup would need a little bit less, but then again it is also slower.

You might want to reconsider, whether you really want to get a loan for 100k, to buy a plane which possibly will not fit your mission, only to save 1 or 2 gal./hr. A 182 would be an excellent and capable plane, which you can use for your hunting adventures, but which also makes a nice travelling machine. Most are also IFR equipped, so that you could also use it to get your instrument rating in it, without having to invest in an avionics upgrade.

Taking costs, capability, availability and mission into consideration, my personal preference, highest to lowest, would be straight tail 182 --> +200 hp Maule --> 180 --> Super Cub.

The Piper (Tri)Pacer Art VanDelay suggests is certainly also something worth looking at. Quite capable and low costs in all regards. I was actually really interested in one myself. We however did not want to get a taildragger (Pacer), and my wife thought that the Tri-Pacer was too ugly. End of story. :rolleyes:

Speaking of wifes - getting a not too expensive plane first, without a loan, would also allow you to see how much your wife tolerates your flying habit. Most wifes neither like to see big monthly payments for a toy on the banking statement, nor that their husband is gone every other weekend. And flying 100 hrs / year is a lot of time away from the family, especially when it is combined with overnight stays.
 
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There's a nice Piper Pacer in Barnstormers right now that already has the back seat out for $26,500 bucks ! That's less than most new pickup trucks.
 
I know of a straight-tail C-182 for sale by a certain feller who hangars not far from Iraan. :wink2:
 
Can I ask why you kill animals for your joy? Do you think it's ok if another creature kill us for his joy?
Why do people scream and make so much noise when another person is killed? Then who gave you the right to kill an animal for your joy?
 
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Can I ask why you kill animals for your joy? Do you think it's ok if another creature kill us for his joy?
Why do people scream and make so much noise when another person is killed? Then who the **** gave you the right to kill an animal for your joy?

He said he eats them. I guess you missed that when you charged into the thread on your high horse.
 
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Can I ask why you kill animals for your joy? Do you think it's ok if another creature kill us for his joy?
Why do people scream and make so much noise when another person is killed? Then who gave you the right to kill an animal for your joy?

Why do you glorify the killing of humans just to keep the bankers happy by having a picture of a warbird as your avatar?
 
He said he eats them. I guess you missed that when you charged into the thread on your high horse.

Then, we shouldn't be mad if someone kills another person and eat it. Right?!

There is a lot of meat in stores to buy and eat (I don't endorse that either though). But going out in the wild and killing another animal and eating it is not rational. It's not a need. It's just for the joy of killing and eating.
 
Why do you glorify the killing of humans just to keep the bankers happy by having a picture of a warbird as your avatar?

You're trying to derail the discussion by talking about bankers etc.
I never glorify killing other people and animals. I just like the look of the p-51 Mustang. I wish we had never invented these great machines for killing. They should be used for airshows or other uses only.
People who are glorified for killing other people by seeing a good looking airplane need a brain overhaul.
 
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Can I ask why you kill animals for your joy? Do you think it's ok if another creature kill us for his joy?
Why do people scream and make so much noise when another person is killed? Then who gave you the right to kill an animal for your joy?

You make the assumption that it gives him joy..

Did God send Adam and Eve out of the Garden to hunt and forage for food?
 
You're trying to derail the discussion by talking about bankers etc.
I never glorify killing other people and animals. I just like the look of the p-51 Mustang. I wish we had never invented these great machines for killing. They should be used for airshows or other uses only.
People who are glorified for killing other people by seeing a good looking airplane need a brain overhaul.

You're trying to derail the conversation by talking about hunting. The OP is shopping for an airplane here!
 
BTW, in some parts of W TX there are people who are hired to kill the Javalina hogs. Maybe he's a bounty hunter, I sure don't know, and don't care. The Javalinas are hardly endangered.
 
You make the assumption that it gives him joy..

Did God send Adam and Eve out of the Garden to hunt and forage for food?

Can he tell us for what other reason he's doing it other than eating its flesh, or using its skin, or using its stuffed head to show off, etc.? Are these not just for the joy while many other alternatives are available?
 
You're trying to derail the conversation by talking about hunting. The OP is shopping for an airplane here!

If someone asks you what is the best gun to go out and kill 10 people, would you give him the advice for the best available guns? Would you not ask him why he's going to do that, at first?
 
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