What planes have you owned?

Brian Austin

Brian Austin

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Brian Austin
I've seen lots of owners here. For those of us still shopping for our first planes, I'm curious what you've owned...and in what order? First plane, second plane, etc.? If you can remember how long you had it, add that, too, please.

Thanks!
 
N8889Beans. A 1956 C172, one of twelve owners.
Cessna 205 1963. A great hauler, Think of it as a fixed gear Centurion, which it is.
M20F with a manual Turbo. Put so many mods into it I think I lost my shirt.
M20J Turbo Bullet. Darwin Conrad has gotta be kidding - that bird is making much more than 200 hp.
Cessna 140. The best place in the world to be - except in winter.
PA34 Seneca II. The girls got big. I needed a 6 seat All weather Ice AvTruck. That's the one.
 
N733YN - 180 HP 172. Great plane. Could haul the entire family on trips. Cramped, but it was my first plane and the plane Agatha learned to fly in (again)

N1716R - C182 RG. Chosen to haul as much as the 172, but faster with more room and better avionics. Flies like a Cessna, like a heavier 172.

Mark
 
A 1951 Beech C35 with 5 partners. I was 17 working at the airport and saved and saved and saved to buy this plane. It was a dream to me and I have very fond memories of flying my dad in this plane. our senior partner was an A&I so our maintenance was easy and fun to do.

Next a wonderful C182 A great Instrument flyer
Next a Piper Turbo Arrow. Yes It did make TBO and nver had a problem for 1600 hours.

Next was a real honest no frills Piper Cherokee 180.

Now a wonderful easy to fly Beech Debonair C-33 Not that fast but so comfotable to fly on long trips.

All of these planes are so great and I feel so lucky to be able to own or at least be a partner in one.

John
 
OK, here we go....

N54395 - Piper Warrior - 3/88 to 2/89
N5414F - Grumman Tiger - 3/94 - 3/95
N1555W - Beech F33 Bonanza - 5/95 - 10/96
NC38551 - Piper J-3 - 3/96 - 12/97
N3681K - Beech BE55 Baron - 10/96 - 11/97
N524CG - Rans S12XL - 8/99 - 3/02
N414AE - Beech BE58P - 5/98 - 6/99
N36PD - Beech BE36 - since 9/99
N51ST - Pitts S2A - 5/03 - 1/04
N69LW - Extra 300/L - since 5/04

Favorites: #1 - The Extra; #2 - The BE55 Baron; #3 - The BE36
The only one I hated: The BE58P aka The Money Pit
 
gibbons said:
OK, here we go....

N54395 - Piper Warrior - 3/88 to 2/89
N5414F - Grumman Tiger - 3/94 - 3/95
N1555W - Beech F33 Bonanza - 5/95 - 10/96
NC38551 - Piper J-3 - 3/96 - 12/97
N3681K - Beech BE55 Baron - 10/96 - 11/97
N524CG - Rans S12XL - 8/99 - 3/02
N414AE - Beech BE58P - 5/98 - 6/99
N36PD - Beech BE36 - since 9/99
N51ST - Pitts S2A - 5/03 - 1/04
N69LW - Extra 300/L - since 5/04

Favorites: #1 - The Extra; #2 - The BE55 Baron; #3 - The BE36
The only one I hated: The BE58P aka The Money Pit
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Chip, are you a broker? Or do you just get bored with the planes so fast? Wow!
 
I have only owned one, a Beech Bonanza in a partnership for about 7 years. Prior to that I flew 152's, 172's, 172 RG's, 182RG's and a Commander 112A.

I can't imagine selling the Bonanza, I am very happy with it. It's a huge step up from any of my previous planes, and costs less to operate than a 152 costs to rent in my area. It's such a great plane and such a great deal to fly that if I was in financial trouble, it would be the very last asset to go!
 
ErikU said:
I have only owned one, a Beech Bonanza in a partnership for about 7 years. Prior to that I flew 152's, 172's, 172 RG's, 182RG's and a Commander 112A.

I can't imagine selling the Bonanza, I am very happy with it. It's a huge step up from any of my previous planes, and costs less to operate than a 152 costs to rent in my area. It's such a great plane and such a great deal to fly that if I was in financial trouble, it would be the very last asset to go!
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Sigh. My father-in-law is selling his 74 Bo V35B. The whole thing has been completely rebuilt, down the control cables and everything. I was hoping he'd bring it down from OR to AZ and park it here for a while (he talked about it) but alas, he's intent on getting rid of it..and WAY out of my league, too. :(
 
Brian Austin said:
Chip, are you a broker? Or do you just get bored with the planes so fast? Wow!
Click to expand...

Well..........

Warrior - my first airplane cost me $109 / hour to fly and I didn't have any money. It ate me out of house and home and was broken all the time. I bought it from Red S. out of Tulsa. Enough said.

Tiger - great airplane but our business outgrew it. It was too slow for the distances we were traveling to get to clients.

F33 - really great airplane - but in the end it was using about 3 qts of oil / hour and need an overhaul. Didn't want to mess with it and couldn't afford the down time.

J-3 - Just for fun and to get the tailwheel endorsement. Was fun for about a year but didn't have any short field performance.

BE55 - really, really great airplane - it caught on fire somewhere over Kansas and I tore it up in an off field landing :(

Rans S12 - my replacement for the J-3. Lots of climb, great short field performance. Flew like a barn door. Still, it was a lot of fun.

BE58P - business was good and we wanted to go fast. Invoice for the first annual was over $20,000. I never made a single flight in it that something didn't break. Couldn't sell it fast enough. Like someone on the AOPA board said, "The BE58P is the safest airplane in the world. It's hard to get hurt in an airplane that's in the shop all the time."

A36 - going on six years. Great all-around airplane. Turbo-normalizing would make it even better.

Pitts - Fun to fly and a challenge to land, but the S2A is just underpowered for my taste.

Extra - Well, if I can continue to afford the insurance and fuel I'll probably keep this one a while. It is just absolutely unbelievable fun and the performance is an eye-opener for everyone who flies in it.

So, it all makes sense when you look at it that way. :)

Chip
 
gibbons said:
So, it all makes sense when you look at it that way. :)

Chip
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Hmmmmm, looks to me like you suffer from "lack of high wing airplane syndrome". Perhaps you would be more well-rounded after adding a Citabria to your stable?
 
My Dad bought me a J3 when I was 14, he taught me to fly it from a hay field on our farm in NY.

I sold every thing I owned except the J-3 and bought a Nordlund Norsman in 57 I flew it on a gov contract summer 58 and 59, sold it and entered the NAVY in 60, didn't own any flying aircraft again until 1991, when I bought 2 C-150s N10893, and N19304, flew and rented them until I bought My first c-170-N2623V which was a project, completed it and sold it and bought N2801C, restored that and sold it and bought the Fairchild.
 
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My first plane was 1969 Cherokee 140B. I had it less than two years as we quickly outgrew its capabilities. It was a good first airplane though and no surprises. I wanted something a little more sporty and fun to fly, that was faster and could carry four. So a few months after 9/11/01 I bought the Grumman Tiger and have enjoyed it ever since. It does everything we need, has 940 lbs useful load, and goes reasonably fast for a fixed gear, fixed prop 180 HP airplane.
 
Cessna 170, "79- '84
Aeronca Chief '88 - '89
Fairchild 24, '96 - '99 about
Taylorcraft BC12-65, '99 about - present
Cessna 195, '01 - present

They were all my favorites, at the time.
 
Since they have these "How to buy houses with no money down", how about an online seminar on "How to buy an airplane while still being able to pay for a wedding and send 2 kids to college?" Who will host it?
 
Anthony said:
My first plane was 1969 Cherokee 140B. I had it less than two years as we quickly outgrew its capabilities. It was a good first airplane though and no surprises. I wanted something a little more sporty and fun to fly, that was faster and could carry four. So a few months after 9/11/01 I bought the Grumman Tiger and have enjoyed it ever since. It does everything we need, has 940 lbs useful load, and goes reasonably fast for a fixed gear, fixed prop 180 HP airplane.
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Not to mention, the Tiger may well be the best looking four seat GA aircraft out there.
 
Partial ownership:
C177RG (two), C172(four), SA-300 Starduster Too.

Sole ownership:
1954 BE=35 Bonanza.
1970 BE-55 Baron.
1941 CP-65 Porterfield
 
78 Mooney 201, N5201V. It was trashed, but at the time I had plenty of cash and fixed it up just the way I wanted it. Then kid 3 came along ...

77 Piper Lance, N38597, this time with two partners. Useful airplane, though a little uninspiring. Another partner was itching to sell at the same time my wife wanted a yacht. I talked myself into ...

01 American Champion Adventure, aka Citabria 7GCAA. Sole owner on this, although it's been in leaseback for about a year. (That's likely to end soon, though.) Every time I fly it I end up smiling for a couple of days afterward.
 
My first plane, purchased in 1991 was a 1966 Cherokee 180, I still own it and still love flying it. So far I've put a little more than 1000 hours on her.
It's like a truck, not built for speed, but it can haul whatever I can stuff into it. Great for camping trips on the beaches of the West Coast.
 
A-36TN Bonanza 4/01 to now. A-55 Baron for a year.
Our flying club has five planes and I flew the Bonanzas before purchasing my own. I also fly a friends' B-55 Baron, but so far have resisted the urge to sell the A-36 and purchase a Baron :)

Best,

Dave S.
 
gkainz said:
Since they have these "How to buy houses with no money down", how about an online seminar on "How to buy an airplane while still being able to pay for a wedding and send 2 kids to college?"
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Greg,

If I ever get into the business of selling used airplanes I would call it "Affordable Airplanes Inc.". I look at people in $40K to $90K Beemers and think to myself, they can't legally even go as fast as the average four seater goes at Vr. I would advertise something along the lines of "...if you can afford this BMW you could buy this plane instead..." with picture of car and plane attached. I'd work the deal so that a person would get a private pilot certificate as well as a plane, I think I could guarantee first year maintenance and annual 1 year after purchase as well.

I posted on one of the two boards yesterday that there are over 200 planes in trade a plane for under $32,500. There were about 90 planes for under $22,500....some were even four seaters.

Len
 
Len Lanetti said:
1963 Mooney M20C, only plane I've ever owned.

Len
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Yeah, but its a nice one. (Plus you've had two engines) :)
 
The first straight tail Bonanza - a Beech Debonaire, C33. It was a spoiler; relatively fast, comfortable for four and very easy to fly. I had the nicest landings with that airplane.

Jim
 
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1978 Cessna 152
1974 Piper Warrior
1976 Sundowner
1978 Grumman Tiger
1974 Piper Warrior
 
Anthony said:
Yeah, but its a nice one. (Plus you've had two engines) :)
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Well, technically speaking, I have two engines now. Though, neither of which is attached to an aircraft. One has to go back to the folks at Lycoming. I hope they like it when they get it so they'll send me my core deposit back.

Interesting how the purchase of the new engine went. Discussion with the engine company disclossed that there were something like 4 or 5 different engine part numbers that "fit" my aircraft. Difference in prices between the four were in something like a $1,500 range.

Len
 
1974 Warrior N44339
1977 Arrow N3509M
1978 B 55 Baron N827VU
1980 E 55 Baron N6756D
1982 C 421 N421DC

I flew the Warrior before I had my license. After a couple of hundred hours I wanted to go faster and bought the Arrow. It had flown less that 150 hours in the previous 7 years. I had a lot of trouble with that plane but eventually got my instrument rating in it. The B55 was a fun plane that allowed my to travel with my then young family. I then bought the E 55 which had the same cabin as the B55 bit with the wings, tail, and engines of the B58. A fast fun plane. The kids grew and wanted to take friends along so we're just starting our second year with the 421. It's a terrific airplane that I haven't had any big problems with. But as much as everyone who rides in it loves it, it is expensive. As much as I love the pressurization, I may go back to a Baron.
 
N7872G 1971 C-172L Skyhawk; from 09/00 to 03/04.
It was a honey of a plane.
Presently looking for another bird.
 
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I owned a 1946 7AC Champ for a year N2942E..I think? I loved that plane...had lots of fun chasing Chip around in his Rans! Had to sell it when I moved to NC. It taught me a lot. Really miss that kind of flying.
 
Eric Davis said:
I owned a 1946 7AC Champ for a year N2942E..I think? I loved that plane...had lots of fun chasing Chip around in his Rans! Had to sell it when I moved to NC. It taught me a lot. Really miss that kind of flying.
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What a cute airplane! I bet you do miss it.
 
Just my current bird, A Cherokee 235. I wish that I would have purchased years earlier than I did!

David
 
Eric Davis said:
I owned a 1946 7AC Champ for a year N2942E..I think? I loved that plane...had lots of fun chasing Chip around in his Rans! Had to sell it when I moved to NC. It taught me a lot. Really miss that kind of flying.
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Good grief you were young back then!
 
We bought a 75 182P in Sep 2003 and love it. Can put the wife and son in, full tanks, and max out the baggage with about 100 pounds leftover. Our first and only plane we've owned.

Tim
 
I will have to get my old logbooks out but there were some old friends that I learned to fly in at our school, all 150s, 152s, 172s, a Tiger, an Apache. I haven't owned that many but I have fond memories of the many hours in these rentals...hope that isn't a thread hijack.
Many hours of stalling and spinning, in general yanking them around the sky, grinding around the pattern, trips around the CN tower, to Oshkosh, long xc's across the treed and rocky, sometimes frozen north.
 
I've only owned one plane, a C172N for about 3 years.

We bought her after a rental plane let us down in midair. That was a HUGE help in getting the purchase past my wife! LOL

After that rental, we started renting our current aircraft, and I had some 80+ hours in her when the owner happened to mention that this would be my last rental as he was selling it as soon as I returned it from the trip I was leaving on. (EEK!!!) Fortunately I had it reserved for almost 2 weeks, and just never returned it. (no! I did pay! LOL)

I can't begin to tell you how nice it was to know that plane inside and out before I bought it. We did the pre-purchase, and no show stoppers appeared, so end of story!

I really like her: Dependable, cheap, and it hauls my family (petite wife, 2 kids 12, and 8) and the German Shepherd no problem. Quite a few of our takeoffs are at gross, but it seems to love to fly. (Must have been a good day at the factory for the rigger!)

Its not the fastest, but our idea of a vacation is a fly-about, so no rushing here, and there is just about no place you can't land.

All in all it's one cool SUV!

S.
 
Let's see. Flying club-----Cherokee 160, owner......Skyhawk, owner......Cherokee 140, owner.....Texas Taildragger (pictures in the groundloop thread; it looked prettier "dirty side down"), Citabria is the present love-object/obsession/possession.
 
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dkneisler said:
Just my current bird, A Cherokee 235. I wish that I would have purchased years earlier than I did!

David
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Hey Dave do you have picture of your plane i dont think i have ever seen a Cherokee 235.

I have a 140 and i love it!!!
 
Ahhh i see. Thats a good lookin airplane.
 
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