Seth

You can also look at Van Bortel in Texas. They were very competitive 9 years ago. https://vanbortel.com/aircraft-financing -Seth

As long as the prop is coming off, depending on age and condition, maybe reseal? IRAN? smooth out the edge and dress it with new paint? -Seth

Evidently this happens nearly every year or every few years. This one is just being reported on. It may also be larger than normal, but that is speculation on my part. I too am worried about operating in it. Good job bringing this topic up for discussion. -Seth

It is a nice looking aircraft. Glad they moved forward with it. I hope they sell a good amount. The DA62 is a nice handling aircraft with fuel burn and speed similar to an SR22. The payload is more. I do love that the gear retracts on the DA50. -Seth

Looks to be a good event. It goes without saying but please practice safe social distancing at this event. I've had neighbors parents pass from this as well as parents of some clients. It is real and worth taking the extra precautions for. Great advertising too! If I was closer to the west coast or scheduled to be there, I'd attend! -Seth

I know it is less expensive for the armed forces to contract out certain aircraft to approach fleets during warm up exercises. There are some Learjets (I saw 5 or 7 on the ramp last time I was there in 2019) out of newport news that perform this service for the Navy (right next to Langly AFB). There are also some privately owned fighters there operated by a contractor for similar training. This 73 may very well have played similar role for a while or is doing other recon. It may also have been a test bed for equipment that needed to stay quieter. Still amazed it was never painted. The pickle color normally comes off very quickly for painting. Not the main protection for 7 years! Of course, this may have sat for a while too. There was a DC9 out of the VIP squadron at joint base Andrews in Maryland just outside DC that was auctioned off 10 years ago and sat for close to a decade until it was ferried to BWI, had the proper checks done, and now it's waiting to be delivered to somewhere in africa as a freighter as it has a freight door. That sat for years and still has the VIP paint job on it. Maybe this 73 simply never got painted due to red tape, a project being defunded, resources being shifted. There are so many resources this country has that at some point they are going to create an outfit that simply reallocates and redistributes unused resources between government agencies to curtail spending on new items with the capability exists. Of course that new money spent, helps feed the economy, so it's a catch-22! -Seth

Bonanza sales are indeed way down. But it is a six seat aircraft and those sales are going to the Piper PA46 line in my opinion. It will be the next to go away. Frankly, the C90GTx may be the next to go. Very few sold. It's the same production line as the 250, just a smaller and different rear end, so to pop one in now and then vs all the other king airs being produced does not harm costs too much. However my guess is once the Denali enters the fold, the C90GTx will be retired and the Denali will be the smaller turboprop offered. Denali, King Air 250, King Air 350. Very low numbers of the C90 produced last year. -Seth

Not to hijack but I'd love to see the wings and tail retained with a new CF body that's a bit more spacious. Have it be pressurized, with a powerplant that can make up for the increased area drag. But that's a lot of money to spend. -Seth

After reading the story on this airplane it's quite interesting. -Seth

It's not a max, wrong wingtip/winglets. -Seth

I have a friend who owns a 231 that uses or used the Tango for a while. PM me your contact and info and I'll put you two in touch. -Seth

And to be clear, both airplanes are good at their missions. The Mooney is faster or more efficient at the same speed. The Cirrus has a larger cabin that passengers like more, doesn't gear up, and has a parachute, and really good avionics (even slightly better than new Mooney Avionics). I personally would still choose a Mooney to fly for me. And if I need slightly more space once in a while, I'll rent the Cirrus. -Seth

I've got maybe 10 SR22's in my logbook. The fastest was obviously the SR22T. Most true out right around 162. 2500 RPM, WOT, LOP between 5000 and 9000 feet most of the time. Some times a few knots slower, sometimes a few knots faster. Almost all have FIKI and AC. -Seth

I fly both the SR22 and Mooney M20J Missile. The cabin in the Cirrus is larger. The gear doesn't tuck up, and it doesn't handfly as well as a Mooney. It is the single engine business owner aircraft of choice these days. More and more are flying all the time. It's not a bad airplane. I prefer my Mooney. As the kids get bigger, and should we have a third, I may rent one for family trips for the three times per year we are all in the Mooney. New Cirrus's have three seatbelts in the back, and with three kids, it can give you a buffer year or two before you have to move up to a six place larger aircraft. The avionics integration really is amazing. I still prefer my Mooney. If I were buying today I'd get a Mooney Missile (which I have!!) and then decide if I'm upgrading avionics or not. GPSS is so nice along with an autopilot like the garmin 700. That said, Cirrus is not faster than Mooney's. We run the fleet of SR22's LOP and tend to true out 162 knots. My Missile will do LOP 172-180 knots. ROP, I"m 192+ The Cirrus ROP is maybe 170. That's an IO550 comparison. -Seth

Okay, that’s group 5 jet warbird!

The Aerobat puts us in the price range of an RV4/Decathelon/Citabria. So a non Aerobat 150 makes a lot of sense for the group 1 mission.

So, there will be up to 4 of these groups in the end. 1. Inexpensive slow airplane that can be tied down not in a hangar. C-150/PA-28-140/Skipper/Tomahawk 2. Fun airplane - hangar - RV-4/Citabria/Decathelon 3. people moved - Baron/PA32/Seneca 4. pressurized expensive fast thing - Cheyenne/Aerostar/C-414/B58P etx I love the idea of a Cub or Carbon Cub but it doesn’t fit price wise into grouping 1. Maybe grouping 2 for non aerobatic We keep coming back to a 150 or PA-28-140. The skipper is slower and parts are expensive. The Tomahawk has bad spin characteristics on purpose. Any other designs I’m missing? We also though C-140A but we’d likely want to hangar that. Maybe Ercoupe if all metal? -Seth

Hadn't thought experiments for this one, but that is possible. Thanks for the suggestion. Frankly, I'd love to purchase a good RV4, or build an RV8, but I don't have the time!

A group of pilots I know keep kicking the idea of purchasing an inexpensive airplane for a number of us to share in co-ownership in addition to our Mooney's (and other aircraft). The 150/152 has been thrown into the discussion as well as the 140. The idea would be 4-5 pilots each throwing in $3000-$4000 and then roughly $100 a month plus a dry or wet rate. What other aircraft do you suggest? This is to test a structure which may also in the future include a larger six place aircraft. The idea is we'll have access to a slower inexpensive airplane to fly when we just want to go fly, and a larger people mover when we need more than four seats, but still have our Mooney's as our primary birds. We want to keep the initial cost down for a decently maintained aircraft. One of our members is an A&P and a few are also very good with their hands so over time we'd bring this airplane back in shape. So, tricycle gear: -C-150/152 -PA-28 (140) -ErCoupe Conventional Gear: -Citabria (maybe a little too expensive) -C-140/120 -Champ Give us some other ideas! At first it'll be stored outside (hence metal) but in time we may get a hangar for it - though that would dive up the monthly expense (and lower the maintenance expense . . .) -Seth

Mine looks to be increasing by 25%. -Seth

Hank - not at this time, unless someone offered me way more that I thought it was worth! It's not on the market and if I ever did put it on the market, I have five Mooney Spacers I'd have to offer it to privately first, and then I'd list it here before listing it on any other website. -Seth

Obviously, financial market crisis times like the current recession affects how airplanes are priced and sold. However, during a course of a normal year (not a year with COVID19, Black Lives Matter Demonstrations, and Murder Hornets), for those that buy/sell aircraft as living, is there a cyclical nature? Convertible cars sell for a discount in the fall/winter and a premium in the spring/summer. Are there better times of year to buy/sell aircraft? Thanks! -Seth

Agreed he does earn the award! Anyone who doesn't have a CO monitor is playing a scary game. Its a true safety issue that's a whole lot more prevalent than you think! After Dan Bass's story and push to get everyone CO monitors, 8 or so pilots here on MS were reporting low levels of CO in the cockpit and asked if that was normal!! It's not! Your CO reading should be 0 in cruise. I've had two small CO issues in the past. One in my F and one in my current Missile. The Missile detected the issue during taxi on the ground, sometimes climb, and low/no power on final. I made sure the door seal around the exhaust was good, and that helped somewhat, but the issue festered. I had the system looked over carefully recently and we found a hole in the exhaust - currently being overhauled. Point is - there should be no CO in the cockpit. A small issue can become a big issue real quick. -Seth

The GFC700 is the best AP I've flown behind (different aircraft). Hopefully I won't have to do a thing for years! Just glad there's now another solution to drive the KFC200. -Seth

That's pretty amazing that the GI275 does drive a KFC200. If so, I hope they come out with the guts of the GI275 in a slightly larger format closer to the G5. But I have a solution now should i not want to move forward with a KI256A when it becomes a problem again. I purchased a used KI256A from Alan Fox which has been great so far (was a better updated revision of the one I had). Cost less to do this and calibrate an an avionics shop to my airplane than overhaul my old one. But next time I'll price out removing the Vacum pump, removing the standby system, and putting in two GI275's or a GI275 and G5, or whatever the avionics available are at that point! -Seth