sapientia

Beautiful looking Rocket Don! Too bad I'm not ready to take the plunge.

I too plan on getting my commercial to have better piloting skills rather than for professional purposes. I'm in the middle of my Pt. 141 instrument training and will hopefully begin the Pt. 141 commercial training this fall.

Quote: AustinPynes I finished my Private Certificate in March 2011. I took the written IR test in July. I bought a plane in August and got bogged down in work and fixing said plane since. I say get it done as soon as possible. I am back on track now and studying. 9414V is ready and certified. Annual is in two weeks and I will organize all docs to be ready. Then first of June I plan to start IR with an instructor. I fly cross country almost every flight so I have all non IR prereqs done. Now to find an instructor in my area. I have talked to two so far and not quite the right fit I want yet. Do it as soon as you can. If you fly regularly, fly for work at all, or fly cross country, it is my noob opinion that you will want the IR. Good luck!

I just got my PPL last fall. I took a month or so off and just flew some cross country flights and then I went straight into PT. 141 instrument training. Currently, I am about halfway through it and have enjoyed it tremendously. From my perspective I am very glad to have continued and feel it is a very important step in being a safer and more competent pilot.

Quote: donshapansky This is my 3rd Aerostar, I switched because of more mountain destinations, I don't do IFR in a single engine over rocks.

Quote: donshapansky Thanks if you want I can send you more pictures and data when you are getting closer, I maybe another month or two before I'm ready to part with it. Maxwell is doing the annual, installing the 406 ELT, replacing all the plugs with the new Tempest plugs, IFR cert.

This question is for Don and Parker. One of my concerns with the Rocket is useful load. With full fuel you are looking at pilot only with minimal if any baggage based on the average useful load numbers I see listed on Rockets for sale. I am also aware that Parker recently had the 252 to Encore conversion uping the engine power a bit and changing the brake system out resulting in a higher gross weight and thus useful load. Can this conversion be done to a 252 Rocket in order to bump up the load capacity? I realize the engine aspect is uneccessary but the brake conversion would be very relevant.

Nice looking plane! Took a look at your posted pics of 252AC; if it's still available towards the fall I may be interested.

Quote: BrianNC So now I'm bringing the Rocket into the discussion. Is the Rocket then bascially a shorter body Bravo? Comparing the Rocket to the 252/Encore, would you say about the same performance, but on more gas, just as between the 252/Encore and Bravo?

Quote: flyboy0681 Boy what an understatement. When my instructor took me into actual conditions for the first time I was amazed at how much easier it was to fly the plane. Being able to look all around without blinders on changed things a lot.

Just finished my Instrument Part 141 Stage I check yesterday; hopefully in another couple months I'll have the IR ticket. Then I just have to go out and buy a Mooney!

I will be in the same boat in a few months as I will be considering a Mooney purchase but want to get a feel for one before I make the decision. There is a place out in Las Vegas that rents a Mooney Rocket. When the time comes I may go out there to fly it since a Rocket is my first choice.

I am beginning my IFR training this Saturday; my plan is to get it knocked out by mid-April. That being said I am a new pilot, just got my PPL in November. My hope is to buy a Mooney sometime later this year after I have gotten my experience and hours up a bit. Ideally I would have waited to do the IFR training in my own plane but my work schedule is very conducive for the training at this point and at the same time I'm not ready to take the plunge and buy a plane.

As someone who is new to flying I have a more objective viewpoint. I have been flying for 3 months now and had my PPL for roughly 1 month. In that time I have flown quite a few cross countries in North Carolina. One thing I have noticed is the striking lack of activity at most airports I have visited. As it relates to the topic, I have landed at VUJ (Stanley County) a couple times; it is towered Class D. The first time I landed there I taxied to the GA ramp which was the size of a Walmart parking lot and there wasn't a single plane or person to be seen. Went into the beautiful new GA building and it too was virtually abandoned with the exception of one older gentlemen who looked after the place. I still have never seen another plane at this particular airport. Overall I have gotten the feeling with aviation that I am late to a party that ended some time ago. Granted, these are just the impressions of a newbie with very limited experience, but I have to say it makes me sad. Sort of like visiting many a downtown that has long lost any sense of vitality and sits in decay echoing times past when the world was a different place. All that being said I am currently flying out of INT (Winston Salem) which is towered; it has a decent amount of activity mostly owing to the flight school but certainly not even close to the aforementioned 900 operations/day.

I'm new to flying, just got my PPL a few weeks ago and hope to buy a plane next summer. Reading through this thread is very discouraging as one of the reasons to fly myself is to avoid the nonsense with TSA for domestic travel. It is growing hard not to despise our governement who seemingly strip more of our rights and freedoms on a monthly basis. The Senate bill which just passed overwhelmingly allowing the military to treat American citizens as terrorists and to imprison them without trial merely on suspicion is a startling development. For example, the governement considers buying gold, giving to charities, owning a gun, and paying with cash to be supsicious activities. Wow, imagine when I own and fly my own plane too!