Friday fun(what are your 5?)

[Corvus]

This is based on a conversation I had recently with someone who was big into bicycles and they stated that every enthusiast really needs 5 different bikes. A cruiser, an XC mountain bike, a road bike, a downhill bike and so on.(I forget the last one stated) my mind wandered and I wondered of this was also true of aircraft. Obviously not, given cost considerations and reasons for owning aircraft, but lets say the costs were set aside and you had a big hanger that could fit 5 sort of GA sized aircraft, and you have access to a nice long runway. What would your (up to)5 be? Oh and just to make it interesting, they must be hangered and strangely enough, the hanger can only accommodate up to 12 foot tall aircraft. shucks.

[1964-M20E]

1. Mooney 20F my current plane short trips <200NM
2. Eclipse 500 jet long cross country flights >200NM
3. P-51 mustang funnnnnn!!!
4. Lake Buccaneer to go fishing
5. Steerman low and slow funnnnnn!!!

 

 

I think that would take care of most items I need.

[BorealOne]

I've got a Mooney and a Lake Buccaneer, so 2 of 5 are covered...the others would be:

 

3. A Pilatus PC-12NG for taking the family and all their stuff around in style;

4. A Husky with big wheels, floats and skis for solo trips into the back of beyond;

5. And I was going to say a PBY Catalina, but it's 21' tall, so you've left me with no choice but to go with the G-21 Antilles "Super- Goose" (a modern build, composite, twin-turbine powered remake of the classic Grumman) which will just get in the door.

[Hank]

1. Obviously the Mooney, they can't be beat.
2. Beech Staggerwing, they're beautiful.
3. Something for fishing--amphib or floats. Lake sounds good, Grumman Goose to bring the whole house along?
4. A long-distance traveling machine--John Green has me thinking Aerostar.
5. Will Hondajets be available anytime soon? Maybe a warbird [P-40, F4U]? Something exciting.

Darn, I just noticed there's nothing on my list with a parachute . . .

 

Sure am glad money, hangar and runway are provided!! 

[Corvus]

I have got it pretty bad for the Lake amphibians, I would love a pirep on your buccaneer.

[Corvus]

And I checked out the antilles super goose. WOW, that thing is cooler that the other side of the pillow.

[BorealOne]

The Lake is an amazing, unique aircraft. There's nothing else in the certified airframe world like it. I've got about 600h on mine, have flown it throughout Canada's North into some spectacular places only accessible by air, have spent many a happy hour with my wife or with my kids at anchor on some northern lakes and rivers fishing to our hearts content, and I've also taken it into the urban jungles of Toronto, Montreal, Boston, Washington DC, etc like it belonged there. 

 

All airplanes are compromises, but the Lake manages to hit a sweet spot for those whose mission profile is getting out of town to a beach or cottage on a lake for a few days, and then back to civilization. Sure, conventional floats are easier to dock than a Buc, but they are kind of ungainly maneuvering on the water under power, especially with a little crosswind. Conventional amphib float-equipped aircraft can land on a strip, but they do it awkwardly and with a significant hit on both payload and performance. In contrast, the Buc lets you operate like a retractable gear aircraft when that's what's required, and like a powerboat when you are on the water.

 

That said, there's a few oddities about the aircraft. It loads through the split windshield which IMHO is an improvement over a single door Mooney, but it's still not a Cessna in that regard. The seating - close to the floor - will be familiar to a Mooney pilot. The pylon engine, pusher arrangement is brilliant and gets you off the water like a charm, but it does add considerable drag to the airframe once you are in the cruise mode of flight. The IO-360 in a Buc gets you about 100 kta on 10-12 gph....much less than what you get in a Mooney with the same engine.  In an emergency engine-out situation, the guide ratio is terrible - look down - that's where you're landing, but the amphib capability means that everything is pretty much a runway in a pinch.  Some attention is required on and off "the step" during takeoff and landing to ensure that you don't 'porpoise' off the swells, but handling on the water below flying speeds is brilliant - it seriously drives like a boat.

 

Maintenance is a bit expensive if you are operating off strip, where some wear and tear is inevitable. Like Mooney, the Lake factory is in mothballs, but parts supplies are very good and there are a network of 'Lake Masters' who provide excellent factory-trained service, and an excellent on-line community of Lake owners who are free with opinions and advice.

 

Won't ever regret jumpin' in a Lake.

[Parker_Woodruff]

1) deHavilland DHC-2 Beaver on Amphibs

2) American Champion Super Decathlon

3) Cessna Citation CJ3+ (or whatever is the biggest single pilot Citation I can get)

4) Grumman Widgeon

5) Pilatus PC-12

[BigTex]

1) deHavilland DHC-2 Beaver on Amphibs 2) American Champion Super Decathlon 3) Cessna Citation CJ3+ (or whatever is the biggest single pilot Citation I can get) 4) Grumman Widgeon 5) Pilatus PC-12

Wow... Parker hit 4 out of 5 on my list. I have to swap out the grumman for a P47D Thunderbolt.

[M016576]

Wow... Parker hit 4 out of 5 on my list. I have to swap out the grumman for a P47D Thunderbolt.

Swap out the P-47 for a F-18 , and that's my list.

[Parker_Woodruff]

Wow... Parker hit 4 out of 5 on my list. I have to swap out the grumman for a P47D Thunderbolt.

 

Let's change my Grumman Widgeon idea to a P-51.

[BigTex]

Now we're getting somewhere!

[Super Dave]

I think every one of you has broken the 12' height rule!

I love my Mooney, but if cost were not an issue, there would be no room for it in my five place hanger.

1. Eclipse 500

2. Grumman Widgeon

3. j-3 Cub

4. Extra 300

5. Bell 206

[Corvus]

The lake sounds like something else, thank you for sharing. I didn't know that they had that bad of a glide ratio, but I guess that makes sense upon actually thinking about it. It kind of reminds me of a joke about the Schweitzer 300 "The helicopter comes from the factory with a brick, part number and all, but it's not called a brick on the parts sheet, it is called the emergency deployable autorotation glide path calculator."

The 12 foot height rule was just sort of to keep things interesting and in check in a slightly unusual way. Other wise we would eventually end up with a list that included a BBJ and a space shuttle. Which would be a little boring. And being that a good time is being had by all and it is interesting lets just say, bonus points if you can fit it in the hanger.

I have about 1500 hours in the bell 206 series, nothing autorotates like one, in fact some of the most fun I have had was doing "splash downs" (full down auto rotations) to the water in a fixed float 206. Then there is the 407... Although it is built on the 206 type certificate, it's in a league by itself and describing flying one can only be really truly done using extremely crude language in sentences that sound like they were constructed in the mind of a 5 year old on a sugar high.

[Jamie]

For the first four, assume something cool for:

• Antique tail dragger
• Biz Jet
• Helicopter
• Amphib

But if I were a .com billionare, I'd give Scaled Composites $50 million and tell them to make me the happiest pilot on Earth.

[MB65E]

That 12' rule sure keeps you in check!

Cj3 is 15'3". What else has 6 seats and burns JetA? Under the 12' rule?

1. Clipwing Luscombe, fabric wing with a C90

2. Beaver

3. B58 Turbine Barron

4. PC-21

5. And a Masterpiece by Steve Wolf!

Notables:

Pc-6, Mustang, Taperwing Waco, and we still keep our Mooneys right?

[BigTex]

Growing up I lusted over a Spartan Executive... Only 34 built but I wanted one anyway! So that has to be on my list somewhere.

[Corvus]

Yeah, we get to keep the Mooneys. This being a mooney site and all, which sourrounds an airframe that gets a tremendous amount of performance and value out of modest specifications, I wanted to keep that sort of spirit here. So, part of the 12 foot rule "may " have been selected based on the idea of keeping the faster cabin class aircraft from pushing the mooney out on the ramp. I know, shameless.

1.) Acclaim type S FIKI, long range tanks, and since we are dreaming a useful load of 1600lbs.

2.) Maule M-7 on tundra tires.

3.) Extra 300

4.) Lake Turbo renegade with reversable prop.

5.) Nemisis NXT

Honorable mentions: Riley rocket 310, modern cub(cub crafters or carbon cub), Agusta A109 Grand New

[DaV8or]

Mine would be-

 

TBM-850 (sadly 14' tall, but I'd cut a hole in the hangar! )

Leza Aircam on floats

Dornier Seastar (15' tall, so really making use out of that hole )

Focke Wulf 190A (Should just squeak in at 12')

Lancair Legacy

 

If we are to be strict about the 12' rule, then it gets harder. Had a hard time thinking of a plane I would feel comfortable flying over ocean, reasonable speed, single pilot that would fit in 12'. I think maybe I would take a Cessna 337 with a big bore engine conversion and long range tanks. Either that or one of the five Adams A500s out there.

 

The Seastar would be traded for the Antilles Super Goose.

[RJBrown]

Rocket 305

F8F Bearcat Last piston fighter carried by the carrier my dad served on CV32 USS Leyte

PC12 / TBM850 tough call.

Grumman Albatross like this but set up as a dive boat with 2 jet skis on the wing hardpoints.</p>

<p>&nbsp;<a href="

">

</a></p>

Phenom 100

[Awful_Charlie]

A TBM to keep the Mooney heritage and to go places

A Pitts or an Extra for turning upside down

A helicopter for those hard to get at places

A glider for those days of thermals and fantastic vis when there's no need to actually go anywhere.

A Lancaster bomber for the hooligan in me and to be seen in   (might be pushing the 12' rule a bit far with that though)

[fantom]

Only one:

 

 

[scottfromiowa]

1. FW-190D

2. MISSILE-WITH DOC'S TAIL CHECKERBOARD

3. COBRA (W/GATTLING GUN)

4. BEAVER ON FLOATS

5. YAK52 (WITH SPARES)