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question about progressing to complex AC

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jlowell

Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2005
Posts
15
Hi all,

I just started working on my PPL. Main reason is for biz. I'm a homebuilder in Houston and am spreading out to other cities. I want to be able to go check on jobsites and also look at land....not that I'm some bigtime developer. I'm just a little guy now reaching the point where I can do a few projects in other places.

I need to buy a plane to do what I want to do. If I make trips to various places ranging from 300 miles to maybe 1000 miles 2 or 3 times a month or more......I need to get out there and get back quickly. Spend a night along the way if necessary but get back fairly quickly. So not a leisurely cruise in a 172 type of deal. As I look at the time involved to get somewhere I'm thinking I need a plane that can cruise at 160 mph minimum. Really a bit faster would be better but I can live with 160.

So my question is this: Once I get my PPL and have flown nothing but a slow trainer how do I move up to faster and more complex planes? I know I need to get some hours behind me in the easy flyers first, but at some point I would like to go up in several different planes just to see how they feel, how noisy they are, how much vibration, responsiveness, etc. I know there are a lot of Arrows around as trainers so that is an easy one to find someone to take me up in. I might consider a Bonanza or Mooney 201, or maybe a Dakota if I could go up in them. I can hire someone to train me in a specific plane if I decide on one right??? But have to get up in them to start. ( BTW I don't plan on flying anything like that till a very qualified person tells me I am competent to do so. I like living and I also take the responsibility for any passenger in my plane very seriously. But i am planning ahead.)

So what do I do.....look around for planes I can hire demo rides in or get people with used planes for sale to take me up or what?

I plan on flying 4 or 5 days a week till I get my PPL, then get instrument rated immediately after that.

So I am trying to plan the most efficient route to my goal of a slightly faster plane than this 172 I'm in these days.

Advice and ideas appreciated.

Oh as I said....I originally decided to do this for business reasons. Then went up a couple of times, then a couple more, now I want it every day......it's like a drug problem disguised as something respectable. :eek:)

Cheers, Jim
 
only flying a few times a month you should check into a partial ownership of a cirrus or the sort. After you decide what you are going to do about an airplane get an instructor to give you a few hours of instruction in it and a high performance/complex endorsement and you should be set. You may want to consider getting some training in a 172RG, still your nice little 172 but acts as a complex trainer, it may help grasping the basics while not feeling too behind the airplane at first. And why not do a little research on multiengine aircraft, safer the better right? (and faster)
 
actually I may have mis-stated.....I am looking at a couple of trips a week and the longer ones twice a month. Something like that. My father also has a ranch in Abilene which I would go up to a lot if I had a plane also.

I have no problem affording a plane and would rather not rent or share ownership. Just want to go up in a few to begin narrowing it down.


I suppose if I look around I will find people I can pay to take me up for demo rides or something.
 
Lots of people have gone from basic trainers to more complex airplanes in fairly short order. The key is to get good instruction every step of the way.

You'll want to get your instrument rating as soon as you can, you might as well use your own plane for that.

A Cirrus, Mooney, or a Cessna 182 would seem well suited for the kind of missions you're talking about. The Mooney is smallish, but will deliver the range and speed you're talking about if you want wheels that go up and down.
 
Cirrus isn't cheap! But they are very fast and simple to fly (straight leg and intergated throttle and prop control). Don't know about Mooneys except I hear they are fast, but if you go the Cessna route and want a single engine, a 210 is comfortable and good for around 500 miles stop to stop, but they can be tricky to fuel.

JimNtexas said:
You'll want to get your instrument rating as soon as you can, you might as well use your own plane for that.

Good idea and it will lower your insurance cost as well.

Almerick07 said:
only flying a few times a month you should check into a partial ownership of a cirrus or the sort.

Also a very good idea. Although partners can get complicated, especially when it comes to maintenance issues.
 
Jimntexas,
yes and I have a list of planes I want to go up in that I have researched and have been recommended to me....just don't know how to find them. So I am beginning to shake the bushes. :eek:) Don't want to fly them myself at this point.....or at least not take off and land. Just want to get up in some and narrow down the choices a little at a time as I do my other training.

And yes I have been looking at 182's and the one Mooney I looked at was frightningly small but old and I'd like to go up in a 10-12 yr old 201. I've heard good thing about them. I have been looking at the Cirrus and also there are some Bonanzas i would consider even though parts are expensive.

Finding training is the easy part.
 
It sounds like you're on the right track. Definately plan on useing the instruction time while you are being trained on the bigger/faster aircraft to also work on your instrument rating (two birds with one stone).

Somepeople have learned in what others would consider "high performance/complex" from the start. I knew a CFI who was instructing a primary student in a Bonanza that he had inherted. He said it only took an extra couple of hours to solo. However since you have started in the C-172, then stick with it.

You might consider a Cherokee 6 with fixed gear. You'll give up a few knots of top speed, but they have a lot of room and carrying capacity. It's big and powerful, yet not too complex.

I don't have any experiance with the Cirrus, but everybody who has says good things about them.
 
You might also get a free lance flight instructor that can work with you one on one in the different airplanes to see which one would fill your needs best. Your insurance will most likely dictate that you have 25 hours or so dual instruction in make and model anyway. Insurance companies don't like newer pilots in complex airplanes, however, statistics show that lower time pilots don't have the oops factor that more experienced pilots traditionally do.
 
yeah good points and ideas guys. Thanks.

Any ideas on how ways I find a few of the planes I want to check out?

My list so far:

Mooney 201
Bonanza 33 & 35
Cherokee 6 and Dakota
Arrow
Archers have a 150 mph cruise so might consider that
C 182

The see the cessnas and Pipers around so no problem finding those. Maybe if I check with some of the local flying clubs I'll find some Mooneys and Bonanzas I could get a ride in. I have a feeling I may end up sticking with a fixed gear in the end but I have a while to ponder it.
 
Check out David Wayne Hooks airport in Tomball, sometimes there are for sale notes in the restaurant there. Somtimes there are aircraft listed in the Chronicle. Subscribe to Trade-A-Plane, its about $15/yr for one mailed issue per month, but that gives you access to the on-line edition too. Pick up an AeroTrader from the airport. When I was in COnroe, we got them all the time.
 

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