Hi everyone. My name is Leon and this is my first post. Sorry if it is a bit long, but I am looking for help picking an airplane. I have had it with TSA to a small degree (they have a hard job to do) and the airlines to a major degree. When I recently was told to be at the airport 3 hours early for a flight from Phoenix to Cabo Mexico (since it was ?international) I realized that flying commercial stinks! 3 hours.. and the line was a good hour wait to check in, and another 35 minutes in ?security?. My father worked for United for 34 years, and I am a former airline manager and airline pilot myself so I am very familiar with the industry. If I owned a reasonably fast airplane, I could have left from my place. I could have flown myself there for about the same amount of money in fuel, and landing fees, and actually been there faster. No muss, no fuss.
I also will need to fly several times a month from a home I am going to build in Nevada or northern Arizona to my companies offices in Mountianview California (near SFO), as well as to our boat in San Diego. I want to purchase enough land to operate the airplane from the home when the weather permits. This will likely be hard packed dirt or grass that I will maintain. I have thousands of hours turbine PIC, ATP, CFI, so with type specific training I should be able to fly and insure just about anything. My mission for the airplane will be routine flights carrying 2 people weighing around 350 max and enough bags for clothing for 5 days and two laptop computers. IFR is mandatory, so is an autopilot, I am not opposed to adding equipment to the right airplane. I was considering an older Bonanza, but have recently been looking into experimental aircraft and like what I see.
I don?t have the time to build so this will be a purchase of a completed or darn close to completed plane. Most flights will be 2-4 hours, with a trip to the east coast and Cabo, Mexico thrown in. I have owned and worked on several certified airplanes (side by side with an A&P) and know what I can do and when to get a pro. I am considering a Glasair, Lancair, and some of the Van?s. Any advice on a particular model to pick or avoid would be appreciated. I also have never flown in these airplanes, how is the best way to find people to take me up, I will gladly pay for fuel, the $100.00 hamburger, a day sailing on my boat, whatever to see how they fly. I am currently staying north of Phoenix. Price range can vary considerably on these airplanes but I am currently thinking 40-80k should get me what I need, or what I can easily equip to suit my needs. FYI, my wife is also a pilot, but low time.
Thank you for your feedback!
I also will need to fly several times a month from a home I am going to build in Nevada or northern Arizona to my companies offices in Mountianview California (near SFO), as well as to our boat in San Diego. I want to purchase enough land to operate the airplane from the home when the weather permits. This will likely be hard packed dirt or grass that I will maintain. I have thousands of hours turbine PIC, ATP, CFI, so with type specific training I should be able to fly and insure just about anything. My mission for the airplane will be routine flights carrying 2 people weighing around 350 max and enough bags for clothing for 5 days and two laptop computers. IFR is mandatory, so is an autopilot, I am not opposed to adding equipment to the right airplane. I was considering an older Bonanza, but have recently been looking into experimental aircraft and like what I see.
I don?t have the time to build so this will be a purchase of a completed or darn close to completed plane. Most flights will be 2-4 hours, with a trip to the east coast and Cabo, Mexico thrown in. I have owned and worked on several certified airplanes (side by side with an A&P) and know what I can do and when to get a pro. I am considering a Glasair, Lancair, and some of the Van?s. Any advice on a particular model to pick or avoid would be appreciated. I also have never flown in these airplanes, how is the best way to find people to take me up, I will gladly pay for fuel, the $100.00 hamburger, a day sailing on my boat, whatever to see how they fly. I am currently staying north of Phoenix. Price range can vary considerably on these airplanes but I am currently thinking 40-80k should get me what I need, or what I can easily equip to suit my needs. FYI, my wife is also a pilot, but low time.
Thank you for your feedback!