Best airplane/RV for me

[pilot375]

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!

[Ron Lee]

Since you are planning on unimproved strips that means no tri-cycle gear.

So your options are RV6, RV7, RV8 and maybe RV9

Cost may mean RV6

[Mike S]

Originally Posted by pilot375

Hi everyone. My name is Leon and this is my first post.

Leon, welcome aboard the good ship VAF.

Well, you need to sit back and grab a cool beverage------you are gonna get a lot of response to your inquiries I suspect.

Good to have you aboard.

[FresnoR]

I'm thinking an RV-9, great X country IFR platform.

But you wont find too many of those type as a tail-dragger in the used market.

[humptybump]

OK, I'll pile on :-)

As previously noted, if you are on grass, it's safe to say you are looking at a tailwheel RV.

You can also filter out some of RV's by deciding if you want Tandem or Side-by-Side. Personally, I'm a tandem taildragger pilot but then again, I'm not married (there is not necesarily a correlation, so do read more into that then there really is )

A lot of husband/wife teams - especially when both can share the flying and navigation tasks - like the side-by-side.

So, if the above is all true, that leave you with RV6, RV7, and RV9. Any of these can be good IFR planes. If you are new to all of the RV's, a quick recap of the differences can be found at Vans Aircraft - RV-6, RV-7, and RV-9.

Oh, I should not short change this ... if you want tandem, then you are down to just the RV-8 (I personal favorite ).
If you are comfortable in the upper half of your price range, you will eventually find a number of options. As with any aircraft, the shopping process will take some time and some patience. The good news is you can lear n a LOT here and feel free to ask questions !

[RV7Guy]

There are lots of 7's out there and they come up for sale often. It is a little faster than the 9 and aerobatic. Perfect for your mission. The RV is a fabulous cross country machine. BTW, I pass Bonanza's while burning 8 gallons an hour to their 21 gph. Also, their annual is about $5K if nothing is wrong.

Good luck on your search. I'll be selling my current 7 toward the end of the year when the new one is done.

[flyboy1963]

Opinion #235;

sounds like you want something for the price of a -6, but really would make best use of a -10a (most bonanza-like).
If you can't swing the $200k, then a 1/2 partner would get you in the ballpark. ( seems like the budget is the least of your issues!)
I personally don't see why you can't operate a nosewheel aircraft off a turf or gravel strip in a dry area....just depends how smooth you keep it, and how long it is!?!?
and lets be real; take all the stuff you (and your wife) will want to take with you on a trip to Mexico.... or sailing in SD, and see if it fits in a -6, or C-152. If not, you don't want anything smaller than a -10a.

[Greg Arehart]

Depending on how you travel, any of the RVs may have sufficient baggage space. Julia and I spent three weeks traveling in our 9 last summer in Canada, and that included the requisite survival gear. Note that we were not camping, however.

greg

[Finley Atherton]

Originally Posted by pilot375

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.

Originally Posted by Ron Lee

Since you are planning on unimproved strips that means no tri-cycle gear.

So your options are RV6, RV7, RV8 and maybe RV9

Cost may mean RV6

Provided you maintain the surface of you airstrip in good condition then in my opinion based on hundreds of landings and takeoffs in my 9A from my somewhat marginal grass farm airstrip the A models (nose wheel) are suitable for well maintained grass or dirt.

Fin
9A

[pilot375]

Thanks for the info so far, I appreciate it. Just to clarify a few points, I do not want a partner, I want the plane available to me when I need it. Most trips will be to the office and our boat. The boat is 47' and fully stocked with clothing, we have some supplies at the office too, and generally go in for 3-5 days every few months. When we go visit family, we generally UPS Ground stuff before our arrival, as carrying everything and gifts on the airlines is cost prohibitive anyways.

The land will be high desert so I don't think there will be a problem creating a good runway that a tri gear can take off or land on. Very little rain or snow. I am looking to make a strip that is 2500 ft long. Any one with experience in that please chime it.

I would love an R-10 or even a G-4, but can't afford one. I can afford $45k cash and a loan for the rest. I am not big on loans so I don't want to take out one for much. Are the tricycle gears on the RV a concern above and beyond what you would find from a Piper 140. I had one of those and landed on grass all the time with no problem. I can also get an older Bonanza for that price range, more expensive to operate, but easy to get loan/insurance and carries more than enough. I just like the idea of lower operating cost and the look of the RV's or even the Glass planes.

Thanks again!