F

floydpackard

Member
I am looking a buying a plane in the near future. I have been looking at either a Rv10, Rv9 or a cessna t182rg around a 1980 vintage. I am just finishing getting ready for my check ride for a private pilot license. I understand that it will be very expensive to get insurance for the 1st year and possibly impossible to get hull insurance for the first year until enough hours are built up. The plane would be used to travel to see kids and places. Trips of around 600 to 12K. I am looking for the following things.
1. Good speed, long range, high service ceiling and large payload
2. Good economy, reasonable maintenance costs ( I will need to use a certified mechanic for either one )
3. A reclining co-pilot seat. My wife has had back surgery and it is painful to sit straight for long periods of time.
4. Good IFR platform and instruments

I am drawn to the cessna t182rg for the turbo, the O2 and the ability to go high. I live in Washington state and to go places will require going over mountains and weather. The cessna also can have a reclining seat and can carry good payloads and the view of the countryside is very good with the high wing. We like to scuba dive and the baggage limitations of the RV9 would not work.

I am drawn to the RV10 for the better handling, better speed, better economy and avionics that are light years ahead of even the best equiped cessnas. I do not know what the depreciation difference would be between the two planes.

I have seen well equiped cessna t182rgs for around 150K. I have seen RV10's for around 200 to 225K. 75K buys alot of gas and maintenance. So I keep going back and forth. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks
Floyd
 
My thoughts

I own a nice vintage 210 (it's for sale by the way) and an RV7A that I built. I've also got a little time in an RV10.

Of the two, if I had the cash, the RV10 would be the way to go. I too love the visibility of the high wing, but, the speed, payload, and most especially the maintenance and insurance will be _lower_ on the RV10, probably by a large margin.

I was able to procure satisfactory insurance on my 210 before I had my private ticket. Try Royal insurance (they were located in Washington last time I checked). I did my traning at S50, BTW.

I had hull insurance from the first hour of instruction in my 210 and I was able to solo it after only 15 hours dual. (this was back in 2000).

In my experience, you won't necessarily need a turbo to clear the mountains, my unturboed 210 is quite happy to glide along at 15k to 17.5 k. I usually plan my routes to max at 13.5K and that gives me plenty of clearance over 99.9% of the rocky mountain terrain.

Just MHO, YMMV
 
Certified = big $$$

I know, I used to own a fixed gear 182. The retractable gear will be a maintenance headache, add a lot to insurance premiums and annuals, etc. Turbo will be more heat and maintenance as well. Any panel upgrades have to have 337's and/or be field approved = $$$. Everything that goes in the aircraft must be certified, STC'd etc = $$$.

For me, all the certified stuff and annuals took the fun out of flying. Not to mention annuals that would go on for weeks and the plane would be down.

Older airplanes need more maintenance and certified stuff is insanely expensive. Simple things like filters or new bearings/bushings can be $100's of dollars vs experimental versions can be a fraction of that.

Fuel bladders, cracked aft bulkheads and spinner backplates. $10K to $15K annuals were not uncommon. Unless you are an A&P, these things will get into A$$ National Bank pretty quick.

Just a heads up from my experience. Experimental = affordable flying, for me at least...:)
 
Last edited:
Floyd,
Start building your RV yourself, by the time you finish, you will have your IR and enough hours to get reasonable insurance. It will be cheaper and better for you in the long run. And in Washington state you will need an IR if you plan on going somewhere and coming back on a reasonable schedule.
 
plane type

firstly you should call a good insurance agent and find out exactly costs with your little experience. whats happened in past with insurance may not fly currently get a fixed gear 182 normally aspirated with reasonable radios and get your commercial and instrument ratings. Then insurance will be reasonable. plane 182 is easy to insure. Build a plane in the mean time or then buy your dream. TR182 is nice plane, But 25+ years old and lots of potential problems. Best 2 place RV is 7 or 8, depending on your preference. RV 10 is good plane for 4 place, and none of them are 'old'. IMHO larry b
 
Thanks for the comebacks. Is there a place that could make a co-pilot seat that reclines for a RV10? I would assume that it can not be done for a RV9 or 7.
 
The standard front seats included with the RV-10 kit are on rails for forward/aft adjustment and also recline.

Bob #40105
 
floydpackard said:
Thanks for the comebacks. Is there a place that could make a co-pilot seat that reclines for a RV10? I would assume that it can not be done for a RV9 or 7.
Click to expand...
You are correct regarding the -7 & -9 seats, they do not recline flat but they can be reclined some, prior to flight, by moving the bottom of the seat back forward and letting the top rest against the cross member.
 
The RV will probably be cheaper to maintain because the fleet is much newer, so you will need fewer repairs. An annual for a new RV would probably run 800-1000 bucks if nothing out of the ordinary is found. An annual inspection on a T182RG could easily be ten times that if you have any major repairs, and maybe more if you are really unlucky. One of my partners just paid for a $22,000 annual on his Cessna 180 seaplane. Firewall damage was found. Certified parts are expensive and sometimes not available from the factory. He was down most of the summer, too. Better talk to some mechanics about RVs first. They may not be as familiar with the RV as the Cessna and they could be reluctant to take on an experimental. As far as IFR in Washington State goes, here is my advice. The Cascade mountains have the worst reputation for ice that I know of. Stay out of the clouds over the mountains in the winter. The winds can top 100 knts. I've picked up 1/2" of ice in 30 seconds. I don't even try anymore. The turbo helps with the ROC and the ceiling but most of the time you will be lugging around extra weight and costs (fuel and maintenance) for utility that you will rarely use, and won't have the ability to use for a few years anyway until you get instrument rated and get some seasoning. Cessna retractable landing gear can be problematic. Ask around, you'll hear a few horror stories. I wouldn't be surprised if the hourly costs for the T182RG were 1.5 or two times the costs of the fixed gear 182. I know from experience that the T210 hourly costs are about twice that of a 182. Here is what I think you should buy: A well maintained straight-legged 182. Much cheaper engine to maintain and plenty of utility for a new private pilot and future new instrument pilot. Holds its value well. Remember, it is a certifed airplane. The RV is not. Pluses and minuses both ways. For about the same money as a fixed gear 182 you can buy a nice RV9A. Faster, more fun, less fuel, but experimental and can't carry anywhere near what a 182 can. You have a world of choices, have fun. Good luck on the checkride.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.