Buying a Plane!

Beechtalk is a great site you can find more specific Beech information on. It also has a sales section where you might see planes not listed for sale elsewhere.

I have been looking at similar planes models because of the easy entrance with the rear doors. That’s the biggest feature I want so I’ll be curious to see how you evaluate which model to purchase. I’ve been leaning towards the A36 for the past few months myself.

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I was wanting to ask about that but felt it was a bit of a stupid question. Of course you wouldn’t stand on a wing to climb in the plane! But I couldn’t see how else to get on board and it seems you do indeed climb on the wing.

Welcome @TangoIndiaTango! What a name :confounded_face:

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Many modern autopilot installations have this Blue Button (or Red Button) feature. It’s not unique to the Cirrus SR.

No. Even the SF50 “Vision Jet” is single engine. I actually don’t know if they’d make a twinjet given that it would obviate the need for a chute and the CAPS system is so critical to their identity and marketing. Plus they’d then be competing in a market with players that know that space, such as Textron and Embraer. It’s hard to conceive of how they could differentiate themselves if CAPS is out of the equation, especially with those other guys using G3000/Prime flight decks.

Outside of bizjets the twin market is small and continues to dwindle. The King Air is PT6 and they delivered only 46 last year. Don’t get me wrong - they’re fantastic and serve certain missions well, but they’re not the typical GA twin. Any much of their mission profile is capable of being executed by certain SETPs like the PC-12 and the soon to be certified Denali.

Diamond is the only real game in town for actual XC piston twins, and they’re compression ignition (IDK if they have an avgas version). The Piper lineup is really for trainers, and they will soon be shipping with compression ignition too (DeltaHawk).

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@RufusXS I take your point. I wouldn’t object to jet engines, but I’m going to talk myself into buying an airliner soon (as my dream plane).

Gidday Mate, from NZ. Great to see the wonderful ICP Savannah aircraft appear in a thread. Mine is coming up on 1000 hours here in NZ. It is a brilliant little plane for back country flights. 75 to 80 knots straight and level is most certainly not the best for long haul missions but for flying through mountain valleys and enjoying the scenery it is absolutely magic. Plus the low stall speed makes the 40 - 50 knot approaches into tricky short landing spots an absolute joy for stick and rudder pilots. I love the short 20- 40 minute hops from one back country field to another. For long hauls we have a Sting S4 which will get us anywhere in NZ in a day, albeit @ 100 knots. At high altitudes and a tail wind we get can get 120 GS. If you are ever in NZ check out our club “CRAC” in the SI. We have a fleet of Tecnams that can be hired once you have been rated by the CFI and you can explore our beautiful country. Goes for you too, Hoover. Warm regards from Vanessa

I agree with Dan epically in the recommendation of the 210. However, working as a maintainer, the only problem i want to highlight is the extra maintenance cost (& pain) that comes with any of the Bonanza’s & 210’s compared to the 206. I have flown the 206 in the AUS outback & tropics & they are great aircraft, especially if you are flying regularly into small or rough strips.

I would recommend (both from a flying & maintenance perspective) a Cherokee 6. The big baggage door really makes it super easy to load & for someone that is 6ft tall, sitting in the back is not too bad either (although not great for super long trips). The big downside to a Cherokee 6 is the speed compared to a Bonanza or a 210. But if you are happy to just cruise along, she is a great machine!

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