It’s not surprising that Decathlons and Citabrias rank high on the list of fun airplanes to own, and it’s not uncommon for them to be second or third airplanes parked next to the family traveler. That also means these two-place aerobats can be easy to own. And if you have a burning desire to add […]
There’s a reason why Mooney’s entry-level speedster has such a loyal following. And you don’t have to be a loyalist to appreciate the 201/M20J’s high points. It has a familiar Lycoming IO-360 engine mated to a sleek airframe that has timeless good looks and ramp appeal Plus, you buy a Mooney for speed, and for […]
The raw performance numbers of a Meyers 200 might resemble what you’d expect from the most modern single-engine piston speedster, even though the airplane is a product of the 1950s, and went out of production in the 1960s. But don’t turn a nose to these old gals because of their age. We’re talking cruise speeds […]
Let’s clear up any misconceptions. While the North American Navion (pronounced “navy-on”) came from the same company that built the P-51, it’s no Mustang. It doesn’t have a roaring Merlin engine, doesn’t come close to hauling along at 400-plus MPH and won’t be valued north of one million bucks. The Navion is a well-built utility […]
Get a taste of water flying and we pretty much guarantee you’ll consider your own seaplane. Got a runway to put it on and a hangar to stuff it into? The venerable Lake Amphibian should be on the list for shopping. Yes, there are some modern alternatives in the experimental and LSA market, including the […]
Talk about the current market of new million-dollar piston singles and inevitably someone will argue that you could buy a twin turboprop for less. The Cessna 425 Conquest I is one of them. The current Aircraft Bluebook pegs a 1981 425 at $620,000 (down $200,000 from ten years ago), and for those looking to move […]
If you’re shopping for a used low-wing four-place cruiser, the starting point might be the Cirrus SR20 or Diamond DA40. If they break the budget, there’s always a Piper Archer. And for the right one, that’s not a bad compromise. The current market has a wide variety of venerable Piper PA28-180/181 models for sale, typically […]
The things that struck us as we reviewed the 100 most recent Cardinal RG accidents were what we didn’t see – there were almost no bounced landing events (one) and for all the hand-wringing over the reliability of the landing fear on single-engine Cessna retracs, only three resulted from a mechanial problem that prevented gear […]
We’ve seen it plenty of times. A buyer on a budget has the heart set on a Cessna 210, but a closer look at market asking prices and operating costs squashes the idea. Luckily there’s an alternative in the Cessna Cardinal RG. And overall there’s a lot to like about life in a retrac Cardinal. […]
In looking at the 100 most recent Beech A36 Bonanza accidents we came away impressed by the low. number of runway loss of control (RLOC) events – two; landing gear mechanical issues – two; and general landing-related mishaps – six. The good manners of the long Bonanza around a runway meant we didn’t see any […]
For as long as we can remember there has always been a certain prestige that tags along with owning a Bonanza. We suppose that’s good and bad. On one hand, the Bonanza 36’s earned reputation as arguably one of the flagship GA complex singles (in good company with Piper’s PA46 Malibu, perhaps) might after all […]
You know the routine—every month we review the NTSB reports of the 100 most recent accidents of the type of airplane featured in the Used Aircraft Guide. We then pigeonhole them by cause, looking for areas of concern for buyers and users of those airplanes. Not surprisingly, having a reasonably large number of accidents to review […]
