Used Aircraft Guide

The Gold Wing in the main photo was shot at Honda Aircraft Companys massive headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina. Its the first thing you see when entering the main lobby, and presumably its there as an important reminder of Hondas heritage. In 1946, Soichiro Honda established the Honda Technical Research Institute to develop machine tools and engines. In 2017, the brand name is delivering an ultramodern jet. For motorheads and curious consumers alike, the Honda timeline of milestones is an interesting read.

Given its European roots, Diamond came at the DA40s design as sort of a hybridbetween the sleek glass gliders the company started out producing when it was Hoffmann Flugzeugbau and more traditional aircraft U.S. customers are accustomed to. This yielded what we think can arguably be called a world airplane.

With some new flagship piston singles flirting with the $1 million mark, its logical that qualified buyers are eyeballing the entry-level turboprop single market. That could give Texas-based Evolution Aircraft (previously Lancair, before it was sold last summer) more opportunity to sell its Evolution Turboprop experimental airplane kits. If you think the average new Cirrus, Cessna TTx or Mooney owner doesnt have time to build an airplane, you may be right. But building an Evolution isn’t like building a typical homebuilt in the garage.

Is there a value proposition in an airplane that cruises two-thirds as fast as a near million-dollar Cirrus, uses only one-quarter the fuel and costs one-fifth as much? The Bristell LSA, an Eastern European import were examining here, certainly tests the notion. Like the Tecnam Astore we reviewed in the January 2017 issue, the Bristell NG5 stretches the slow-simple-cheap ethos of the light sport airplane to the breaking point. Given its sophisticated avionics, high cruising speed and attention to interior and baggage space, the Bristell is clearly conceived as a high-end traveling machine, not a bump-around-the-pattern flivver.

Back in the day-as in 1939-the Ercoupe was designed to be exceptionally safe by making it resistant to stalls and spins. But the airplane racked up a number of firsts, including being the first successful production GA airplane that had a nosewheel, plus a fully cowled engine. This contributed to more speed than most of its counterparts had. Better yet, an Ercoupe can handle a crosswind of twice the velocity that can be dealt with by almost any other airplane.

Regarded as one of the workhorses of general aviation, the Piper Navajo has found a substantial market in the charter business. But its also an appealing twin for owners who want to fly themselves in relative comfort and luxury. Like the Cessna 402, as one example, you don’t find many Navajos in private ownership, although some aircraft sales professionals we spoke with during our research told us thats changing-and good ones sell for a premium.

The typical cabin-class piston twin buyer is generally moving up from a high-performance single, or perhaps even stepping down from a jet or turboprop. With a need to go places comfortably and efficiently, these buyers recognize that a serious business airplane needs a decent cabin, credible speed and the ability to hack it when there’s ice or other rotten flying conditions in the forecast. Pressurization is nice since passengers don’t want to spend several hours with a plastic hose stuck up the nose.

A six-seat retractable single can be a logical and compelling. step-up aircraft. Some are as fast as many twins, can carry sizable payloads, can accommodate plenty of modern avionics and generally are straightforward to fly. A single engine avoids a twins upkeep costs, while most systems (with landing gear being a notable exception) arent overly complex to work on. So which model do you buy? Despite all the appeal, the market isn’t littered with obvious choices.

At one time, a normally aspirated 200-HP Piper Arrow was our go-to aircraft for travel around the Northeast and occasional hauls from Connecticut to the Carolinas. While the Arrow lacked the excitement of a Mooney 201, it was stone simple to fly, had reasonable operating costs and most important to our mission-it delivered good dispatch reliability.

Mooneys J-model is one of those rare ideal compromises between speed, economy and payload. Its not the fastest retrac on the block, but as complex aircraft go, its relatively affordable to own, plus its easy to fly and maintain. Mooney pumped out nearly 2200 201s between 1977 and 2008 and the current used market has plenty for the taking. There’s a lot to like, which makes it easy to overlook some of the aircrafts nits.

The Beech Sierras entry into the normally aspirated 200-HP piston single market was-like its competitors offerings-a growth airplane derived from an earlier model with less horsepower and less complexity. That was the Model 23 Musketeer, of course. Like Pipers Arrow and Cessnas Cardinal RG, the Sierra sports four seats, a constant-speed prop and retractable landing gear, making it a logical step-up for newer pilots and owners looking for something a bit more than a trainer-category aircraft. While its no speed demon, there’s a lot to like about Sierra ownership.

Perhaps one of the most recognizable and most produced general aviation aircraft, Cessnas 172 Skyhawk may also be among the most economical four-placers to own. Sure, there are others worth considering, including the Piper Warrior, Beech Sundowner and even a Grumman Cheetah, but Skyhawks tend to be favored by flight schools. This makes more of them-including modern glass panel-equipped models-available on the used market. And there are plenty of Skyhawks of various vintages to chose from.