HI !
I am looking for some advice on buying my first aircraft , i have 41 hours done so far on my ppl so hopefully i should try and finish my training and get my license January time! weather permitting .
Ideally i would like a permit type ! 2 seat ,that can also run on mogas/avgas and i wouldn't mind a tail wheel either ! and a decent cruise speed ie over 90kt with short field ability. The budget i have is around 20k ,i would love a vans Rv but i would have to finance the rest of the money and i am not sure if that's the best thing to do on a first aircraft.
Any advice or suggestions welcome.
thanks
jim
1th aircraft
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Alan Kilbride
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Nick Allen
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Can't argue with the Jodel proposition, but you would need to budget for, and find, hangarage.
Jabirus and Tecnam 92s are now coming into this price range -- OK, mogas only, and nosewheel. I had an hour blasting at (very) low level over southern Italy in a Tecnam this summer, and it was a fine little machine!
Jabirus and Tecnam 92s are now coming into this price range -- OK, mogas only, and nosewheel. I had an hour blasting at (very) low level over southern Italy in a Tecnam this summer, and it was a fine little machine!
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Steve Brown
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Consider joining an established friendly group, since the experience you will gain from the existing owners ref maintenance, operating, sharing trips etc as well as the cost sharing, smaller outlay advantages may be invaluable and also it may be that your initial flying desires may change as you gain a bit more experience.
Welcome to the world of flying & well done for getting to Permit a/c so quickly - its the place to be!
Best of luck with the rest of your course.
Regards
Steve
Welcome to the world of flying & well done for getting to Permit a/c so quickly - its the place to be!
Best of luck with the rest of your course.
Regards
Steve
Whatever aircraft you decide on make sure you get an insurance quote before buying. I understand some types may be very expensive for low houred pilots.
Locating some hangarage in advance would be a good idea too. This will be essential for wooden and fabric covered aircraft (like the Jodel mentioned) and desirable for metal and Airfix, sorry, composite, aircraft.
The "join a group" option already mentioned is a very good suggestion as all the group setup, insurance, and organisation of hangarage, maintenance, inspectors etc has already been done and things like type / tailwheel conversion almost get arranged for you.
I bought a Luscombe and then had a friend teach me to fly in it so I discovered a lot of these issues early on in my flying career. I was lucky though: I had my friend to help me who had owned aircraft before and a lot of things fell into place far more easily than (I now know) they normally do. I was very naive and it could so easily have gone horribly, expensively and embarassingly wrong.
Please feel free to ignore all this advice and go out and buy your own 'plane. After all, I did, and I know of others who have as well.
Permit aircraft are the way to go, though. Much more affordable to run and far more fun than most of those CofA things.
Locating some hangarage in advance would be a good idea too. This will be essential for wooden and fabric covered aircraft (like the Jodel mentioned) and desirable for metal and Airfix, sorry, composite, aircraft.
The "join a group" option already mentioned is a very good suggestion as all the group setup, insurance, and organisation of hangarage, maintenance, inspectors etc has already been done and things like type / tailwheel conversion almost get arranged for you.
I bought a Luscombe and then had a friend teach me to fly in it so I discovered a lot of these issues early on in my flying career. I was lucky though: I had my friend to help me who had owned aircraft before and a lot of things fell into place far more easily than (I now know) they normally do. I was very naive and it could so easily have gone horribly, expensively and embarassingly wrong.
Please feel free to ignore all this advice and go out and buy your own 'plane. After all, I did, and I know of others who have as well.
Permit aircraft are the way to go, though. Much more affordable to run and far more fun than most of those CofA things.
Rob Swain
If the good Lord had intended man to fly, He would have given him more money.
If the good Lord had intended man to fly, He would have given him more money.
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Joe Iszard
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Nick Allen
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There was a Tecnam P92 recently for sale (in mainland Europe -- can't remember where) for 25,000 euros: OK, the current feeble state of the pound makes this over £20,000, but not far off. A good haggle in Italy, where there are lots, believe me, might well get you something below this. There have been Jabirus in the last couple of issues of the magazine around the £20,000 mark. Escapades...strangely, never seen one for sale.
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Nigel Hitchman
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Agree with most of the comments so far. Particularly joining a group with one of these aircraft.
Jodel is a very good choice, but you could also go with something like a Cub (bit over priced, but then Cubs are great!) Aeronca Chief or Champ, Taylorcraft, Vagabond, Luscombe (some find trickier to land than other taildraggers and perhaps more unforgiving to poor landings- but they also perform better in the air)
regarding the Tecnam P92, Ive also heard its a nice aircraft to fly, but would be surprised if you could buy one for that price. Importing a second hand one from Europe could be difficult as most, if not all over there are factory built and thus wouldnt qualify for a LAA permit to fly over here.
Are there any friendly groups where you are flying now? Your £20k might by you a share in a Vans RV with money left over for operating costs for the first couple of years.
Jodel is a very good choice, but you could also go with something like a Cub (bit over priced, but then Cubs are great!) Aeronca Chief or Champ, Taylorcraft, Vagabond, Luscombe (some find trickier to land than other taildraggers and perhaps more unforgiving to poor landings- but they also perform better in the air)
regarding the Tecnam P92, Ive also heard its a nice aircraft to fly, but would be surprised if you could buy one for that price. Importing a second hand one from Europe could be difficult as most, if not all over there are factory built and thus wouldnt qualify for a LAA permit to fly over here.
Are there any friendly groups where you are flying now? Your £20k might by you a share in a Vans RV with money left over for operating costs for the first couple of years.
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Graham Clark
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Aircraft choice
No doubt about it, at this stage the best thing to do is join a small group. Getting a PPL is Stage 1, but there is a helluva lot more to owning and operating a Permit aircraft than a thin cheque book can accommodate. If you join a group operating a taildragger and have not yet got the necessary experience, you will have to get the difference training before they will let you loose.
Very importantly, being a member of the group will enable you to gain very useful experience by flying with others at much lower cost than a DIY job. It's also more fun in a well-run group.
Very importantly, being a member of the group will enable you to gain very useful experience by flying with others at much lower cost than a DIY job. It's also more fun in a well-run group.