THE PERFECT PLANE
I don’t know about you, but I spend a lot of time looking at planes on the internet. I’m constantly thinking “what could I buy that would suit me better?” I look back at the aircraft I have a reasonable familiarity with, and evaluate what was good and bad. A lot of my early flying was in a Cessna 172. A great, stable, and forgiving platform. Good internal space. Four seats (sort of) and about 100 knots cruise at thirty-ish litres an hour. But the airframes were older than me.
I then moved to RA and started flying Tecnam Echos. Similar airspeed to the 172 with a 20% reduction in fuel consumption and some digital instruments. A nice plane to buzz around in and very pointable. But I wanted to go faster and further. My typical flight is 400 nautical miles, so speed was a requirement. But I’m on a budget, so fuel burn had to be in 172 territory. Plus, I wanted to stay RAAus.
I got crafty and selected the RV6 to purchase – same engine as the 172, 150 knots airspeed and long, long legs – with a view to putting it in Group G when that happened. I keep thinking that bigger and faster would be a better option. A bigger Vans would work. Or maybe I get an older Cessna 182 RG Turbo or a Bonanza and refurb it with modern instruments. Better still, get one that some other poor fool has poured their time and life savings into and now has to get out. Four seats would be nice. 170 knots or more would be nice. But the truth is, I rarely fly with more than one passenger – even when I was in four-seaters. I can think of maybe two occasions. And, while 170 knots (or more) would be fun, it means more fuel and money. In fact, a lot more fuel and money usually.
I keep coming back to what I have and realising that for my mission, the mix is about right. The other answer is that any plane you have access to is probably your best choice right now. Like most of us, I just need to get out there and fly more. But that’s not going to stop me from drooling over exotic planes on the internet. Hmm, looks like there’s a P40 Warhawk for sale…
