Need "which airplane to buy" advice

...for flying into heavy weather... the pilot and hull get heavily stressed... that "magic box" gets a lot of inputs and can deliver erroneous outputs under hull stress... going to standard feathers removes a suspect area

 

They sure are beautiful aircraft though! (web photo below).

I heard there was an AD years ago for the V35 that required strengthening of the V-tail structure and periodic stress damage inspections.
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Don't fly into heavy weather. All planes fly around.

 

Hah! I thought you were going to say "Harrison Ford".

BTW, there is no way you can see over the nose of his airplane when its taxiing.
Look at the position of the front seats and the windshield. Yikes.
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I own a Cirrus SR22 and wish I didn't

I fly a Cheyenne1 and a new FIKI Cirrus for two different companies here locally...we are adding a Citation Bravo in April.

 

MYMC, Can you state why you wish you did not own a SR22? I think Jason1st said he owned a SR22 prior to his Beechcraft and did not like it either. I tend to see more and more people wishing they were not Cirrus owners.

 

there have been several requested inspections over the years... I like the airplane, I personally don't have a problem flying it... VFR... just in case there is somethng that causes things to go wrong... then again if I find myself in a single engine recip it's VFR anyway...

 

The condensed version is that I bought one Cirrus and have owned or been loaned five others. To be clear Cirrus did replace the original plane and during the down time provided "loaners". The defects and issues with my plane and all the loaners are long and depressing.

I have had doors open in flight that cannot be fixed to stay closed, wings mounted 2.5 degrees off, engines let loose on short final (with my family aboard), replaced over 10 Avidyne MFD's and 4 PFD's, throttle stick on final, throttle joint break on take off, dash crack when only three months old, all 6 cylinders need replacement, wing tip light that would blow ANY bulb within minutes deemed "unfixable", auto pilot oscillations, 3 back-up alternators and 2 primary, 10 roll trim motors and counting along with countless re-rigging etc and so on...

To be fair the new FIKI bird that I fly has 100 hours to date, and so far has behaved itself...for the most part. I kept complaining of a vibration after take off that felt like the nose gear was coming off, turns out the wheel bearings had gone bad in not only the nose gear but the mains. Somehow this is not covered under warranty, the owner was told it was "wear and tear"....hmmmm.

Poor build quality, poor communication with customers combined with accepting products from suppliers that either do not work, do not "last" or both. Ultimately Cirrus may not build the engine, or supply the dash etc; but they should hold their suppliers to a standard somewhere above Yugo.

 

You must be ham fisted, breaking all that stuff off..lol! It is hard to believe that something as inheriting dangerous as flying (if something goes wrong) is not better made. Why is this so? It seems that I remember reading that some of the parts are made in Mexico, and what will happen now that Cirus is owned by China? Will it get better? I had a friend from Charlotte indicate a similar experience as yours. And as a non pilot, it sure sounds good to have a chute, as it has saved a few lives, including Jeff from Fl, who frequently post on this site. But, who would want to risk their life or lives in a piece of flying junk?

 

Well, we were talking about the Cessna 210.

The 'split tail' push-pull twin is the Cessna 336/337 (and O2).


Pilot error in almost all circumstances. Some as basic as trying to take off without starting the rear engine.

 

Thats my experience with Cirrus also.

 

"split tail" most commonly refers to the V 35 Bonanza...first I heard of ref to 336

the Cessna 336/7 got a lot of people in trouble... the inline thrust airplane was passed off to low time pilots before they were ready for a more complex airplane... the airplane worked as advertised, but not with rookies... I had a two friends ( examiner and student ) literally drop into my back yard ( and not walk away ) ... it was signed off as pilot error, which it was... most likely confusion and getting behind the airplane... just because one is an examiner doesn't mean they are 100% on their "game" in overcoming a difficult situation

 

OK, thanks... thought we were talking about Cessnas, but I did mention the v-tailed Bonanza.

By V35, I assume you mean A35 through V35. The C35 got bigger tails, which helped. Lot of low-time Doctors and Lawyers bought them and perished in them. An acquaintance of my dad's had one, a bird hit and broke the windshield. The increased air pressure blew the tail completely off the plane. That's what the FAA determined.

I can't tell from your post copied above if you lost friends to a 35 Bonanza or a 336.

 

So, if a person wanted to buy a series of airplanes (or rent them along the way) what would the recommended progression be:

Perhaps:
- single engine trainer (e.g. Cessna 172 or Piper PA28 or Diamond DA-20)
- higher-powered (over 200hp), fixed gear, constant-speed prop plane (e.g. Cessna 182 or Piper PA32)
- complex airplane (e.g. Beechcraft A36 or Mooney)
- twin trainer (e.g. Piper Seminole)
- high-powered twin (e.g. Cessna 310 or Beechcraft Baron or Piper Seneca)
- turbo-prop twin (e.g. Beechcraft King Air or Piper Cheyenne)
- business jet (e.g. Cessna Citation or Learjet)

Obviously, a person could skip one or more steps.

 

unfortunately both...

 

I think the Seminole would be a waste of time. The basics are the same, it's the proficiency achieved. One needs to look to the military pilots, they learn the basics, then move on into the equipment they will be using. They are training every day, refining their skills, they are on top of what they are doing. Learning at a slow pace much is lost, and what is lost must be regained before moving forward.

It's more about the systems and the level of performance than the number of engines. A lot also has to do with trip length w / respect to what one encounters /uses and weather one is exposed to enroute. There is a great difference in a high time pilot that goes 3 times around the patch frequently in a basic airplane vs a very current ( well schooled ) pilot that flies a high performance aircraft. Experience is valuable, but the kind of experience or level of experience is more important.

 

That's basically my progression over the years. Certainly no need to own them, but renting makes sense.

Also, if you can fly a piston twin with reasonable performance, you can fly a jet. If a turboprop fits the mission you need to fly, then by all means operate one, but jets are actually easier to fly than turboprops (and even piston twins), in my opinion.

Of course, I spent several years in the right seat of jets before I started to fly as PIC, which probably isn't the path most owner pilots want to take. The flying is easy, but the judgement takes more time to acquire.

 

I am far from the voice of experience with a 6-month old PP license, but trained in SR20 and have an interest in a 2004 SR22 that has been OK for the last year; had to overhaul the G430s and catch up on deferred maintenance, but otherwise fine. But given my low time not sure my opinion is worth much.

 

Ya ya I know, I know...I should have but I didn't.
Next time just give me a paper cut and some lemon juice please!

 

Get your IFR

Spend a year flying some sort of high performance something or other.

Straight to jets with a CFI.

 

I agree with this. I would suggest a high performance twin something or other, because it will make insurance easier later, but from an actual knowledge point of view it's not required.

 

The only problem with that (if your goal is jets) is a piston twin really has nothing to do with a jet. I would say a guy with twin time will need equal dual time to meet insurance requirements as a guy with single time.

When you make the jump to turbine, it's a lot of work no matter what your past and a year in a high performance single is a lot cheaper than a year in a high performance twin.