This is even more the case when you consider that those less fleet airplanes are typically less capably equipped, so when adverse weather rears its nasty head, there are fewer options, less safety margin and greater likelihood that the trip will last an extra day or two.
For those pilots looking to buy their first airplane, running these simple tests is a great way to narrow the field of possibilities from the dream team to the home team and then, hopefully, down to the exact model of airplane that will best fit your needs, your budget and even, if you follow your heart just the right amount, your dreams too. With an IFR rating on the certificate in your wallet you are no longer held hostage to the whims of an otherwise benign cloud deck.
With an IFR rating, an overcast layer at feet is hardly even considered weather. With this in mind, it makes sense to think about how your next airplane will work as an IFR platform.
There are several big considerations here, but none is as important as having a decent or better autopilot. We live in a strange time when many student pilots graduate from a flat-panel equipped trainer with a digital autopilot and then immediately go back in time a few decades to the age of steam gauges, mechanical gyros and adrenaline. Now manufactured by Genesys AeroSystems, they are also readily available for retrofit into used airplanes without an autopilot or with an outdated one.
At a minimum, you want a wing leveler, because that can greatly cut the risk of loss of control in IMC, but altitude hold is great for staying on altitude and avoiding trouble with the nice people at the FAA.
For higher-end transportation airplanes, an attitude-based autopilot will capture that glideslope more accurately and hold in turbulence much more doggedly than a rate-based flight control unit can. The next consideration is a backup source of altitude guidance should the vacuum pump in a legacy system go south. Strangely enough, one of the best backups you can have is a rate-based autopilot, because they do not rely on attitude but on rate of turn data to keep doing their thing.
There are also a number of great standby instruments available from MidContinent Instruments, Aspen Avionics, BendixKing, L3 and others that you can install and immediately start breathing a little easier once you enter the clouds. There are other equipment considerations to make when vetting your future ride for IFR duty. These include anti-icing gear, oxygen, moving maps and more, some of which are pricier than others and some of which are simply unavailable on some platforms.
The best equipment for real IFR flying, it goes without saying is a well trained and proficient pilot. A good autopilot comes right after that. Sign up for our free newsletter to receive aircraft news, product information, pilot talk and more.
And even if you do, good luck convincing someone to sell it. Beechcraft only built ish something Skippers. While this seems on the expensive side and it is , the experience of flying a Beechcraft Skipper is well worth it.
Well, almost ever since. There was a decade-long hiatus that started in the mids, but that sounds less dramatic. Yes, the Skyhawk has been in production a long time. Yes, there have been about 43, produced in total. Many are being bought by flight schools and personal buyers who have been reading articles like this one.
Built by the Stinson Aircraft Company from to , the Stinson has somewhat of a cult following. However, neither was the Pontiac Aztec. But Walter White made it somewhat cool years after its original release and earned the Pontiac Aztec a special place in popular culture. It can also seat four FAA-sized passengers, which is not something many of the other planes on our list can claim. The Stinson comes with a stock Franklin engine which is not known for being the most spirited of engines, though it does horsepower,.
However, it can carry a useful load of 1, lbs, which has made it popular as a float plane , with ski operators, and out in the bush. It also is the most high-performance plane we cover in this article. Until a certain point, Mooney M20s were simply Mooney M20s. For the aviation enthusiast or business entrepreneur, several General Aviation models can be found including, Twin Piston engine planes and Single Piston models, Light aircraft — including sport and microlight — and Military and Classic airplanes.
Home Aircraft. Advertise Your Aircraft Now. Invalid location Sorry no location available with such name. Refine Search Sort. Quick Search Clear All Filters. Pre-owned New 3. Select currency:. Yes No Air Force. Again, car comparisons can be misleading, but this is the fastest, toughest, meanest minivan you'll ever fly.
What do you get in a so-called "entry-level" jet? Twin turbofans capable of knot speeds, a fully enclosed lavatory, a large class-leading, in fact BMW-designed cabin with a built-in wardrobe for accessible storage, and seating for up to eight — though two crew members up front and four passengers facing each other limousine-style is standard. The Embraer Phantom is a model example of the recent by aviation standards Very Light Jet, or VLJ, category, which bridges the world of turboprops and bigger, more traditional jets.
Still, if you're buying a VLJ, there's very little chance you're the one flying it. There's no more fuel-efficient way to fly 10 people to their destination than with the Beechcraft King Air i twin-turboprop plane. A similar size jet usually burns at least a fifth more fuel. The i has other merits, such as a ludicrously strong airframe and landing gear, making it one of the only aircraft that can take off with both a full passenger load and a full fuel load providing for extremely long ranges in virtually any temperature, and on runways too short for similar turboprops or jets.
But the emphasis is on bulk travel. Corporations choose King Airs in the name of thrift, but private buyers are more interested in ferrying entire clans to distant climes. Learjet used to be the Xerox of private aviation, its name synonymous with the entire notion of airborne wealth.
The brand part of Bombardier isn't exactly failing, but models like the upcoming Learjet 70 could help win back some territory. It can reach a smooth-sailing max altitude of 45, feet, and its range of 2, nautical miles is practically transcontinental. Along with a lower weight than the model it's replacing by some pounds , the new eight-seater will be one of the first aircraft to feature Garmin's latest cockpit layout — the top-end G, with its array of and 5.
The Dassault Falcon 7X isn't the biggest, fastest, or priciest jet a billionaire can buy. But it's easily the coolest: Its triple cluster of jet engines makes it one of just two trijet models in the air Dassault also makes the other , and it's huge, with a stand-up cabin and bathroom and seating for up to 16 passengers.
The 7X's landing speed, though, is as low as knots, letting it set down on runways normally far too short for large-body jets. No other plane in its class, for example, can land at London City Airport.
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