@alioth good choice, there is an STC and also STC to fit a Franklin for the C-170
JasonC wrote:
I gather the Avanti is better to desire than actually own.
Spoken to quite a few owners in depth and they’re pretty happy with them. They’re not the cheapest to operate, but on par with a light jet, which is their direct competition anyway. Their biggest selling point is the fuel savings and the large cabin compared to a jet. On the question of quality, none of them I spoke to said they break down very frequently. They’ve had good dispatch rate. Obviously now that Piaggio is bankrupt, maybe spare parts will suffer in future.
A G90TX would be nice….
Engine TBO 4000 Hrs no HSI required….
http://www.nextantaerospace.com/aircraft-programs/g90xt/g90xt-overview.html
I have nothing specific to upgrade from 
but I would definitely go for a turbo M20K231 and a flapped PA18 both with 210hps
My feel is that an IFR C182/180 or Maules would be a compromise in the middle but a bad one overall to keep the same flying profile
The Elixir with the 915 Turbo Rotax (if the engine proves reliable). Well proven airframe shape existing in metal, wood, carbon. My gain: real good high altitude performance while maintaining adaequate low level performance, rugged, ingenious low maintenance concept. Certified, IFR feasible.
A really nice homebuilt Falco comes to mind as something that might motivate me. I’m not a huge fan of ‘bigger and more complex’ when it comes to aircraft as worries about maintenance by others, avionics status, maintaining currency etc are not for me. Also I don’t want anything I can’t move around on the ramp by hand, solo.
‘Moving up’ in the sense of more complexity generally seems to result in less personal connection with the activity and less fun. That’s OK in a job where you get paid more for ‘moving up’ but not for me in aircraft ownership – which is my way to escape normal life.
I consider a de-iced Mooney Encore to be an appropriate step up from the PA28-161 I rent right now.
@ploucandco I saw it too, but when you add VAT and importing it into EASA-land it gets quite a bit over my current budget (the topic made that irrelevant, unfortunately real life is not so kind).
There is a 252 on planecheck with good figures but not FIKI.
http://www.planecheck.com?ent=da&id=44203 local copy
252s are rare and not easy to get…. not many who own one let go of them.
