Inkognito, Yes but I find it over engineered also quite expensive on the second hand market. The limbach versions are for sure a no go for me..
My first aircraft was a Taifun 17e. It had a Sauer engine. I hear that company can not deliver certified engines anymore..I have flown Dimonas also..not much impressed. The Super Ximango is basically an RF10 in glass fiber with a Rotax engine. I had yesterday a 60 degree xwind if 14Kts not sure if the S10 can handle this? I already find taxiing with the Xi a challenge…
LeSving wrote:
We obviously live in different (GA) worlds Meaning we have incompatible experiences.
Isn’t that a strength, really? That there is something in GA for every taste?
I’m also 100% confident that this is the reason why must people hang it up within 2-3 years. It’s ultimately boring.
Not for me. I’ve been doing it for a total of 24 years now.
It’s more that I can take my wife to Copenhagen flying SAS or Norwegian for a fraction of the cost and zero work from my part.
Good for you. But I enjoy flying myself to Copenhagen with my wife and – can you imagine – so does she!
The local authorities are able to handle GA just fine, and much better than EASA ever could.
My experience is the opposite. But YMMV. Luftfartstilsynet may be more reasonable than Transportstyrelsen.
LeSving wrote:
We obviously live in different (GA) worlds Meaning we have incompatible experiences.
Not only experiences but also expectations. Obviously, for you the main motivation for flying is completely different to anything I’ve ever done or wanted to do.
I fully admit that I am one of the failed airline hopefuls who finds his joy in flight to “play airliner” and to fly as close to airline ops as possible. In case it has been lost somewhere, I am also a number freak who will spend unlikely amount of times going over POH’s performance sections and figure out optimum range and speed profiles for airplanes I fly or which people close to me are considering buying. While I do enjoy the occasional joyride in the mountains or around them to take pictures, it is not why I came to flying nor would it keep me doing it. My personal satisfaction is to fly from A to B using precise flight planning and to do so within 3 minutes of the planned EET and, in case of my airplane, within 1-2 liters of planned fuel used. I fly AP from 90% of time, use SOP’s and will spend quite some time until cruise power is set so the instruments show me EXACTLY the fuel flow for the cruise regime I’ve chosen for this flight. When I used to fly twins, my prop syncing mania was legend with some instructors, as well as a TU154 FE who became quite good at syncing those beasts after a month with me on the center seat.
And at the other end, there must be a purpose for going there. Nice city, the sea, business, something. Otherwise I am not interested. The flights I remember are those where I took the Mooney to the edge of it’s range envelope safely and with precision. I hardly recall any “pleasure flight” as I’ve seen most of those mountains before. I enjoy the interaction with ATC and just love it when a runway appears in the distance exactly at the point I expect it to.
Ever since most larger airports have outpriced GA, my interest has been going down. And given that my own time is extremely limited and I have access to a rather sophisticated 737 sim, I’ve found that I can get most of what I want out of aviation in that sim as much as when flying my own plane, with the obvious difference that there is nothing to do at “the other end”. But in terms of number crunching and conducting flights with precision and SOP’s and doing approaches into challenging airports after work is oddly satisfying and not the least boring. It also means, I can go “fly” when I do get the time, which is mostly when my family is asleep or somewhere busy so I get 2 hours to myself, which would not even cover the drive to the airport and back.
I guess there is a good chance I’ll eventually stop flying for real and do my “flying” in the sim, enjoying the total freedom to fly world wide, explore airports I could never reach in the real world with an airplane I never got to fly (well, it’s a Boeing but being on the ground that’s ok, I prefer Airbusses myself) and don’t have to bother with medicals and greedy airport bureaucrats ever again. It certainly is more family friendly too. And WAY cheaper.
Back on topic, yes ownership is worth it. You get everything. The smell of oil, fuel, the noise when your engine revs up, the atmosphere of hanging out with co-owners, the frustration, the exhilirastion when you have your aircraft the way you want it. The pure sense you are part of a unique community. The relieve sense of being free of club hassle and policies….I will only stop doing that when I am forced by external factors…beeing medical or financially. I am not interested in simulators as surrogate..it’s the real life experience that counts with all the good the bad.and ugly..it’s life! If I could and there were no financial constraints I would have a huge Hangar and start collecting aircraft and rebuilding them. Aircraft are just awesome machines designed by the best engineers on this planet, enjoy it while you can!!!!
There’s nothing good in separating groups of pilots into the airliner crew and fun people or any other kind.
We’re so few in total numbers that it’s even more stupid. And then there are those who enjoy any way of flying. Let’s take out of this that there’s more to the world of flying than one would see from his personal experience.
One Canadian/EXP perspective, nicely narrated
UdoR wrote:
Let’s take out of this that there’s more to the world of flying than one would see from his personal experience.
Exactly.
We should stand united, not divided. Not each fits to each, but we are all aviators.
Airborne_Again wrote:
can you imagine – so does she!
clap clap clap! Enjoy!
Airborne_Again wrote:
Isn’t that a strength, really? That there is something in GA for every taste?
Exactly
Mooney_Driver wrote:
We should stand united, not divided
Exactly
UdoR wrote:
There’s nothing good in separating groups of pilots into the airliner crew and fun people or any other kind.We’re so few in total numbers that it’s even more stupid.
Exactly. That is not to stop acknowledging (and learning, and protecting) the goods in each other’s ways
