Owned an airways twin but as avgas prices increased, airways charges also and airline prices continued to decline - sold it. A result in itself as the market for piston twins is thin to say the least. Somewhat obliquely found myself resurrecting a 1951 Super Cub (as per avatar) which I use mainly for farm strip visits and going to the odd fly in.
Longest trips have been from Ireland to Essex, and up to Yorkshire. Hope in due course to take it to Italy and possibly up through Eastern Europe, and back via Scandinavia - but at 90 HP SC block speeds (say 75 knots), will need a couple of months off to achieve this.
Bought my Socata TB20 Trinidad in 2007, having chartered it a couple of times before. Still very happy with it.
Started flying in 2000 and graduated up from Cessna 152s, 172s and 182s, all chartered from the flying school where I did my PPL. When we moved to the South of Germany I found that the GA-infrastructure around Munich left a lot to be desired and also places to charter from were relatively rare and some with silly conditions. Rented a Mooney 20 for a while from a colleague at the local flying club. When the Mooney was sold I switched to renting a Cessna 177, then the TB20. After the TB20 came onto the market I finally bit the bullet and purchased it.
Did my IR in PA-28s (Archers and Arrows) as the LBA, due to real or alleged shortness of staff, did not manage to approve my TB20 for the IR-training despite the plane fulfilling all technical and maintenance requirements and all the paperwork being present. What is basically a rubber stamping exercise would have taken at least six months of turn-around by which time I had finished the IR.
My company owns a Commander 112B Hotshot:
Upgraded avionics in 2010 and added the turbo/3 blade prop in 2012.
Markus,
care to elaborate on that Turbo addition? I actually didn't know this was available as an aftermarkt STC for the NA 112s. I mean, this one has the standard NA (small) cowling inlets... any issues with cooling? (I have read somewhere that even on the original 112TCs (with the bigger cowling inlets), cooling is a big problem...
There is even an EASA STC to add a turbo. This is the second plane converted in Europe, the first was a 112A from Norway. Engine cooling is from the full size front inlets and no problem at all. The side inlets are for air intake and intercooler (left side) and oil cooler (right side). I have no issues on CHT, but oil temperature is sometimes high (225 degree), this hasn't changed since the turbo mod. There are some additional baffles to the oil cooler to get this sorted, I haven't had the time to do it yet.
My main issue is heating. The heating is fine to -15C then degrading. -30 OAT is a pain as you can't get the cabin warm enough. Just before the air enters the cabin, there is a part where hot air comes in contract with the outer skin and therefore it cools it too quickly. I wonder if there is a way to get bleed air just after the turbo, before it enters the intercooler.
The 112TC is a complete different beast, its engine is not fuel injected, so mixture is not that stable. It also has smaller and lower placed front inlets.
the hotshot is turbonormalised which means you get enough breath back to run the same settings high as you do at 1000ft. Therefor the engine does not need any change. It is basically the same as the SR22TN.
the cooling of the 114tc is not the best design there is. Need a lot of extra fuel to keep cht at or below 400 degrees. When high at fl180 or higher you often have to open the cowlflap.
If you know what you are doing and have a good gem with per cylinder readout it is absolutely no problem.
Other than that it is a magnificent rocksolid and very comfortable aircraft. Flightplan for 150 low to 160 high. with o2 deice and tc you are all set .. And now with the ADL120 for weather.
Only thing missing ... 40 bhp to take her to 200kts region at altitude (it is only 270hp .. If 315hp turbocharged like the SR22Tn you would see 200kts).. And an extra engine for trips over water and mountains..
I would like to join a group with a serious twin .. It simply does not make sense to fly twin all of the time.
I have owned my SR22 G2 for six years and fly just over 200 hours a year, mostly but not exclusively on business.
Our family and a befriended family own a small fleet of airplanes in different ownership proportions, but we fly them all together: -> C172B -> C172D -> two C310Q (one of them for spares, though) -> Jodel DR250-160 Capitaine -> Morane MS883 -> two Morane MS894A (again, one for spare) and our Gliders: -> Ka1 (in restauration) -> Ka2B -> SG38 (waiting to be restored)
But we are 8 Pilots in total, three of whom are Flight Instructors with two Examiners. And we do rent some of those planes out to friends or do instruction on them. It's an old fleet, but usually there is enough work to do and still planes left to fly :-)
Former owned planes include Jodel D11 and D119, two DR1050, a C172J (Reims Rocket), a C172M, a PA23 Apache, a MS892, a MS 893.
1/3 share in a 1971 Cherokee 235
Started with a 1/5th share in a two aircraft group with DR400 and Cub. Moved to sole ownership with a Luscombe (great fun), then C120 (ordinary), Rallye 150 (A pickup truck), Robin DR400/160 (great kept for 11 years), then got fed up with old aircraft and built the RV (absolutely fantastic, 300 hrs now and still the best).
