Antonio wrote:
A pressurized piston is theoretically good for both, but is limited to one or two types in singles, or a few more in twins…
@Antonio, I was thinking P210, PA-46 & Extra 400 for singles and then Cessna 340/421/P337, Baron 58P for twins. The list isn’t that long anyway… If we are talking about the a/c that still fly in numbers.
you should be able to do both with their single ideal family airplane…(same as mine, btw)
Ah I forgot we are into “ideal airplane” 
Now you are getting picky. The next thing you are going to say is my useful load is in lbs and the Kodiak’s is in kg …hey! And getting even pickier mine is 1500, not 1600…
Ibra wrote:
Ah I forgot we are into “ideal airplane”
“Ideal airplane” = does cost nothing and flies 250 knots and carries 6 people plus household and has 5,000 nauticals range and maintains itself and when arrived you have to fill the excess fuel in barrels to sell it to the airport … ?
For some reason it reminds me of Wimbledon when a spectator asked “steffi will you marry me”
arj1 wrote:
@Antonio, I was thinking P210, PA-46 & Extra 400 for singles and then Cessna 340/421/P337, Baron 58P for twins. The list isn’t that long anyway… If we are talking about the a/c that still fly in numbers.
Dont forget the PA31P-350 and the 414 and the P-Aerostars, and the P-Baron and Duke…
But all of those press’d-piston twins are kind of maintenance-intensive, to be kind…
A friend of mine used to own and fly a P-Baron routinely Mallorca to Germany…until one of the engines ate an exhaust valve: he thought he could do without a proper engine monitor…no way! Other than the required care, it was a great airplane, but none of this list allow for casual operation or maintenance. You need to be on top of your game…maybe not what some want for a family plane?
MichaLSA wrote:
“Ideal airplane” = does cost nothing and flies 250 knots and carries 6 people plus household and has 5,000 nauticals range and maintains itself and when arrived you have to fill the excess fuel in barrels to sell it to the airport … ?
Oh come one! Don’t burst our balloons just yet…
Capitaine wrote:
It doesn’t contain any surprises, but Plane & Pilot has an article on the subject
The article provides a decent summary of the topic.
As the original creator of this thread, years ago, I nowadays think the optimal solution for the kind of flying I think about is a Piper PA-32 or a Beechcraft Bonanza A36.
Although I have also found that the kind of load hauling ability and spacious interior I like for example about our family car, a VW Touran, is nowhere to be found in aircraft. This is mainly due to physics, as putting a cabin the size of the Touran into the air would require simply way too much power and weight to result in an economically feasible airplane (the Touran has an empty weight of around 1600 kg and doesn’t need wings, nor does it need more than a 60 Litre fuel tank for its 450 nm range).
Having owned a PA32 and a G36 I do not see them as ‘the optimal family hauler’. They are both really nice and capable travel machines, but they need too much runway to take the family in and out the small airstrips typical for family vacation outside the UHNWI sphere.
Before getting my current aircraft, I almost bought a Turbo C206, which in my eyes is indeed the closest you can get to a ‘SUV of the Air Family Hauler’.
@MedEwok Not exaggerating I sometimes asked myself how on earth will all that stuff fit into my 5+2 seats car that I extracted out of my Comanche 😂😳
It’s a very good compromise plane. And even with 6 POB and half fuel I got out of a grass strip in less than 400 meters ground roll.
It won’t compete with a PA32 in terms of room. But it consumes way less fuel at more speed.
