Glass cockpit vs steam gauges for low time PPL (and getting into a fast aircraft early on)

Aviathor wrote:

P210 with weather radar.

I’ve been thinking exactly that since the start of this thread.

Valentin:

I see that you were and are quite interested in the Cessnas. So the 210 series will do a lot the smaller ones will not do. It seats 6, which in fact means it seats 4 in some comfort. It has the range you are looking for (particularly if it has additional tanks), it has a large cabin and it is fast. And they are not as expensive as a plane in this class usually is. The cabin would not totally preclude the use of a camping toilet if one of the seats is taken out…. I remember someone doing this in a Twin Commanche (which had 15 hours endurance).

The P210 are the same airplanes with a pressurized cabin. That means, you can fly up to FL200 in pressurized comfort and you won’t have too much problems with payload. They also have the range you need from Cyprus. And they are fairly flexible in terms of runway use.

Just to give you an idea, this is one which has a very much updated cockpit, mid time engine and looks quite lovely.
http://www.planecheck.com?ent=da&id=39103

There is a variant of this plane with a turbine called the Silver Eagle. Which might be a natural step up from the piston plane.

Just an indea. It does not really address the overwater problem, but a Cessna 210 had got retracable gear and therefore is not as critical as fixed gear planes for ditching, also there have been a few successful ones I remember. But clearly, a Cessna 210 is a plane which CAN be learnt to fly after a straight PPL. There is not a big difference between learning a C182RG and a C210 apart from the turbo, but that is also not a problem if you have a good instructor who knows them.

Valentin wrote:

Unfortunately, it is quite small for flying. And there are no little strips. We have two international airports: Larnaca and Paphos. And that’s all where we can land. The airspace is quite limited too: LCLK and LCPH control zones + a few training zones (practically 3 of them) + one night VFR route between LCLK and LCPH. The rest is a prohibited area.

Ugh! Maybe that TBM isn’t such a bad thing after all… Have you considered moving? to Greece for instance?

Mooney Driver, that’s a capable machine but there is no way on earth I would recommend a 1979 plane

to a newcomer to aircraft ownership Especially one based on a far away island, with (presumably) minimal maintenance facilities.

Same with the (earlier mentioned) Robin. These are a nightmare for anyone “going places”, with no FAA TCs, any mod being a nightmare, some major issues (see other threads), and needing hangarage where based.

Peter,

I don’t see Cyprus having a Cirrus center either or someone to maintain a TBM…. Probably the maintenance that is available there can deal with Cessnas better than with modern airplanes. Robin, I agree with you. It might be a factor for Valentin to find out what planes are based and maintained at Paphos or Larnaca. Which ever capabilities are there will be helpful to him and might influence his type decision. I have noted that e.g. my 50 year old Mooney can be maintained even in Bulgaria in large parts (engine, avionics) because the planes they have there are of this variety. I have not seen anyone with a Cirrus there, but plenty of C172, 182 and all variants of PA28’s.

As for “old” planes…. It is unfortunately often so that in todays GA world what we need is not made anymore and consequently is only available in the used market. I have a online friend of some years who bought a Cessna 210 (I think he was active here for a while too) straight after PPL and was torn to bits by the P&F crowd but he is doing perfectly fine. The P210 is different but it fulfills some of the criteria Valentin wants and is probably the best compromise between a pressurized high performance airplane and one which a beginner can handle, it is a Cesssna after all, while controls are heavier than in a 172, it does not handle too different in flight.

The only current variant in this class is going towards a Malibu but now THAT is an airplane I would not recommend to a beginner at all, as it is quite challenging to operate. I have looked at a lot of planes but a Malibu is one I would shy away from after several accidents with VERY high experienced pilots. And I would never suggest it to a newbie, let’s talk at 1000 hours high performance SEP’s with a currency of 150 hours p.a. at least.

Mooney_Driver wrote:

I don’t see Cyprus having a Cirrus center either or someone to maintain a TBM

I’d say he wouldn’t need local maintenance. I maintain 800km away from home and don’t find it problematic. Service is every 200h and if you don’t have time to fly, get someone else to do it for you. For Pilatus intervals have been recently increased to 300h. That’s a lot of flying.

Valentin, to answer your original question, I think a recent glass 182 (doesn’t have to be new) makes a lot of sense for you. Once you upgrade, you have a plane that can actually be sold. 182s are easy to fly and offer tremendous flexibility. Paphos LCPH to Sitia LGST is 316NM or about 2 hours 20 minutes at 135 knots. Once you have your IR, that’s an easily doable flight in decent weather. Rhodes is 236 NM or about 1 hour 40 minutes. No wind of course, but these distances are realistic to cover in a SEP, and much of the year the water is warm.

This is a plane you can get comfortable in as a low time pilot and has real utility to do fun things like fly into short grass fields. After a few years, if business is still going well, sell and upgrade. You might want a Katmai instead of a turboprop!