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Old September 21st 06, 04:15 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting
Jay Honeck
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Posts: 3,573
Default Flying an air racer...

When you fly with your fingertips, you realize just how bad some planes
fly -- they feel like trucks, rather than sports cars. My friend with an
SX flew my Rocket (similar feel) and asked why Beech, Piper and Cessna
don't make planes that fly this way. My response was that Ford, Chrysler
and GM could make a Porsche, but choose not to.


Well, they fulfill completely different missions. The SX-300 was made
for one thing -- speed. It has marvelous handling, too, of course, but
everything about that plane screams SPEED.

It is...intimate, inside. Luckily, my friend and I are both
normal-sized people, but anyone wider than average is NOT going to want
to fly the SX-300. Getting in and out is...interesting. Not easy, but
no harder than a Cub, really. However, people "of size" need not
apply.

Baggage? Forget it. You're bringing a gym bag, period. Short or soft
fields? Nope. You're not flyng that plane into Amana's grass strip
for brunch, like we did yesterday.

Of course, that's why my friend owns three airplanes.

The SX-300 is a toy, nothing more -- but, my God, what a toy! I could
get very used to it, in a hurry, and -- for 1 or 2 people -- it *could*
be a useful cross-country airplane. But, for now, for what I need and
want to do with an airplane, I'll take my Pathfinder, any day of the
week.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"