Got My Ticket today!!!!

"Dallas" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 13 May 2007 18:06:18 -0500, CareBear wrote:

Barry, tell me the pros and cons of your Sundowner.

Hey, CB... I'm still impressed with your hourly costs, would you tell us
more?

What kind of aircraft is it? What does the instructor charge if you take
it up without him/her.


--
Dallas

Dallas, it is a Cessna 152. The hourly (Hobbs) price is $70.00 per hour
with or without the instructor. If fuel is needed you just tell the lineman
and they fill it up. The school (Cullman Folsom Field) is a part of Wallace
State
Community College in Cullman, AL and is Part 141. They also offer Part 61.

--
CareBear

On Sun, 13 May 2007 18:06:18 -0500, "CareBear"
wrote:

Barry, tell me the pros and cons of your Sundowner. I have a possible
opportunity to purchase one (1980 Model) but would like some info. I have
never flown one but am interested.

Sure! First of all, there's an active type club at beechaeroclub.org.

Pros:
- Roomy. It's a few inches wider than a PA-28 or C172. Good sized
back seat with decent legroom, as well.
- Two front row doors on most, plus a baggage door.
- GREAT visibility. Big windshield with no posts, plenty of side
windows, and a wing set a tad back compared to a Cherokee. Traffic
easy to spot in VFR without airplane parts in the way.
- Very easy to fly. Sinks a tad faster when you pull the power than a
PA-28. I like the crosswind handling thanks to the slightly lower
float. Predictable stalls, easy slow flight, light and positive
controls. I switched to mine as a 20 hour, post-solo student with no
issues. None of the local instructors had flown one, but they react
positively after flying mine.
- Very durable landing gear, great on grass.
- Almost double the G ratings of a comparable Piper or Cessna. A very
strong airframe. The C23 airframe has aerobatic certification with
very little modification, mostly related to jettisoning the doors,
etc... This might be the "Buddy Lee" of 4 seaters.
- Easy to service. We haven't heard a single complaint from A&P's,
nor have we had to search out specialists.
- Slighty nose heavy. Almost impossible to exceed the rear CG while
still under gross with two in the front row. This plane LOVES rear
pax.
- Typically cheaper to buy than a comparable Piper or Cessna
- Standard dual static ports
- Non-electric flaps
- Fuel selector is in the center, accessible to either pilot
- Slight sprung connection from the ailerons to the rudder, helps turn
coordination automatically.
- Many were never FBO trainers.
- No normal-flight POH carb heat requirements, hot start vapor locks,
or flooded carb fires, that other manufacturers may have had.

Cons:
- Slightly nose heavy G. With two good sized guys, you need ballast
in the baggage hold. We've exceeded the forward CG limits with no
issues and done stalls and slow flight. However, I don't recommend
you do this, in fact you shouldn't!
- A few knots slower than a 180 HP PA-28 or 172. Hey, it's roomy!
- Very durable landing gear rides like the tires are solid rubber on
rough pavement.
- Parts availability. Some airframe parts can be expensive if they
have to come from Beechcraft. Not as many TSO'd aftermarket items (or
mods) as Piper or Cessna. The powerplant, prop, tires, lights,
brakes, instruments, radios, etc... are standard generic stuff, so
this isn't as big a deal as you'd think, but it deserves mention if
you happen to need something Beech specific.
- Our s/n range has slightly more unusable fuel than many, 7 gallons,
but it does carry 60. Some s/n's have as little as 2 unusable.
- Landing light isn't great on the ground without optional taxi light.

Neither, but deserve mention:
- Has a seemingly undeserved reputation for "porpoise" on landing from
a few folks who landed very fast on the nose gear. The truth is, the
same conditions probably would have set up a prop strike on an oleo
strut aircraft. Neither myself, my co-owner, or the four guys who
owned it before us have ever experienced it. Nobody in the Beech
Aero Club complains about it, either.
- Our s/n has a "tee" style control quadrant with a slide lock, which
I prefer over knobs.
- I really like the switch layout, ventilation system, and ergonomics,
but it's totally personal preference.
- You need brakes to turn while taxi. I never do on a PA-28, but I
cannot for the life of me, taxi a BE23 without brakes.
- _I_ think it's a good looking aircraft. G It's no Cessna
Cardinal or Grumman Tiger, but there's a lot uglier stuff on the
flight line.


Overall, I would buy ours again in a heartbeat. I think it flies
great and is very comfortable. I don't really notice a few knots on a
typical cross country. BAC members are extremely helpful and nice
folks. I've not heard negative comments from pilots who have actually
flown a Sundowner, only from those who never have, but that goes for
many non-Piper or Cessna aircraft.

Give it a good look and fly it as much as you can while your decide.

"B A R R Y" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 13 May 2007 18:06:18 -0500, "CareBear"
wrote:

Overall, I would buy ours again in a heartbeat. I think it flies
great and is very comfortable. I don't really notice a few knots on a
typical cross country. BAC members are extremely helpful and nice
folks. I've not heard negative comments from pilots who have actually
flown a Sundowner, only from those who never have, but that goes for
many non-Piper or Cessna aircraft.

Give it a good look and fly it as much as you can while your decide.

Great info, thanks.

--
CareBear

CareBear wrote:
Good catch Bob. I obviously overlooked or didn't record something in my
calculations. Even if I use your figure of $5400.00 it is still a
reasonable cost as far as I am concerned. The instructor time is
built into
the hourly cost. That is, the $68-$70 per hour includes the instructor,
airplane, and fuel. Sorry for the miscalculation.

-- CareBear


You've learned the most important skill, airplane math! When we were
restoring the Navion we started adding up the bills and then decided
that was no fun. We have NO IDEA what the thing cost and we don't want
to know! You can't take it with you and the kids don't deserve it!

Have FUN, go buy a plane!

Margy

B A R R Y wrote:
Overall, I would buy ours again in a heartbeat. I think it flies
great and is very comfortable. I don't really notice a few knots on a
typical cross country. BAC members are extremely helpful and nice
folks. I've not heard negative comments from pilots who have actually
flown a Sundowner, only from those who never have, but that goes for
many non-Piper or Cessna aircraft.

Give it a good look and fly it as much as you can while your decide.


The only Beeches I've ever flown have been a T-34B and a Duchess. You make the
Sundowner sound very attractive and you wrote a damned fine assessment. Now I
want to look one over.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com

CareBear wrote:
Thanks, Euan. I plan on doing exactly that...flying to enjoy it and
learning at the same time.


Like somebody else already said, don't just go out and bore holes in the sky.
Go make some cross countries. They can be applied later when you try for the
instrument rating (the best one for making flying reliable) and possibly the
commercial (which can often sucker folks into flying with you who otherwise
wouldn't).



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com

After an additional 5.5 hours practicing forward slips to a landing and soft
field landings, I got my ticket today.

Way to go! Congrats, and welcome to the growing (but still tiny)
group of humans who have mastered the skies.

Never forget that thousands of generations before us looked longingly,
fruitlessly at the sky -- and we are but lucky enough to live in an
era when we can truly fly!

Enjoy it, and cherish it.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On May 12, 2:07 pm, "CareBear" wrote:
After an additional 5.5 hours practicing forward slips to a landing and soft
field landings, I got my ticket today. I will admit it is exciting to
finally get your ticket checking to see if it's truly mine, yep, has my
name on it.

Now that the "pressure" is off, I plan to just fly and enjoy the scenery
while continuing to learn as much as I can concerning aviation.

Total hours - 78.4
Total time - First flight 5/1306....PPL ASEL Flight 5/12/06. (Should have
waited 1 more day to make it an even year )
Total cost - $4137.00 - this includes everything - instructor, fuel, books,
sectionals, etc.

My plan is to forge on and get Instrument Rated.

Thanks to all those who gave me moral support when I failed the first time.
--
CareBear

Well done...and you are right in the "money" on the time it takes.

Make sure you get a copy of the ticket and keep it somewhere. I
almost didnt do that...and when I got the instrument they take the
ticket of course. The examiner was kind enough to ask me if I wanted
to get a copy.

Dont worry about the first time. You are a better pilot for it.
those "events" though somewhat painful are much more helpful then the
success in making a good pilot.

Again congrats

Robert

On May 12, 2:07 pm, "CareBear" wrote:
After an additional 5.5 hours practicing forward slips to a landing and soft
field landings, I got my ticket today. I will admit it is exciting to
finally get your ticket checking to see if it's truly mine, yep, has my
name on it.

Now that the "pressure" is off, I plan to just fly and enjoy the scenery
while continuing to learn as much as I can concerning aviation.

Total hours - 78.4
Total time - First flight 5/1306....PPL ASEL Flight 5/12/06. (Should have
waited 1 more day to make it an even year )
Total cost - $4137.00 - this includes everything - instructor, fuel, books,
sectionals, etc.

My plan is to forge on and get Instrument Rated.

Thanks to all those who gave me moral support when I failed the first time.
--
CareBear

One more thing, I probably saw it but forgot it. what plane?

Robert

Congratulations! Your total time to PPL was very close to mine. As for
total costs, just north of $4K sounds pretty reasonable. I didn't total
my costs...too scared :-)

Enjoy your ticket. Good move planning on the instrument rating.


--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-Instrument Airplane

"To become a Jedi knight, you must master a single force. To become
a private pilot you must strive to master four of them"
- Rod Machado

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)