What is the best all-round aircraft?
This seemed like a good subject for discussion at least....
I just got back from touring Europe in a C150. Not ideal for this purpose - 80 kt cruising speed means it takes you ages to get anywhere in a headwind; under 4 hour endurance means you can't plan very long legs in that possible headwind; payload such that if we hadn't been two fairly light people the trip would have been impossible. I looked somewhat enviously at our occasional flying companions in their AA5A, and at the Longeze tied down next to G-ATKF when I got home to Sleap. But both of these types need long runways. And I'm only likely to go long distance touring once or twice a year; dropping into relatively short fields I might do more often than that (when I get back to really being current on f/w aircraft). So I started thinking....
We talk often about different types of aircraft for different types of flying - but what would be the best all-round aircraft? It would need a reasonable cruising speed, payload, and endurance for long trips, but still be able to get into short fields. It should be reasonably fun to fly - a C172 fulfils all of the above, and is as much fun as....dunno. It needs to be able to land in a stonking crosswind like we had at Southend, on the one runway that big airports usually have. It needs to be suitable for all sizes of pilot; at 5ft 2ins, I can't actually fly a C172 without loads of cushions, and that's neither comfortable nor safe on long trips. Realistically, it needs to be relatively inexpensive; I'd love to hear abour the £100,000 aircraft that fulfils all of the above, but if money was no object, I could get an MD500 helicopter, cruise at 140kts, and land on a postage stamp. So I'm thinking about something the average pilot could buy, or at least have a share in - in a group of not more than about 6, or taking it away for a couple of weeks might become difficult. If it could do aeros and things as well I suppose that might be nice, at least for the sake of the discussion, though personally that isn't my thing.
I can't be the only pilot who wants an aircraft that can do...everything. Does it exist? Any suggestions?