Hi Smithy
Firstly, let's get this fact out of the way. I own a T'Hawk, so in some peoples eyes I must be biased.
Having said that I could go on and on about the bad points of other aircraft types I've flown in the last 30 years to support my bias but I shan't.
I shall only state the facts based on experience that apply to my use of a T'Hawk.
Take off and landing distances. Often quoted in the POH and based on no wind and MAUW. My strip is 580m of rough grass (very soggy at the moment) and I fly from it on average twice a week, even in it's current state.
I take off and land within the parameters of the conditions that apply at the time and find no problems with the take off and landing distances i.e. fuel/passenger load, wind direction and speed, ground conditions.
Visabliity. As good as and in some respects better than some open cockpit types I've flown.
Comfort. Loads of room.
Performance. I believe my T'Hawk to have the highest airframe hours of any other T'Hawk on the UK register (10620) and an engine with 3100 hrs since last o/h. Does this make it a "tired aircraft", not in the slightest. I use it regularly and ask it to perform like it's fresh out of the factory gates and it does.
Value for money. Depends on where you're coming from. I had a limited budget and T'Hawk was available, so I bought it. The running costs are roughly the same as similar CofA spamcans, so no disadvantages or advantages in that respect.
Odours. Does it smell like a toilet? Not being an officianado of lavatorial smells (like someone I could mention), it smells in the cockpit when it gets damp inside but what do you expect when it sits outside in all weathers and the cockpit cover gets left off because I can't be bothered to cover it up. Strange as it may seem, the odours soon disappear and during it's smelliest periods, the aircrafts performance remains unaffected. Strange that!
Trim control. You get used to it, assuming you are of average intelligence and have a memory.
Elevator control. Rough grass strips and nosewheel assemblies are not an ideal combination but despite rumours to the contrary, I can get my nosewheel off the deck on a takeoff run at 20kts and hold it off on the landing roll until the ASI is nudging 15kts. Saves a load of unnecessary stress on the nosewheel assembly and goes to prove the elevator control is effective with little airflow over it.
Would I buy another T'Hawk? I'll stick with this one for as long as I can and when the wing life extension modification is finally approved, I shall have it installed and then have an aircraft with an 18500hr airframe life instead of the 11000hr life it currently has. I suppose I could scrap it at 11000hrs and get something else but I'm comfortable with the old girl and she deserves better than the scrapyards cutting torch.
I think the words "each to his own" applies to everyone and if you don't like toilet smells put a peg on your nose if you get in a T'Hawk or anything else that smells for that matter.
