Sensible two seat tourer...???

[Normal Bloke]

Can anyone help.

Currently operating a 172 and love it. BUT, never use seat number 2 and 3.

What is a (sub £30,000) good sturdy two seat tourer with plenty of short strip oomph and a good cruise speed.

Taildragger/tricycle not an issue but comfort IS!!

Any ideas would be welcomed

[Normal Bloke]

Piper Cub??

Never flown one but sounds like what you're looking for.

I stand to be corected though.

What about a Slingsby T67 or even a 2 seat Robin.

Someone else might be able to give you better advice about exactly which robin might be suitable.

[Tinstaafl]

If you load two people, full fuel plus bags for a weekend or more then I suggest you are using the 'extra' two seats in a C172.

Not by filling them with bums, but by using the W&B capacity of the a/c.

[I have control]

I wouldn't recommend a Cub, great plane but a bit slow for touring. A Bulldog might fit the bill, plenty of baggage room, solid aeroplane, aerobatic capacity.

[Genghis the Engineer]

Generally I agree with Tinstaafl, but if you fancy a change, a Rallye or Robin might be a viable option. Both probably has a bit more character than the C172 anyway.

There are a few piper taildraggers, post-cub, that might fit the bill - something like a pacer for example.

G

[LowNSlow]

There's a Yak 12 for sale in Pilot. Super Cub on steroids is the description....

How about an Emaraude (spelling). Nice side by side with elliptical wings.

What are your requirements apart from 2 seat?

Side by side or tandem?

High or low wing?

CofA or PFA?

[Final 3 Greens]

YAK 52?

[Double Asymmetric]

What about a different tack.....Vans RV6 for example. The cost/specs/versatility would be kind of hard to beat...not sure about the baggage space, though.:)

[poetpilot]

Got To Be A Jodel !!!

Loads of fun and very economical. Unless you wanna do aerobatics that is.

Big choice of powerplants & configs ranging upwards from a basic 65hp A65 (D112) through C90s (115? 119), O-200 (DR1050, D.120 Mascaret) , great slow speed performance (for all those strips) but brilliant cruise speeds fopr the engine power. Best tourer is the 2 seat Mascaret, or if you want a 2+2 (handy for all those bags n things in the back) a DR1050 Ambassadeur.

120 mph cruise on an O-200 slurping only about 4.5 gph, with two tanks that'll see your bladder off well before they are empty.

Good all round visibility, (nice nose down attitude in the cruise)and on the 2 seat ones you can operate on a PFA permit (therefore cheaper - but not the DR1050 which needs a CofA).

there's even a giant 5 seat version (not many around but what a load lifter).

Just make sure you get one thats been hangared and cosseted, as they are wood/fabric so they rot (on the trailing edges usually) if kept outside and/or if the drain holes in the trailing edges havent been kept clear.

[big pistons forever]

I am very happy with my Grumman American AA1B. It has delightfully light controls, great visibility through the canopy, does an honest 105 kn on 5 GPH and cost less to buy than a cessna 150. Check out the type club " American Yankee Association" on the web, it has lots of good info ( www.aya.org ):)

[LowNSlow]

Big pistons they are great on tarmac runways but their short field performance of grass is lacking unless the O-320 150hp otion is used :D

Due to the above they have a bit of a reputation as a ground gripper in the UK