Dream plane with a caveat

[SLIPANDSKID]

Hi All,

I am in the position of buying my "dream" plane except for fact there are a few obstacles in my way. The main problem is that no one plane can do everything, the second that I don't have the money for my true dream plane.

With that in mind i'm looking for suggestions that would include the following main criteria:
2 seats
Be somewhere around 150k USD +20 for a gem. (but i dont have to spend all that)
Be fully certified, not experimental/Permit (so I can put it on an AOC in my country, to earn money when i'm not flying)
Be very aerobatic
Be able to handle high and hot field elevation of 4000' with temps around 30 c each day.
Have a good long range say 450Nm we also use for touring.
Be able to handle rough strips.

Just to give an idea of what i'm looking at, if it had a full cert I would like a Yak 52 TD with all the trimmings. If I had more money I would have an Extra 300 (not sure of its range though).

Many thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[Fuji Abound]

American Champion 8KCAB Super D

[Genghis the Engineer]

Sounds quite like a Bulldog to me.

G

[IgorMalo]

>> Be very aerobatic
>> Have a good long range say 450Nm we also use for touring.

Can "aerobatic" and "touring" coexist at all?

[x933]

Firefly? The RAF are about to shift a job lot of them, could be had for significantly less than your budget.

[SLIPANDSKID]

I've investigated the Babcock firefly and it seems like a very good option. All the engines close to overhaul but if you buy the 260 and take the engine straight to overhaul I reckon you would part with about 50k sterling.

Thats the nice thing about the Yak 52 TD it has 600 nm range and +7-5g. With room for an overnight bag. Admittedly not in "touring" comfort.

What do people think of the CAP 10?? It seems like a good all rounder but can it fly more advanced aero's?

I also thought of the Marchetti 260 any nice examples going around 150k?

I currently fly the AN2 so am partial to a little radial character, hence my desire for the Yak ( if only is was certified!!)

Thanks for the posts

[Genghis the Engineer]

SF260s are lovely, but hard to come by.

A good Bulldog can be had for around £40k, and a good T67M200 or better still M260 for around 60k, both would appear to meet your spec for a good aerobatic and touring capability in a tourer.

I can't think of anything that has a radial and will meet your spec.

The perfect aeroplane for your spec may be a Pilatus PC7, but that's going to be nearer £700k so presumably well outside your budget (and mine very sadly!)

Given your budget, why not two aeroplanes? A good 2-seat or 4-seat CofA tourer that you can rent out - perhaps a Turbo Arrow, and a permit aerobatic aeroplane such as a Pitts for pure fun? Those together will probably still give you change from £100k

G

[Mr Milk]

Mate you need a fuji fa-200!
Built like a brick sh1thouse and very aerobatic. They come in two varients the 160 and the 180hp. Very fun aeroplane to fly- slide the canopy back in summer for touring around. 4 seats, loads of baggage(if you get a 180- has the baggage door) and 200 lts fuel give you a great little tourer. Not as fast as an arrow but a far better aeroplane. Still have complete factory support too.

[martinprice]

As somebody else noted "very aerobatic" and "touring" are hard to get in the same plane. Some Extra 300Ls in the US are drifting within shouting distance of your budget but probably not quite close enough. I'd go with the Super Decathlon which is an absolute delight to fly aerobatics in and good for taking two people and a bit of luggage cross country if you're not in a tearing hurry. You won't quite get 450nm out of it without a tailwind but I've done a 350nm hop in the Super D. The running costs will be vastly cheaper than the Extra as well.

[Mark1234]

No idea on budget etc., but I suspect it rather hinges on how you define 'very aerobatic'. The super D is the closest I've flown to a genuine dual purpose aeroplane, good aeros limits, inverted spinning and the like, but not sure I'd call it *very*. No tumbling permitted for instance. Alpha/robins and such like are more compromised for aeros, and the better aeros mounts are more compromised for touring.

[BackPacker]

There's a Cap 10C on sale in Wales (found it via Planecheck, but it's also advertised elsewhere) that fits your description exactly. And it looks like an absolute gem.

Although I've never flown it, the Cap-10 seems to be the best compromise between serious aeros and touring. If you want better aeros than what's possible with the Cap-10, you're looking at Pitts/Extra/Cap-21 territory which are severely limited in the touring department. Not just wrt. fuel/range but also wrt. baggage space.

[SLIPANDSKID]

Morning,

I would like to be able to do tumbling and so on, so I guess I want a fairly serious aero machine.

I like the suggestion of two cheaper aircraft that way I wouldn't have to compromise as much.

The Cap 10c looks very nice the only thing I'm worried about is the 180 HP. Due the elevation and temps here a plane that flies very nicely back home in the UK performs like a real slug here. I have flown the Fuji 200 here and you need to dive almost a 1000 ft to build the speed for a loop!!

I think the firefly m260 is sticking out ahead of the crowd

Thanks

[Mark1234]

Firefly has rather long, glider like wings, hence a fairly ponderous roll rate, and, whilst I don't know, I'd be VERY suprised if you can tumble it.. unless I'm looking at the wrong aircraft.

I suspect your best answer is a pitts + ???