Fun for everyone
Bringing along the family
The customer: Young family
The mission: You’re a relatively new pilot, and your family has been very supportive through training. Everyone sees the light in terms of aviation being a great recreational activity and a fun and efficient way to get to see parents and take vacations in the region. You have two kids, but at 5 and 9 they’re still pretty young (and light!). You’re looking for an airplane that is reliable, affordable, and safe. Speed doesn’t matter as much. Being in the air brings you joy, and you’re not in a rush.
Price range: $100,000-$125,000
The options:
Cessna 172
It doesn’t get much more reliable, affordable, or safe than the Cessna 172. The 1,040 pounds of useful load of, say, a Cessna 172F is doable with small children, and if the pilot in command learned to fly in a 172, his or her familiarity with the simple, honest airframe will be a huge plus. The lower range of the budget limits a buyer to airframes from before 1980 and 160-horsepower engines, but that shouldn’t scare a new owner. (With today’s booming used market, $125,000 might be a more realistic budget for the 172.) Cessna continues to manufacture the Skyhawk; parts are plentiful, and virtually every mechanic knows how to wrench on one. When the young family outgrows this model, they should have no problems selling it, and the 182 is a fantastic step-up.
Piper Cherokee
180 If this hypothetical family is tempted to spend less money on a Piper Cherokee 140 or 140/160, they shouldn’t. They will save money, but the tradeoff isn’t worth it. Moving up to the 180-horsepower Cherokee 180, the family will get more range, room, and a bit more speed, not to mention an actual backseat and not a cushioned shelf. As with the Cessna 172, airframes at this price point will be from the 1980s, but these are time-tested, sturdy airplanes that are easy to maintain. A wing spar airworthiness directive finalized in January 2021 may need to be addressed.
Beech A33 Debonair/early 35 series Bonanza
Among the many versions of the Bonanza and Debonair that Beech has produced, 1950s- and 1960s-era aircraft fall into our price range. With a 235-horsepower Continental engine, beefier useful load, cruise speed of 160 knots, and a range of 567 nautical miles, the Debonair could easily serve this young family for years, foregoing the need for a step-up airplane.
An alternative is something like the G35, K35, or J35 Bonanza, all retractable gear with a V-tail. These airplanes are not difficult to fly but they’re not Cessnas or Pipers, either, so a thorough checkout would be required to ensure a new owner understands the aerodynamic differences in a V-tail.
A pilot with little complex or high-performance time would need to check not only insurance rates but also whether the insurance company would require time in type before underwriting a policy. Maintenance costs will be more than for a fixed-gear airplane.
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