By Guy R. Maher The single most consistent mistake I see first-time owners make is that they buy too much airplane. Learning about airplane buying should be like learning about airplane flying. For example, let’s say you know that your goal is to be the pilot of a corporate, twin-engine airplane. You still go to […]
Mindsets — The perceived value of used airplanes is changing
As a Cessna C177 Cardinal RG owner, I belong to a “type-club” called Cardinal Flyers Online. As the name implies, the organization depends heavily on the benefits of the Internet, although the organization’s reach is far greater. One of the major attractions of membership is the near daily e-mail digest that acts as a forum […]
At what price? — Looking to buy a plane? Be sure you can afford more than just the sticker price.
I suspect many of the aviators who will venture to Lakeland for this year’s Sun ’n Fun might have “airplane hunting” on their agenda. Hey, everybody wants to own an airplane, but many pilots are still in the dreaming stages. There are those, however, who have reached a point where they can afford to buy […]
Keeper — When you find a plane that fits, make it perfect and keep it.
In addition to literally hundreds of airplane sales transactions I have been involved with over the past 28 years, my current 1974 Cardinal RG is the 17th aircraft I have personally owned. A couple of airplanes (a ’69 Cardinal and a ’75 310R) I owned less than a year. These were bought with the plan […]
Operating cost confusion — Know your numbers because it is a most important factor when you buy a plane.
In my April column, I addressed the dilemma many inexperienced aircraft purchasers encounter when they consider only the purchase price of a used plane but not the associated operating costs that go along with it. The trap, as stated in my article, is that for an arbitrary $50,000 purchase price, a buyer could obtain either […]
Magic Formula? — No, but educated guesswork is required to figure hourly operating costs
As a result of my recent columns about cost of operation, I was asked if I had a “magic formula” for my calculating those costs. No, there is no magic formula. Certainly some “educated guesswork” has to be employed where specific numbers are not available, but there is nothing magic about it. So, for this […]
Considering companions — Two hours of truth telling goes a long way toward making them more comfortable in the plane
As July rolled around this year, so did another chance to host a regional fly-in for Cardinal owners. The North Carolina event has taken on more of a training emphasis and it’s gratifying to see how many owners traveled great distances to partake. People came from as far away as Oakland, Calif., Tulsa, Okla., and […]
Who said that? — The best radio conversations are the shortest
As we take to the skies, one thing is certain: we will eventually hear some interesting stuff over the electronic airwaves. Regular readers of this column know one of my pet peeves is the irresponsible use of our ever-crowded frequencies, especially unicom. Tune in to 122.8 or one of the other high-use unicom frequencies and […]
Cruise Control — Some tips to help you determine your airplane’s actual cruise speed
A first time buyer recently asked me to clear up some confusion about significant differences in cruise performance and range between a ’75 and ’76 model of an airplane he was considering. When reviewing some of the various web sites and basic information provided about the airplanes, he noted that the ’75 model could cruise […]