Planes you have flown

[langj]

So, I am curious as to what planes you have all flown and your thoughts on those planes. This is inspired by the skycatcher post last week it really interested me and I am going to me going up in one in the next month or so. I love trying out new planes and seeing the differences both good and bad.

Planes I have flown.

1. Zodiac 601xli - This is the plane I have the most hours in I did my flight training in this plane. When I started I was a little disappointed it was a low wing, but after a few flights I fell in love with it. It is extremely easy to fly and to land. The cabin however is a little tight. Great plane to fly by yourself or with my children. Two full sized adults it gets real snug. Unfortunately, this plane is no longer available to me as another renter wrecked it on her solo cross country.

2. Flight Design CTLS - My first high wing aircraft I have ever flown. I did an off airport landing in this plane in a dry lakebed. It's a very fast plane and really easy to fly. It did have a digital display which was hard for me to transition to. The cabin was a good size but the seats were not comfortable for me I did like that they were adjustable. This plane was very easy to land and operate.

3. Zenith CH 750 AKA skyjeep- This is a very fun plane. Great visibility the views are like being in a helicopter. You can see straight down, forward, side and up. The plane I flew had a center Y stick which allowed you to have an ipad on your lap. Although the Y stick made me constantly pull the plane to the left which was very extremely frustrating. This plane is also very rudder sensitive and requires constant rudder control its not like the zodiac where you could get very lazy with the rudders. This plane was equipped with large tires which made ground movability a little bit tougher it required more force on the ruder peddle to move the nose wheel. The larger tires also means you really don't have much breaking power or the brakes on this plane just sucked. While this plane does have great views you cant be in a hurry to get anywhere its slow I averaged about 80 to 85 kts at full throttle.

4. Samba xxl - This plane is a low wing aircraft with a rotax 912. Its a really fast airplane. Boy this plane loves to fly it seems to never want to come back to the ground. The cabin was very roomy for a side by side. However, the seats were not comfortable to me the back cushion was almost like solid plastic with a towel on it. The plane was equipped with a ballistic chute which was nice to know it was there. The wings of this plane were really low to the ground I can easily see one of the renters scraping a wing. Landing this plane was extremely difficult. It just does not like to land. You must be at full flaps and basically dive the plane down to the runway and then flare , you must stall the plane in flare to get it to land or it will float in ground effect all day. It is a fun fast plane to fly just not really great as a trainer plane in my opinion although they try to claim it would be on their site. As someone who has actually flown it I would not recommend it to a low hour pilot. It is a good thing I had my flight instructor with me while flying this one or it would have taken me awhile to land this plane.

Let me know if you have any questions about my experience with any of these planes. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the planes you have flown.

[langj]

So no one else wants to post what planes they have experience in and what they think of them?????

[Jim Stewart]

My own CTSW, over 300 hours, trained and passed my PP A-SEL checkride in it. Wonderful airplane but not a very good trainer. It's taken me all around Northern California, Oregon and Washington. Great for cruising, demands 100% attention on landing.

Evektor Sportstar. About 30 hours, my first flying and training experience. Very nice, lands easier than the CT, very responsive. Evektor Sportstar Max. About 4 hours. Not as responsive as the original.

Cessna 152. About 8 hours training. Rides like a milk truck compared to the CT and Sportstar. Rugged as hell, not much fun.

Cherokee 6. 1 hour and one landing. Very stable. If I were buying a "big" airplane, I would seriously consider it.

Challenger ultralight. 1 takeoff and landing, 20 minutes in the air. Landing and takeoff roll feel like being in a shopping cart doing 30 mph. Then flight. Exhilarating, but being pushed around by a 2-stroke engine is not my thing....

[drseti]

It's not that I don't want to post, it's that you lose count after 50+ years! add to that the fact that us old farts have failing memories, and you get the picture...

OK, since this is a Sport Pilot forum, I can list a dozen LSAs and Sport Pilot eligible aircraft I've flown:

Aeronca 7AC Champ
Ercoupe 415C
Piper J3 Cub
Taylorcraft BC12D
Evektor SportStar
Sport Cruiser/ PiperSport
Gobosh
KitFox
Lambada
Pipistrel Virus
Remos
Bristell

Of the LSAs, I'd have to say I like the feel of the Bristell best. Of the Sport Pilot eligible LSAs, my first choice is the Ercoupe, with the Champ a close second.

As for non-LSA certified aircraft, maybe 100 different models. Of my total hours (a bit over 4000), 3000 or so were in various Beechcraft, and only a little over 600 in LSAs. That leaves 3 or 4 hours each in a whole bunch of different planes, mostly giving flight reviews and instrument proficiency checks.

So, of all those planes, what's my favorite? Why, whichever one I'm flying at the moment, of course!

[deltafox]

Cherokee
Champ
C150
T34b
T28c
S2a
P3c
T34c

Then I took a rest for a decade or two.

Tiger
Warrior
Decathlon
C172

Another break for a few years.

Cirrus Sr20
PiperSport.

Which one of your children do you like the best?

T28 was the closest I'll ever come to flying a WW2 bird, but the pressure of the training syllabus took a lot of the fun out of it.

The Cirrus is a great xcountry plane. First time really flying a glass panel with modern avionics.

The PiperSport is just fun and loves to fly.

[jnmeade]

Like several of the others, I've flown a variety of singles, twins, turboprops and light jets. Most had nice features. I probably was least enamored of the C303 Crusader, but I wasn't really familiar with it.
Of the smaller planes, I enjoyed the tail wheel for hopping around the country and air work. The J3 was fun, as was the Piper PA12 Super Cruiser. Bash around dirt strips. The Citabria was fun for airwork and light acrobatics.
The Vans RVs handled very nicely.
Of the purpose-built LSAs I've flown, I liked the Tecnam P2008 best for control coordination. I'm most used to the FD CTSW.
I'd like to build a high wing, tail wheel, tandem, Rotax powered bush plane. There are a number of nice designs. I'd want it all weather, fitted with skis or floats, and simple. Not a Class C kind of plane.
As you find airplanes that fly a little differently than their cousins, it can be a learning experience to optimize how you handle them. For example, some need frequent trim adjustments. Some have blind spots to adapt to. Some are skittish in crosswinds, some sink like a rock with power off, etc. One hopes it makes one a better pilot to learn how to bet the best from the airplane rather than haul it around the sky based on how one thinks it "ought" to fly. Learning how to best handle an airplane directly affects safety, of course.

[Targetbuster]

I only have 135 hours tt, but.....ill post anyway cause ive flown 3 different planes, two versions ofthe Evektor, a Tecnam P2002 and most recently checked out in a Sting Sport.
The Evektor is my favorite overall except for some weird electrical issues. As far as flying goes, it is one very sweet, fun and forgiving airplane to fly. Plus it carries a lot of fuel if you need it. Seems like the useful weight is better in it than the other two by quite a margin also.
The Sting is very similar to the Evektor. Only took me one hour of checkride to get signed off because they are so similar. And that was only necessary because it was the minimum required by the FBO. The Sting is a nice plane, carbon fiber throughout as opposed to the aluminum Evektor and Tecnam. Strangely, it is almost 90lbs. heavier than the Evektor with very similar set ups. A big penalty in an LSA if you ask me. With a full 20 gal of fuel i can only get myself at 180 lbs and another person of <200 in the aircraft before im at max weight. As a test, i flew the Evektor in a sort of test flight against the Sting about a month ago. Almost identical in climb, and cruise when flown side by side. Which means the POH for the Sting is.....well....fibbing on its posted cruise speeds.
The Tecnam is truly a faster airplane, by a full 10-15 kts. But it is set up for it. It flys well, but requires more attention than the other two and......(yuck) it has electric flaps. I had my first solo in a Tecnam so i still think it is a great plane, just not on par with the Evektor.
Anyway, thats my thought, based on what little experience ive had.

[cogito]

It's not that I don't want to post, it's that you lose count after 50+ years! add to that the fact that us old farts have failing memories, and you get the picture...

OK, since this is a Sport Pilot forum, I can list a dozen LSAs and Sport Pilot eligible aircraft I've flown:

Aeronca 7AC Champ
Ercoupe 415C
Piper J3 Cub
Taylorcraft BC12D
Evektor SportStar
Sport Cruiser/ PiperSport
Gobosh
KitFox
Lambada
Pipistrel Virus
Remos
Bristell

Of the LSAs, I'd have to say I like the feel of the Bristell best. Of the Sport Pilot eligible LSAs, my first choice is the Ercoupe, with the Champ a close second.

As for non-LSA certified aircraft, maybe 100 different models. Of my total hours (a bit over 4000), 3000 or so were in various Beechcraft, and only a little over 600 in LSAs. That leaves 3 or 4 hours each in a whole bunch of different planes, mostly giving flight reviews and instrument proficiency checks.

So, of all those planes, what's my favorite? Why, whichever one I'm flying at the moment, of course!

Can you tell me what you thought of the Taylorcraft? Am I correct in assuming it's very similar to a Champ, but side-by-side and yoke instead of stick? There's one for sale near by in excellent shape with only 600 hrs. TT and was in the movie "One Six Right." Was considering buying it if I decide to build a plane so I wouldn't get rusty if the build takes a long time. Relatively inexpensive.

[3Dreaming]

The Taylorcraft is a very nice flying plane after you learn how to fly it. It has a more eficient wing than a Cub or Champ which makes speed control on landing very important. In my opinion the Taylorcraft is one of the best of the 30's and 40's light airplanes as long as you can fit in it OK. Tom

[drseti]

Tom is the expert on the T-Craft, having hundreds of times more hours in it than I do -- so I'll defer to him. But, speaking of side-by-side seating taildraggers with yokes, there's always the Aeronca Chief to consider!

[langj]

Well I decided to get over my fear of tailwheel aircraft and try one out. I am heading to San Jose, California in two weeks and signed up to fly a Savage Cub while I am there. Can't wait to try it out and see what it is like. I will report back on my thoughts about the plane.

[gmohr]

I have flown only 5:

SportCruiser
Remos G3-600
Remos GX NXT
My EA-B Arion Lightning

and a Grumman Traveler.

I love flying MY Lightning.

[RyanShort1]

It's not that I don't want to post, it's that you lose count after 50+ years! add to that the fact that us old farts have failing memories, and you get the picture...

OK, since this is a Sport Pilot forum, I can list a dozen LSAs and Sport Pilot eligible aircraft I've flown:

Aeronca 7AC Champ
Ercoupe 415C
Piper J3 Cub
Taylorcraft BC12D
Evektor SportStar
Sport Cruiser/ PiperSport
Gobosh
KitFox
Lambada
Pipistrel Virus
Remos
Bristell

Of the LSAs, I'd have to say I like the feel of the Bristell best. Of the Sport Pilot eligible LSAs, my first choice is the Ercoupe, with the Champ a close second.

As for non-LSA certified aircraft, maybe 100 different models. Of my total hours (a bit over 4000), 3000 or so were in various Beechcraft, and only a little over 600 in LSAs. That leaves 3 or 4 hours each in a whole bunch of different planes, mostly giving flight reviews and instrument proficiency checks.

So, of all those planes, what's my favorite? Why, whichever one I'm flying at the moment, of course!

Can you tell me what you thought of the Taylorcraft? Am I correct in assuming it's very similar to a Champ, but side-by-side and yoke instead of stick? There's one for sale near by in excellent shape with only 600 hrs. TT and was in the movie "One Six Right." Was considering buying it if I decide to build a plane so I wouldn't get rusty if the build takes a long time. Relatively inexpensive.

As a BC-12D owner myself, I can tell you that it is my favorite of the genre...



I've got a list of most of the airplanes I've flown on my website.

Ryan

[Merlinspop]

Sadly, not a lot of types for me:

Tomahawk (I'm one of the odd ducks who LOVES this airplane)
Cherokee 140, 160
C172 (prefer the straight tails)

a small amount of time in
BC12D (visibility was an issue for me, but I'd own one if the price was right)
Carbon Cub
Schweizer 2-32 glider (lost my lunch, but was fun)
SportCruiser

Bruce

[drseti]

As long as you guys are posting pictures:



That's my all-time favorite plane, a 1938 Funk Model C that I used to fly in the 1980s, when I lived in California. It's not Sport Pilot eligible, unfortunately.