Scudrunners

I flew aztecs over several of my virgin years. Like the colonel stated. Big fat wing and good short strip and even handle "rougher" strips.

I could never get a privately operated aztec around my head. Too slow and drank fuel plus now overhaul costs are crazy, unless you can even find a good overhaul shop you can get into a whole world of hurt. The shops where you can be guaranteed good results is now few and far between.

Deep pockets required.

With an aztec and a bch travel-air sitting on the ramp side by side I always preferred the Bch, hands down. My favourite light twin were the 400 series Cessnas paticularly the 402C and the 421 and the 310 was just the little sports car.

I never liked or enjoyed flying Navajos.

I guess an Aztec would be the best choice for delivering a load (possibly of dubious
legality) to a very short strip, with someone else paying the gas.

I really like six cylinder piston twins, compared to four cylinder piston twins.

You're going to think I'm nuts, but if I bought a piston twin, it would be a T-bone:



I know. I'm nuts. Geared GO-480 engines, nowhere near as capable as other twins.

Don't care, it sounds better than a P-51, flying overhead. How many airplanes can
make that claim, with a straight face?

Piano keys are weird. Got that.

My second choice for a piston twin for personal use would be a Beech 18, which
is pretty weird, considering I'm not a big fan of Things Beechcraft. But again, the
sound of a Beech 18 just blows everything else away. I love that R-985!





You don't want to know my third choice for a personal twin. Insane.

Didn't that guy Tom Cruise portrayed in American Made love them. Make them flying gas tanks and fly low level far up the east coast then turn in and pop up over a small airport and request flight following or IFR clearance south to Florida. No one looked for drugs coming from the north, smart guy.
Poor finish though, bullet to his head in a parking lot is such a waste of talent like that.

For sure the Beech 18 is a nice machine to fly, and back in the day you could cage the gyros when you were doing aerobatics with them so you didn't fuck them up while you were having fun rolling and looping the thing.

Have you had a chance to play with one Andy?

They do beautiful rolls on the top of a loop.

For a nice little twin the Twin Commanche is hard to beat.

I landed Sioux Lookout this summer , june 13 to be exact, and there is a whole slew of abandoned navajos up the north end, engines gone props gone etc....How many of that lot did you wear out?

Your 3rd choice is either a DC3 or a piper Aerostar... LOL

Your 3rd choice is either a DC3

Holy shit! Go out and buy some lottery tickets!



I'd paint it white/green/silver and everyone would blame Buffalo Joe for my shenanigans!

What a party bus. Need an STC for a wet bar.

or a piper Aerostar

Nah. I heard sometimes the gear won't come down



Funny note - I know that guy. Serious bad ass.

Beech 18 ... beautiful rolls

I used to tell people I could teach anyone to roll anything in 90 seconds.

Taught my daughter to roll the Pitts when she was 9 years old.

If you know just a little basic physics and a tiny bit about the airplane,
you can pretty quickly work out the entry gate.

In about 1983, i was flying home from the bahamas,in my mighty 1956 (half share) 172, and was offered a flyable DC3 for 20,000.00 usd in Lebanon Ohio... WTF. I could not afford the oil , never mind gas....
In the Bahamas the "local" airlines in those days were almost all aztecs... they all did not just fly west to USA, some went south, and came back....
Story was they would go missing, from the ramp, and the owners would not even sweat it for a few days, because they often showed up back where they went missing from a few days later...