If You Could Only Have ONE airplane ...

[Colonel]

If You Could Only Have ONE airplane - what would it be?

Tough question.  Long-time readers will know my enthusiasm
for Pitts biplanes.  Many airplanes look like them, but nothing
else flies like one.  Doesn't matter single-seat or two-seat or
which engine or prop, a Pitts (or better yet, half a Pitts, if you
can find a partner that can keep it straight and not spin it in)
must occupy a position in the Top Five Fun Airplanes Of All Time.

See, people like to pretend they're going to buy an airplane
to make 2,000 mile daily business trips over the Rockies.  Uh
huh.

A Pitts is pure fun.  It will put a smile on your face, 0.2 on
the tach at a time, and that's what it's all about.


[img width=500 height=334][/img]

[b]Other Fun Airplanes I Have Known[/b]

The L39 is achingly beautiful, and if you paint it all black,
incredibly bad-ass on the ramp.  Only thing that's going to
out-bad-ass you is something an air force will fly, with an
F- at the front of it's name.  And that's pretty cool. 

[img width=500 height=334][/img]

And while an L39 is easy to fly - 400 knots is neat, and it
does decent old-man acro - the most fun I've ever had in a
straight-wing jet with no burner is the Viper L29.

[img width=500 height=333]http://mikemangold.us/wp-content/upload ... /home4.jpg[/img]

Now, an L29 just doesn't have the ramp presence of the
L39.  But in the air, it looks pretty damned good.  The
catch is that the stock engine is so under-powered, it
will scare the shit out of you on takeoff.

Dave Cannavo of Delaware has a solution for you.  Yes,
TC hates him (what else is new?) but Dave has a little
modification for the L29.  Get one with a damaged engine
for a song, and take the RR Viper engine from a Hawker
125, and you will have a Viper L29 which is almost as
fun as a Pitts to fly, and a whole hell of a lot faster.

[img width=500 height=238]http://www.powerjets.co.uk/rrviper.jpg[/img]

Ok, ok.  Cross-country.  You worship at the altar of the
Multi-IFR.  Straight and level gives you a chubbie.  You
actually want to do something [s]boring[/s] useful with an
airplane.  My choice for that is a C421B. 

[img width=500 height=339][/img]

Yes, there are some kerosene burners that are simply
wonderful to hop about in, but the 421 will cost a tiny
fraction to purchase - because the maintenance bills
will eat you alive, or at least, so the conventional
wisdom goes.

As usual, it's bullshit.  Yes, a 421 has a lot of systems,
but it's just another airplane - that can carry lots of
gas and a hell of a load, which few piston twins
actually can.  For grins, pick any piston twin you
have a hard-on for, fill it with gas and 200 lbs of
pilot and junk, and calculate how much weight
you can carry.  You will be surprised.

So, if I had to own only three airplanes, it would be:

1) Pitts
2) Viper L29
3) C421B

You?

[Colonel]

[quote]If this is like a genie wish[/quote]

I thought my choices were all pretty realistic -
reasonable purchase prices.  You can live with
all of those airplanes I listed.  I know, I have.

My genie list would include X-15, SR-71, XB-70
but none of those are even on the Canadian
registry, nor will they ever be.

[img width=500 height=315]https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QCnmuAkrf9M/maxresdefault.jpg[/img]

[img width=500 height=375]http://www.wvi.com/~sr71webmaster/A0074.jpg[/img]

[img width=500 height=170]http://www.boeing.com/resources/boeingd ... 80x436.jpg[/img]

Let's stick with types that are on the Canadian registry.

I might mention there is not a single F-104 flying in Canada,
and only one Sabre, and a tiny handful of T-33's.  Pretty
embarrassing, actually, but perhaps just part of the socialist
dream.

[GoBoy]

Spitfire mk 9

[Colonel]

Good choice.

Checked the register, there is precisely ONE
real Spitfire (C-GVZB) in Canada, if you don't
count the various ultralight scale replicas.

I am reminded of the time that Mike had a
bunch of WWII vets driven out to Rockcliffe
airport to watch that Spitfire take off and
land.  You know, so they could hear it and
see it, one last time before they died.

TC of course phoned him up and threatened
him with contravening CAR 603.01 - he didn't
get an airshow SFOC before flying the Spitfire
to Rockcliffe.

Thanks for the help, TC!

[Chuck Ellsworth]

600 HP Stearman.

[digits]

Realistically, a pitts s1s. Hope to buy one this year.

Unrealistically, any of Richard Branson's latest toys.

[David MacRay]

I keep looking at Champs.

I suspect I would be better off for now with a Cherokee six.
I could learn to fly it in a reasonable amount of time. ( I hope. )
It's not impractical to fly a couple of times a week.
I can load my kids, dog, tent, sleeping bags and go see something/somewhere interesting.

The Colonel has certainly sold me on the L-29. I like the idea of a nice F-86 but his is probably more practical, possibly more fun? Once those kids get older? Probably the champ then.

[Colonel]

[quote]600 HP Stearman[/quote]

I found the 450hp R-985 Stearman
to be nose-heavy and borderline
over-powered (blasphemy, I know).

I cannot imagine an R-1340 in that
airframe.


[quote]Probably the champ[/quote]

If you can wangle a hangar, there
is no cheaper flying than tube and
fabric.  And flying tube and fabric
off grass can be just magical.