Plastic Pilot

If you ever wanted to know more about me but never dare to ask, this post is for you. To share more of my experience I decided to list the eight types of aircrafts I flew, in chronogical order.

At first, the swiss built AS-202 Bravo, the basic trainer on which I got my private license. A very simple two seater, 999kg maximum take-off weight (to reduce landing fees), and clearly underpowered with its 160 HP engine. It cruises at 90 knots and stalls are really… impressive. This makes it a very good basic trainier.

Next came the Piper PA28 Archer (and Warrior). A true four seater with better performance. 160 HP for the Warrior and 180 HP for the Archer, and a cruising speed around 120 knots. It’s a much better glider, and managing speed on final became a bit more of an issue. It is on this type that I also discovered autopilots !

Next step up, still in the Piper familly, the PA32R-301 Saratoga. Retractable gear, variable pitch prop, and 300 HP for six seats and a cruising speed of 150 knots ! This is the first complex plane I flew and at the time of writing the type I flew the most, and to the greater distance. I made the transition to prepare for my IFR ticket. Two axis autopilot, GNS430, HSI, … and lot of fun !

For the IFR training, I flew on a Beechcraft Bonanza F33A. It was wonderfully equipped: dual GNS430, Air Data Computer, dual needle RMI. And I’ve been truely seduced by its aerodynamics, requiring precise flying skills.

My next transition was to the first “plastic plane” with a “plastic engine”: the DA40 TDI. I wrote a lot about his in the modern aviation category. FADEC, composite body, a very easy to fly plane. The stalls are impressively stable. Not exactly rocket speed (115 - 120 kts) with the Thielert engine, but fine to fly leisurely. I also flew it IFR with a G1000… making it fully modern ! This picture is the source of the PlasticPilot logo.

I have only 19 minutes and two landings in my logbook with the PA28-236 Dakota. 235 HP, variable pitch prop, but fixed gear. I flew it when my instructor invited me to land on a frozen lake !

When I started the FADEC challenge, I needed more opportunities than the DA40, so I took a familiarization training on Cessna 172 TDI. It was my first Cessna, and first high wing plane, but after the Saratoga and the Bonanza, training on a simple airplane again was not exactly hard.

I had the opportunity to test fly the Liberty XL2 in summer 2007, and to summarize it is a funny little plane once in flight… the hard part is getting it in the air.

I don’t know yet what will be the next one, but it could be PA18 SuperCub for some glacier landing, DA50 when available, or may be a turbo Saratoga. If I get millionaire, I will probably start flying PC-12 or TBM850.