With a broad selection of new models approaching certification this fall and lots of used deals bringing new owners into the market, 2020 has shaped up to be a better-than-expected year to become an aircraft owner. Keeping in mind those challenges, Flying has made a new approach to our online Buyers Guide, showing you a selection of aircraft based on how they match what you want out of aircraft ownership.

To do this, we’ve organized the 2020 Buyers Guide online a little bit differently, more by mission than by spec sheet. If you’ve entertained thoughts of aircraft ownership, you probably know the broad category that interests you: single-engine or multiengine ­piston, turboprops, or jets from light to super-­midsize. While not a comprehensive outline of every airplane on the market, we’ve chosen a selection that offers the best blends of utility, speed, style and customer support in each category, and then we help you define your mission. We’ll also post updates for you on insurance, the latest in aircraft mods and gear for owners, and a lot of good reasons to join a type club when you’re starting into the purchase process–so keep checking back here for new content as the year progresses.

Check it out: Flying’s 2020 Buyers Guide

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Piper Aircraft has gained EASA approval for its Pilot 100i. The single-engine trainer can now be used by flight training organizations in Europe.

With a base price of $298,900, the Pilot 100i is suitable for use in both initial and instrument flight training.

“This milestone certification represents a continuation of Piper’s strategy to provide competitively priced products for our global customers,” said John Calcagno, interim president and CEO of Piper.

“We are eager to bring the Pilot 100i into the European market and provide flight schools with an aggressively priced, proven trainer. With the growing demand for professional pilots, it is important that we bring to market a more affordable solution with optimal economics for operators to help schools manage their overall training costs.”

Nuts and Bolts

The Pilot 100i is a version of the classic PA-28 model, which is also available in the more deluxe iteration as the Archer TX, and the diesel-powered Archer DX.

The standard avionics package includes the Garmin G3X, coupled with the G500 autopilot.

Up front, the Pilot 100i features the 180 hp Lycoming IO-360-B4A. Maximum cruise speed is 128 ktas, with a 522 nm range plus 45-minute reserve. The straightforward interior has been designed to stand up to the high-use environments found at flight schools around the world.

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Sonex Aircraft has presented its first high-wing design, expanding its range with a new single-engine, piston-powered configuration.

The company debuted the design on its website on Tuesday. Flying spoke with Sonex Aerospace CEO Mark Schaible about the news.

“We’ve been working hard to finish the two-seat jet—it’s a natural evolution for us, with niche demand,” said Schaible. “Now we’re going into a bigger market with the high-wing design,” and planning to deliver it with a quick-build kit.

The high-wing design has been Schaible’s “pet project” for about five years.

“We’ve known for a long time what it’s going to look like. And we have 20-plus years of bringing aircraft to market,” he said.

The company is getting a pretty strong signal in terms of demand on its current product line, particularly with the quick-build kits it offers for all models. In fact, Sonex is aggressively looking for folks to join its workforce, particularly in the shop.

The high-wing design will accommodate most of the engines offered now. Schaible says it’s possible that the normally aspirated AeroVee won’t provide enough climb performance, but that remains to be seen in testing.

Sonex also announced that it will provide the featured aircraft—a Waiex B—for EAA AirVenture 2022′s “One Week Wonder” program, in which hundreds of volunteers cooperate to complete an airframe within the week of the show.

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Piper Aircraft announced on Monday that it had secured an order for 20 of its Pilot 100i single-engine trainers for flyGateway Aviation Institute, a flight training organization based in Pennsylvania and Delaware.

The order was placed during EAA AirVenture 2021.

The school, an affiliate of Liberty University, will take delivery of the first 14 aircraft in January 2022, with the other six units accepted later in the year.

With four locations across two states, flyGateway says it’s the largest training organization operating under Part 141 in the region.

“We are extremely excited to work with one of the premier flight schools in the Northeast,” said Hans Stancil, fleet sales director for North America for Piper, in a press release. “Their commitment to providing exceptional flight training that is accessible and more affordable is very well aligned with Piper’s mission and commitment to the training industry.”

“The Pilot 100i greatly increases our ability to deliver training efficiently and cost-effectively while working to cultivate an unmatched pilot pipeline for the airline industry,” said Regis de Ramel, board chairman for flyGateway.

The Pilot 100i gained FAA type certificate approval in December 2020 and deliveries began that month.

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The single-engine retract was put under contract as one of 10 Diamond aircraft sold at EAA AirVenture 2021 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Premier’s vice president of sales, Jeff Owen, projected the delivery to take place in the fourth quarter of 2022 after the FAA’s certification validation is completed. The DA50 RG has already been certificated under EASA.

The DA50 RG on display at the show was the first to make the North Atlantic crossing, which it did on July 9 when it landed at London, Ontario. From the Diamond factory there, it traveled to Oshkosh for AirVenture.

“The DA50 RG is the latest addition to the successful Diamond model line-up and fills the need for a large cabin high-performance single-engine aircraft that customers have been asking for in this category of aircraft,” Owen said in a press release.

The airplane is powered by a 300-hp Continental CDI-300, six-cylinder, turbo-diesel powerplant. According to the company, it also provides the most spacious cabin in its class with seating for five and generous baggage space and capacity.

The owner chose the DA50 RG for just those reasons, according to Premier, as well as its ability to operate on jet-A at a burn rate as low as 9 gph, positioning the airplane well in the sustainable aviation category.

Owen also noted the other sales that Diamond enjoyed at the show.

“During AirVenture 2021, we also took orders for ten new Diamond aircraft [3 DA20-C1s, 2 DA 40NGs, 2 DA42-VIs, and 3 DA 62s], making this one of Premier’s most successful shows in quite a few years,” he said.

“We’ve seen the overall interest in general aviation aircraft travel skyrocket since the COVID pandemic started in 2020 as more and more people are recognizing that you cannot beat the personal safety and convenience of traveling by private aircraft.”

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But fun is only part of the Ercoupe’s formula. When it was designed in the 1930s, it introduced a number of safety features that were, at the time, as futuristic as the Buck Rogers comics of the era. Even today, the Ercoupe enjoys an enthusiastic following.

Design

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, aircraft designers stuck with similar playbooks. For the most part, light general aviation aircraft took the form of fabric-covered taildraggers with tandem seating and control sticks. The formula worked, but stall and spin accidents and ground loops were commonplace, and aerodynamicist Fred Weick began experimenting with aircraft designs that would eliminate them.

In 1936, Weick teamed up with a company called ERCO, which stands for the Engineering and Research Corp. He was tasked with designing a new two-place general aviation airplane and was given the freedom to take an innovative approach that challenged the existing norms.

To increase stability on the ground, he introduced steerable tricycle landing gear. To reduce the number of stall and spin accidents, he combined the aileron and rudder controls and eliminated rudder pedals altogether, making it impossible to fly in an uncoordinated state. The pilot would use the yoke to steer the airplane on the ground as well as in the air. Finally, he packaged it in a sleek aluminum fuselage with twin vertical stabilizers and a clever canopy that could be opened in flight.

The result was an airplane that the Civil Aeronautics Administration—the predecessor to the FAA—proclaimed “characteristically incapable of spinning,” and it earned a reputation as a fun, safe and easy means of getting in the air.

Model History

Ercoupes of various permutations were manufactured by a handful of different companies between 1940 and 1970, but the vast majority were built by ERCO. They built the first 112 examples of the Ercoupe in 1940 and 1941 and called it the 415-C. There was no 415-A or 415-B; the C simply indicated that it was powered by a Continental engine, and the number indicated that the Ercoupe was ERCO’s 415th product.

After a pause in production during World War II, 1946 to 1950 brought mostly minor changes to the airplane, and the various ERCO models (415-C, 415-CD, 415-D, 415-E and 415-G) differed mainly in horsepower and gross weight. In today’s market, the most noteworthy ERCO models are the 415-C and 415-CD. These have a gross weight of 1,260 pounds and are the only Ercoupes that qualify for LSA rules, meaning no standard medical certificate is required to fly them.

From 1958 to 1959, a company called Forney resumed production, renaming the airplanes the F-1 and F-1A Aircoupe. These were equipped with the Continental C-90 engine and had metalized wings. Approximately 25 F-1As were produced by Air Products Co. when the company changed hands. A total of 163 were built.

After another pause, Alon Inc. continued production with the C-90-equipped A-2 Delux. The Alon models utilized a bubble canopy that slid back to provide access to the cockpit, which was slightly wider than previous Ercoupes. All had metalized wings, and some utilized spring-steel main gear legs in place of the traditional trailing-link main gear. A total of 297 examples were built between 1965 and 1967.

The final manufacturer of the Ercoupe family was Mooney, which built 59 examples of the M-10 Cadet between 1969 and 1970. The Cadets are perhaps the easiest variants to pick out of a crowd because they eschewed the original twin-vertical-stabilizer arrangement in favor of the trademark Mooney vertical stabilizer with traditional rudder pedals.

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Market Snapshop

A survey of Ercoupes listed for sale at the time of this writing found 15 examples ranging in price from $15,500 to $30,000, with a median price of $22,250. The median airframe time was a relatively low 2,259 hours.

The vast majority of examples on the market were 1946 to 1948 models built by ERCO, and most were equipped with the 85-horsepower Continental C-85. Because Ercoupe listings are scattered among all the various manufacturers that built them over the years, it’s important to scan through the listings and search for those names. Doing so can reveal a handful of Alon-, Forney- and Mooney-built Ercoupes cataloged separately from the more commonplace ERCOs.

Flight Characteristics

An Ercoupe’s distinctive design makes it stand apart from most other airplanes parked on a ramp, and unique features become apparent as you climb into the cockpit. Instead of doors, the Ercoupe has two flexible plexiglass windows that are pulled up from each side to meet in the middle in a manner similar to the cover on a roll-top desk. To enter, simply pull down one of the windows, hop in, and then pull it back up to the center position over your head. The airplane can be flown with both windows down at any speed, giving it the feel of an open-cockpit airplane.

At approximately 39 inches wide, the cabin has just a bit more space than comparable two-place aircraft of the era, and the lack of rudder pedals provides quite a bit more legroom. It’s still a small airplane with cozy accommodations, though, and the baggage area behind the seats is relatively shallow. Extended trips require careful packing.

While the earliest Ercoupes lack electrical systems and, therefore, must be hand-propped, the vast majority are fully equipped, and the startup process is no different from any other airplane equipped with a small Continental engine.

Taxiing, however, is very different. Because the aileron and rudder controls are interconnected, one simply steers the yoke in the desired direction and uses the single foot pedal to apply the brakes. No differential braking is available, but steering on the ground is easy and precise.

At gross weight from sea level in standard conditions, the 415-E requires 2,100 feet to clear a 50-foot obstacle, and with most Ercoupes weighing around 900 pounds empty, the full-fuel payload can be modest in the LSA-compliant models.

Cruise speeds vary by engine, but 100 to 105 mph is common. One owner upgraded his C-85 engine with an O-200 crank to achieve a relatively brisk 117 mph cruise speed while burning about 5 gallons per hour.

In flight, the Ercoupe’s handling is well-mannered and unremarkable. Steep turns are easily performed, and the ball stays perfectly centered throughout the maneuver. While power-on stalls occur with a mild break, power-off stalls have no break at all and amount to a high sink rate with noticeable buffeting. Positive roll control is maintained throughout slow flight and into stalls.

The stall and spin resistances of pre-E-model Ercoupes are achieved in part by limited upward elevator travel, so it’s important to maintain speed on final in those models. This will ensure the elevator has sufficient authority to arrest the rate of descent and properly flare.

The 415-G manual calls for an approach speed of 72 mph, and landing is simply a matter of reducing power, leveling off a foot or two above the ground, and allowing the airplane to settle onto the runway.

Crosswind landings are surprisingly unremarkable given the lack of rudder pedals. The Ercoupe’s landing gear was engineered to touch down in a crab, and doing so doesn’t generate the harsh side loads one might expect. Instead, the trailing-link main gear simply nudges the nose into alignment with the runway, and the airplane settles onto the ground without complaint. The small size of the vertical stabilizers greatly reduces the airplane’s tendency to weather-vane.

A number of Ercoupes have been modified with rudder pedals to replicate the controls of a traditional airplane. While this might sound appealing to pilots who prefer traditional controls, owners report that the modification lacks rudder authority and effectiveness.

Ownership

Provided an Ercoupe’s airframe has absolutely no corrosion, it can be an easy airplane to own and maintain. Because a reasonable number were built, parts are plentiful. Univair owns the type certificate and produces new parts, and usedercoupeparts.com is a highly regarded source for used parts.

There are 26 airworthiness directives that apply to Ercoupes of all types, viewable on Univair’s website. Approximately eight are recurring, and these are considered to be relatively simple and easily addressed by an A&P.

Corrosion is the most significant concern, however, and any prospective owner should ensure a mechanic familiar with Ercoupes thoroughly inspects the wing spar with a borescope to confirm that no corrosion exists. A wealth of information and support is available from the Ercoupe Owners Club.

When evaluating various types of aircraft for purchase, most of us tend to take a technical approach. We collect metrics, assess performance figures, and carefully calculate the precise operating costs inherent to each type in an effort to determine which is most perfectly suited to our needs.

The Ercoupe is unique in that some of its most significant strengths aren’t easily quantifiable and won’t show up in spreadsheets. The 1930s-era retro-futuristic look, the relaxed confidence of sure-footed crosswind landings, and the feeling of resting your arm out the window as the scent of freshly cut hayfields swirls through the open cockpit on a summer afternoon make it truly special.

For the pilot who values these sorts of qualities and has less need for cruising speed, payload and short-field capability, the Ercoupe delivers on the dream of aircraft ownership in spades.

This story appeared in the April/May 2021 issue of Flying Magazine

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In May 2020, Tecnam announced the pending certification of the update to the P2010 series, the P2010TDI. With a 170-hp Continental CD-170 engine up front, the version offers an option for pilots who want the ability to operate on diesel or Jet-A. At EAA AirVenture 2021, the company announced the availability of the four-seat, metal-and-carbon-fiber composite single. The 215-hp original P2010 runs on avgas and remains available, as well as the 180-hp powerplant that uses unleaded automotive fuel. Up front, the P2010 hosts a Garmin G1000 NXi integrated flight deck and a GFC 700 autopilot.

The diesel version burns an average of 5.2 gph according to the company, with a 1,000-nm range (with 63 gallons of usable fuel on board), at about 130 ktas. Continental has delivered more than 6,000 of the 170 hp engine, with more than 1.7 million hours logged in service.

Tecnam also announced the availability of its latest update to the P92 Echo, the MkII, with an increased useful load of 610 pounds in the new version—which was blessed under EASA regulations last fall.

The company featured a much-expanded presence at AirVenture, with a 12,000-sq-ft display area and new members of the team to promote sales and customer service in the US. Industry veteran David Copeland has been named Director of Sales, and Ben Coleman is the new chief operating officer.

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As I gently pulled open the Panthera’s gull-wing door and slipped into the front seat, I also realized that pilots who buy one of these won’t simply climb into the cockpit as much as they’ll wear the Panthera like a sort of superhero suit. It’s formfitting but with comfort like that of a well-designed sports car. Aircraft control is handled via dual control sticks between the pilot’s and front passenger’s knees.

The Panthera’s main doors are hinged at the top of a 6-inch-wide bar that runs fore to aft over the center of the 47-inch-wide cockpit. There’s a separate center-hinged door on the left side for rear-seat passengers. Gently pull down the doors, and the view becomes truly impressive—because other than the center post, all the pilot sees is the great outside, from straight ahead to nearly the tail feathers and even above. The nose is long when viewed through the raked windshield, which could be a problem for the most vertically challenged aviators to see over; the seats move very little fore and aft. Those seats are beautiful, though, with integrated headrests. The seats don’t recline, however, because they are already canted back.

The Panthera’s radical appearance certainly makes it look like a next-generation GA aircraft. Its smooth, sleek appearance seemed about as radical to me the day I first saw it as did a Cirrus SR20 15 years ago, when I compared it then with a Cessna 182. Kneel in front of the Panthera and it’s clear the fuselage is as clean a design as most pilots have ever experienced. There are no flap tracks hanging in the breeze from this airplane, and there’s not a gap seal anywhere in sight. Even the exhaust system has been specially tuned for maximum power and minimum noise.

Production Pantheras will be built to Part 23 standards that include an all-composite, mainly carbon-fiber structure—with very few access panels—covered in Kevlar for added passenger protection. The airframe is designed to be as maintenance-free as possible, with permanently lubricated push-rod tubes actuating the ailerons and elevators. The rudder is cable-operated and requires occasional lubrication. Currently powered by a 260 hp Lycoming IO-540-V4A5, Pipistrel says the Panthera will cruise at nearly 200 knots at 75 percent power, a few knots more than a late-model Mooney Ovation—and the Mooney uses a 300 hp engine. Standard on the Panthera is a specially designed German MT propeller. Panthera specs cite a range of 1,000 nm and a maximum certified ceiling of 25,000 feet. For readers doing their own research, there is an experimental version of the Panthera in Europe, but that model will not be available in the US.

The Panthera includes trailing-link landing gear created from titanium and includes 11 doors that seal out just about every possible performance-stealing air gap. The emergency gear extension sits between the two front seats under the center armrest.

The flaps are electric with just two operational settings: 15 and 45 degrees. Standard fuel capacity on the Panthera is 54 gallons. Optional tanks will add another 20 gallons per side, but that will cost about 240 pounds of the airplane’s significant 1,100-pound useful load. The Panthera weighs 2,900 pounds at gross, about the same as a Cirrus SR20 and a few hundred pounds less than a Mooney Ovation.

The panel includes a bevy of avionics that equip the Panthera for serious IFR flight (flight-into-known-icing capabilities are in the works). They include a Garmin G3X touchscreen primary flight display (a second G3X is an option), a touchscreen GTN 750 Com/Nav/IFR GPS, a GTN 650 second Nav/IFR GPS, and a two-axis GPS slaved digital autopilot. Mid-Continent Instruments’ Standby Attitude Module (SAM) provides backup airspeed, altimeter and attitude indications.

The Panthera’s standard equipment will include a GRS emergency parachute system that requires repacking every nine years, very similar to other airframe-chute-equipped aircraft. A big difference is this chute’s deployment speed—195 knots versus 140 knots on the Cirrus. Pipistrel believes its chute offers an additional selling point, according to Andrew Chan, co-founder of Right Rudder Aviation in Inverness, Florida. “The cost to repack a Cirrus aircraft chute is roughly $12,000,” he said. “The repack on the Panthera is expected to cost closer to $5,000 with a downtime of approximately two days.” Right Rudder is the sole Panthera dealer in the U.S.

A Little History Yields a Few Answers

Chan offered me some Panthera history before we launched from KUGN. Our demonstration airplane, N37RR, is the only assembled Panthera in the US as of press time. The Panthera has not yet been certified by either the European Union Aviation Safety Agency or the FAA. A target for that action is currently late 2022 or early 2023. But the genesis of the Panthera was actually in 2012. So, if the Panthera was first conceived nearly 10 years ago, the logical question is: Why is the airplane just now beginning to see daylight?

Chan said he hears that question quite often. Something that slowed the Panthera’s development was “a design change,” he said. “Pipistrel initially launched the Panthera with a Lycoming IO-390 normally aspirated powerplant but always wanted the aircraft available with two engines, the IO-390 and the more powerful IO-540.” Chan said the original design was to create the ultimate personal-aircraft brand with specific performance guidelines, such as a 1,000 nm range, an 1,100-pound useful load and a top speed of 200 knots—and all while burning 10 gallons per hour. “And they got really close,” he added. “So, it’s not quite 10 [but] 10.8 gph. It’s not quite 200 knots; it’s more like 185, but I think those are still very respectable numbers. The useful load is, in fact, 1,100 pounds, and the Panthera will fly [to its] 1,000 nautical mile range with the optional extended-range tanks.”

Another early requirement was for the engine to use automotive fuel because avgas is often tough to come by outside the US. Lycoming promised a supplemental type certificate for the IO-390 that never materialized, so Pipistrel decided to offer only the six-cylinder IO-540. Chan said: “The [normally aspirated] IO-540 produces 50 more horsepower [260 hp total] than the IO-390. When connected to the three-blade MT constant-speed designed specifically for this airplane, it drastically changed the rate of climb to a very respectable climb rate of 2,000 fpm on a cold day.” He says Pipistrel has also been planning for an electric version of the Panthera in the future. While an engine switch might not seem like a huge hurdle, the designers realized a new engine would require a new cowling in order to make sure the airplane’s performance did not suffer, especially from any cooling issues. The amount of time devoted to the redesign was worth the effort because, Chan said, it’s impossible to shock-cool the engine during a descent, a feat other manufacturers can’t match.

• CHECK OUT OTHER REVIEWS: Previous editions of “We Fly”

When comparing aircraft performance, the differences between individual powerplants are worth noting, and all vary by local conditions. The Panthera’s Lycoming delivers 260 hp, the Cirrus SR22 310 hp, and the late-model Mooney 300 hp. Panthera specs show a cruise speed of about 198 knots, while the SR22 cruises at about 183 knots and the Ovation at about 170 knots with variations for altitude and OAT. The Mooney and Panthera typically burn less than 14 gallons per hour—while the Cirrus is using closer to 18 gph.

While many pundits compare the Panthera to a Cirrus SR22, Tine (pronounced “Tea-neh”) Tomazic, one of the three Pipistrel R&D engineers in Slovenia behind the Panthera, says the airplane was never designed as a “Cirrus killer.” “It’s built for a different type of aviator. The Panthera was always aimed to fit somewhere between a Diamond DA40 and a Cirrus. A better comparison, by mission, might be to think of the Panthera as a modern-day Mooney. It doesn’t need to fly at extremely high altitudes to go fast. It’s not built for a truck driver who has a side stick in their hands and mostly flies on the autopilot. I heard someone call a Cirrus a dependable machine, like a Toyota Camry. But someone who really enjoys driving on a curvy road might want an Audi A6. We see the Panthera coexisting quite nicely alongside Cirrus but catering to pilots who really enjoy stick-and-rudder flying.”

But who is going to spend the money for a Panthera performance machine if they can’t have it for a few years? Chan said, “Some customers are already Cirrus owners who will keep their airplanes until their Panthera arrives.” So far, Pipistrel says it holds 150 Panthera orders.

Going Airborne

I was itching to feel how the Panthera performed. The day Andrew Chan and I flew, we were well under gross with about half fuel and just the two of us on board. The OAT was about minus 5 degrees Celsius under clear skies. Once the preflight was complete, I climbed aboard and gently pulled down the door. Chan reminded me again that unlike some airplanes, locking the Panthera’s door did not require slamming it into place. As I familiarized myself with the cockpit, there was no doubt this airplane comes with a sports-car-like interior environment. It’s a clean design with everything clearly laid out: landing-gear handle and lights above my right hand just beneath the glare shield, flaps farther right, and backup flight instruments in between with autopilot controls just beneath. All circuit breakers are positioned to the far right on the instrument panel and are easily visible. The large Garmin screens make information pretty easy to gather, assuming the pilot is familiar with the touchscreen system.

The Lycoming started after just a few spins of that big MT prop, and even with headsets on, the engine made a throaty sports-car sound. Once we were taxiing to Runway 22 at KUGN, I realized the cost of having that big overhead bar in the cockpit. The left-seat pilot’s view is blocked some as they execute a right turn, while someone taxiing from the right seat needs to be more cautious about left turns. Pilots with a little taildragger time should quickly feel at home looking over that long nose. I took me a bit to get used to the brakes with my feet firmly on the rudder pedals and using just the tips of my toes; though, I did find a sweet spot after a bit. The control stick makes a flight-control check simple. The stick also contains a top-hat trim button, an autopilot disconnect and a push-to-talk mic. After the first few minutes, there was no need to look down because it’s easy to simply feel the different shapes of the buttons.

At takeoff, the pilot must be ready to really steer the Panthera down the runway with the torque that the combination of the MT propeller and Lycoming engine delivers. It’s almost impossible not to feel when the Panthera is ready to fly, and once airborne with the gear up, the airplane began to show its colors. I trimmed for a 135-knot climb speed and quickly saw a 1,500 fpm climb as we headed west toward Fox Lake, a prominent landmark in northern Illinois. Climbing to 6,500 feet, I realized the Panthera required very little additional right rudder.

I waited to pull back the power at level off just to watch the acceleration. It was a cold day in December, but the indicated airspeed quickly rose into the yellow arc, which was my cue to haul back on the throttle. We settled on a less-spectacular 24 inches of manifold pressure that delivered 181 knots to see that promised 10.5-gallon-per-hour fuel burn. It didn’t take much additional power to see speeds above 190.

I never got around to trying the automation because someone was waiting back at Waukegan for the next demo, so I focused on air work. The Panthera is light on the controls, with almost an aerobatic feel. I could easily wrap it into a 45- to 50-degree bank to the left and one back to the right with ease. The visibility outside was at least 25 miles, while inside during the turns, it was easy to see the ground and back the other way toward the sky—and with the nearly wraparound windows, I could easily see behind us.

Before I knew it, Chan said it was time to head back to Waukegan. That’s when I learned an important lesson every Panthera pilot will need to embed in their mind early on. The Panthera has no speed brakes, so descending and slowing need to be planned in advance. Because I didn’t need to worry about shock-cooling that big Lycoming, Chan suggested I first advance the propeller to a high rpm and then pull back on the throttle. It still took time to slow the airplane because the gear-extension and flap speeds are quite low—106 knots to be exact. Pilots will need to plan far ahead, especially if they’re inbound on an instrument approach. Once established on downwind at 90, I added flaps until turning final when I slowed to 80 knots. As I approached the runway, I continued slowing, crossing the end at about 75, about the same speeds used in the Cirrus. My only Panthera landing was smooth—thanks in part to that trailing-link gear.

The Panthera is an exciting airplane for the serious pilot who wants to feel what they’re flying, as Tomazic says. The purchase of a Pipistrel Panthera requires access to an app that coverts euros to dollars because the European currency is primary for all transactions. A deposit will set a pilot back 50,000 euros, or roughly $58,800 at press time. That deposit is fully refundable until about six months before the aircraft is delivered from Pipistrel’s factory in Italy, not far from the primary engineering facility in Slovenia. The latest price on a basic Panthera is about $700,000. Options include extended-range tanks, oxygen, air conditioning, FIKI deice and upgraded stitching on the seats. Choosing all these options will bring the price closer to $900,000.

And the Panthera still needs to earn its EASA and FAA certification, but for those with the patience to wait—wow, what a performer this airplane will be.

Pipistrel Panthera Specifications

Training in Type

As the only Panthera dealer in the US, Right Rudder Aviation has a unique role with the Panthera. Not only are they responsible for selling the aircraft, but RRA is also responsible for all pilot training and maintenance at the moment. Understanding the ups and downs other companies faced when introducing a new aircraft, Chan says Pipistrel thought long and hard about what it would require before pilots were let loose with this cat.

What makes or breaks an aircraft launch is how the marketplace sees it. What stood out to the Pipistrel folks, Chan says, was that “Cirrus could have done better on training” when it launched the SR20 and SR22 series. The Cirrus accident record early on was not pretty. Chan says: “Our roots come from the flight training industry [at RRA]. When we have a client training with us…we want them to go home to their family at the end of the day. So, safety is super, super key for all of our students—but also for the success of the aircraft ultimately.” Pipistrel has taken the unusual step of requiring an extensive transition-training commitment from everyone who signs a purchase contract.

“It’s a two-week, 25-flight-hour, in-depth program akin to a type rating,” Chan says. “We believe that will help ensure the success of the airplane. It runs…eight hours a day and includes lots of classroom time and lots of hands-on time with the aircraft.” Chan says with a clientele of high-net-worth individuals, he expected pushback such as: “Hey, why do I need to do that?” But Pipistrel is taking a hard stand on training. “If someone says, ‘I already know everything, I don’t need any additional training,’ we tell them thanks, but they’re not a client for the Panthera.” Except for the room and board near the Inverness training facility, the cost is included with the purchase.

As for the curriculum, Chan says the FAA dictates the required pilot skills through the airman certification standards. “But people who train beyond the minimums will improve their efficiency.” He says the price of not teaching beyond the minimums is much greater than two weeks of training. The classroom portion will dive deeply into aircraft systems as well as the intricacies of the Panthera’s sophisticated avionics. “Pilots typically use 25 percent of what the avionics system can display. Because we’re also a maintenance organization, we’ll open up the airplane to show owners what is connected to what.” Though the Panthera is not certified for spins, RRA intends to take new pilots through upset-prevention-and-recovery training in a different aircraft. Chan also says, “Insurance underwriters are exceptionally excited about [our training program] because they believe it will help reduce accidents and incidents.”

This story appeared in the June/July 2021 issue of Flying Magazine

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The bitter cold of a February day in Minnesota in 1999 etched itself in my memory like frost on the windshield of an old Subaru hatchback. As an assistant editor in Jeppesen’s aviation-courseware department, I’d been thinking through the mechanics of flight training every day, working to translate abstract concepts into print and onto the screen. On that day, I was driving a Sube around Duluth in between massive snowbanks, engaged to think through a similar puzzle: how to train pilots to fly a brand-new concept in airplanes, the Cirrus SR20.

I’d been invited to Duluth to interview with Cirrus Design’s nascent training department—before their team determined that they would contract with the University of North Dakota for the airplane’s initial courseware. As part of those 72 hours that tested my potential hardiness in a North Country winter, I had the chance to fly N204CD, just after the SR20′s original FAA certification the previous October. Two flights, actually: one with instructor Gary Black to get accustomed to the airplane’s unique stall-resistant aerodynamic characteristics and one with test pilot Scott Anderson to solidify that first acquaintance.

Now, almost 22 years later, I’m like Marty McFly stepping out of the DeLorean into the future (in this case, greeting the 8,000th SR-series airplane to fly). That promise back in 1999 has been fulfilled—in the carbon fiber of the airframe in front of me, as well as in the Cirrus Vision Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, that has encased into brick and mortar the commitment to training driven by a core Cirrus philosophy.

Then and Now

I changed course after that first visit to Cirrus, pursuing a track in aviation journalism instead of a sole focus on flight training. Having flown several iterations of the SR20 and SR22, I’m struck by the evolution in the intervening years that has transpired into the latest models for 2021; it’s appropriate to the company’s foundations, to explore the potential of single-engine aircraft.

The first game-changing SR20 was delivered in late 1999, and the SR22 gained certification in November 2000, with a jump from the Continental IO-360 to the more powerful IO-550 engine, along with more room and weight-lifting capacity. Cirrus Design evolved into Cirrus Aircraft—and the changes have never ceased.

Improvements in composite manufacturing have shaved off pounds from the empty weight of the SR20 and SR22 along the way. The glass-panel generation began in 2003, with the Avidyne Entegra suite in the SR22 G1—and transitioned pilots to the concept of a large-scale primary flight display. When Cirrus went to the G2 in 2004, both the SR20 and SR22 were equipped with the Entegra. In 2008, both models converted to the Cirrus Perspective by Garmin at the same time (an elegant riff off of the G1000) with GPS navigation, traffic data, weather and other components integrated into one place for the pilot—with Avidyne as an option for both.

Cirrus Aircraft pumped out the SR series at a rate that has fluctuated with the economy, starting with nine SR20s delivered in 1999, 95 SR20s the following year and 124 SR22s in 2001. The outflow hit a high point in 2006 and 2007, with 721 and 710 total Cirrus aircraft, respectively, out the door (including the short-lived SRV, of which only 37 models were made). When the turbo model, the SR22T, came on the scene in 2010, it boosted the SR22′s sales, which had dropped by 60 percent following the economic recession in 2008.

As of 2019 (the latest data from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association at press time), 7,645 SR models had been delivered. For various reasons, the company hasn’t given too much fanfare to previous milestones, but with the 8,000-SR mark looming on the horizon—and, frankly, a serious need to have some fun after the gloom of 2020—the team decided to celebrate in the way that a company with serious marketing chops would: Let’s make a special edition!

To this end, Cirrus has created a series of eight SR22Ts, starting around number 8,000, in a limited-edition run guaranteed to catch attention on the ramp once the company releases these flying works of art into the wild.

The SR22 G6 Perspective+ upon which the limited-edition series is based debuted in early 2017, and there has been speculation as to when a new model will land on the scene. Product-line director Ivy McIver demurred when I asked her, and she noted that the company is at work on the overall alignment of the product lines, as well as a focus on special packages highlighting the incremental updates that have been made to the highly capable G6.

Related: Cirrus Celebrates Milestone with Limited-Edition SR22Ts

Really, there’s not a whole lot that’s missing just yet, and the package that Cirrus has created for the eight airplanes in this series hits several high notes. According to McIver, “Each aircraft includes an exclusive ownership experience which will play out over the first six months of 2021 and culminate in a VIP event midyear once each of the owners has taken delivery of their plane—and only the eight owners will know the details of the experience.”

Included as special treats on the series: Max-Viz enhanced vision system, TKS ice protection system, and a silky smooth four-blade lightweight composite Hartzell prop with trim paint producing a super-cool prop arc as the photos make evident. That’s all wrapped up with a five-year, 1,500-hour maintenance plan and a five-year, 2,000-hour spinner-to-tail warranty program.

A. Bespoke rudder pedals carry on the neon theme, serving a purpose to illuminate a dark area on the flight deck where loose items, such as a pen, stylus or smartphone, often go missing.

B. The power lever combines throttle and propeller control, and it features a “TOGA” button to initiate on takeoff or for a go-around, popping up chevrons on the flight director to indicate pitch and heading to fly.

C. The primary flight display offers several options for the horizontal-situation-indicator presentation, including the ability to underlay traffic or map data.

D. A full Qwerty keyboard plus numbers illuminated in blue make for easy entry, even in choppy air. The number keys are tied to a given mode indicated by a blue arrow (COM or XPNDR, for example) to reinforce the entry mode.

E. On the MFD side, engine management, VFR and IFR charts, and weather options join SiriusXM radio to provide layers of information as well as in-flight entertainment.

About that TKS

Prior to my flight in the very latest SR22T, I visited the Cirrus Vision Center and took advantage of a reacquaintance flight in a normally aspirated SR22, for comparison’s sake, with McIver. Though the reported weather in Knoxville can rarely out-freeze a winter metar in Duluth, the chill on the ramp definitely felt appropriate for early December as we stepped out of the hangar for a preflight.

We had a pilot report both from my own flight earlier that day and various confirmations of icing from the commercial aircraft making the approach from the south into Knoxville. Fortunately for our mission, our mount had the TKS deicing/anti-icing system installed, providing for flight into known icing. Combined with a high ceiling and surface temps above freezing, having a FIKI-approved airplane meant we could go rather than wait.

Bringing the SR22 into FIKI was important to Cirrus since the early days on the model. The airplane’s utility as a four-season personal transportation vehicle depends upon it, at least to a company based in a part of the US where winter weather hangs around for months.

Do pilots think through the ramifications of launching into known ice, though, or does having the TKS impart a sense of invulnerability? That’s a topic worth further examination, but it matches another core Cirrus philosophy to give the pilot the latest tools and then train them in applying good decision-making to their application.

We knew from McIver’s Cirrus IQ-powered app on her smartphone—which remotely queries the airplane for fuel, TKS fluid levels and other parameters via a Wi-Fi connection—that we had a full measure of fluid on board (8 gallons) even before we checked it during preflight. We ended up using the fluid preemptively during the climb and for several minutes after breaking out on top, in order to ensure the leading edges were clean.

The flight plan gave us a chance to run the Cirrus Perspective+ through its paces in short order, like a greatest-hits playlist from more than 15 years of development. We initially had filed for a short hop over to Asheville Regional Airport (KAVL), in North Carolina, but amended the clearance so we could maneuver while VFR on top and pick up a segment back into KTYS, to minimize our time in the clouds. While SiriusXM weather gave us regular, if latent, updates on the level of moisture in the clouds below, the enhanced vision system provided a real-time view of the actual cloud tops in our path—extremely handy if we had been flying at night. The terrain view provided by the synthetic vision system onto the PFD similarly illuminated just how lumpy the Appalachians were below us.

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A dual alternator/dual main bus system plus an essential bus provide the electrical horsepower behind the Perspective suite, along with dual air-data computers for cross-compare redundancy. A crew-alerting system on the PFD warns of any miscompare or failure, with the ability to manually shuttle between the two ADCs. I flashed back to times traversing the same area over the mountains, and it reinforced my thinking that even though pilots still can’t rely fully on “the magic” with all of its redundancy to keep them out of trouble, proper use of it sure adds a level of safety I gladly embrace.

With all of the options loaded on the SR22 I flew first, the “Eight Grand” series promised to take the experience up a notch. So, a couple of weeks following my trip to Knoxville, McIver brought the hard-to-miss N225HL up to Hagerstown (KHGR), Maryland, so my introduction to the latest SR could be complete.

Highly Charged Performance

The opportunity to fly both the normally aspirated G6 as well as the turbo model (which the 8,000-series airplanes are) for this report gave me the chance to directly compare performance metrics between the two. Knoxville’s field elevation (981 feet) is nearly identical to that at Hagerstown (703 feet), and the outside air temperature was—unfortunately for us—hovering around 2 degrees Celsius on both days, with light winds, making for a fair comparison.

Cirrus standard operating procedure calls for a special inclusion in the before-takeoff checklist that is an extension of the emergency/loss-of-power-after-takeoff briefing that should be part of everyone’s repertoire—the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System. Following the safety standard that the decision to use a parachute should be made prior to the moment of truth, Cirrus has outlined a protocol in which you consider the runway length and disposition, as well as any terrain in the departure area. This information helps determine the altitude at which you would pull the chute in the event of an engine failure. Since the CAPS recommended minimum deployment altitude is 600 feet, with a field elevation of roughly 700 feet msl, we briefed the following:

• From takeoff roll to 1,300 feet msl, land straight ahead—hopefully on the runway remaining. (We had roughly 7,000 feet available on Runway 27.)

• From 1,300 feet msl to 2,700 feet msl, deploy the CAPS.

• From 2,700 feet msl and up, assess your options and likely return to the airport—or deploy CAPS if no better options exist.

At KTYS, we took up less than 2,000 feet of runway in the SR22, while a full-power takeoff in the turbo model at KHGR took up a little bit less. Rpm on both models is governed (2,500 on the SR22T and 2,700 on the SR22), so moving the power lever full forward takes you to 110 percent power for takeoff in the turbo and 100 percent in the SR22. While the power lever combines throttle and prop controls, the mixture remains separate. The engine-management system provides a green arc on the fuel-flow display indicating the range in which the mixture should be set, with a cyan line for the recommended fuel flow in certain cases.

I contemplated the complexity that the underlying system required in order to create a simple power interface that reduces workload. And yet, Cirrus made the decision to give the pilot the task of actually adjusting the mixture. Why? I’ve concluded that it’s because pilots just need something to fiddle with, rather than for any big performance or efficiency reasons.

On this flight, we had a solid deck around 9,000 feet msl—and no desire to plague Potomac Approach with our maneuvering on an IFR flight plan—so I put the airplane through a standard profile of slow flight, steep turns and stalls at 7,500 feet msl. An angle of attack display on the PFD next to the airspeed tape verified just how close I was to a stall all along the way. Aileron response has been a hallmark of the SR series from the beginning—pushrods make for immediate gratification when you input a roll command. And I noticed that the ergonomics of the yoke have improved significantly since early days.

Climbing back to 7,500 feet and leveling off, I pushed up the power for a couple of speed runs. Going from 85 percent power (the standard power setting) to full throttle (110 percent power), we only saw an increase in true airspeed of about 5 knots—and, resetting the mixture into the green arc, roughly 36 gph in fuel flow versus 19 gph. So, unless you are literally in an air race and willing to suck down twice as much gas, it’s not worth it to go beyond 85 percent. Power management is easy for maneuvering (50 percent power to capture VO), descent and approach (25 to 35 percent power), and pattern work (about 30 percent power).

As for that approach: The 50-percent-flap speed at 150 kias makes it easy to start slowing down, with 110 kias the target for full flaps. Airspeed control is always critical on approach and landing, and the SR22T has a faster approach speed than a lot of the piston singles from which many new Cirrus pilots transition. Couple this with a potentially distracting stack of avionics in the panel, traffic and/or ATC instructions, and it’s a recipe for pilot overload on the critical descent, approach and landing segments—whether you’re flying IFR or VFR.

However, hewing to a stabilized approach can be simplified by “flying the doughnut” on the vertical airspeed tape. The small green circle indicates the calculated reference speed for the aircraft and conditions. Introducing a pilot to the concept of flying VREF for a stabilized approach not only sets the stage for excellent speed discipline but also makes the transition to flying approaches in turbine aircraft (read: the Vision Jet) that much easier. As with other instances in which Cirrus makes the complex simple, the “doughnut” doesn’t absolve the pilot of understanding the kinesthetics of the airspeed control on final—and it won’t keep you from bouncing a landing when you touch down. You need to perfect that yourself.

Details

Back at the FBO, Rider Jet Center, we took another walk around the eye-catching SR22T to fully soak in all of its ramp appeal. While it’s hard to miss the electric Volt green of the wings and along the fuselage, a closer look reveals rapt attention to aesthetic detail. The number “8” on the cowl echoes a runway designation; the paint-scheme designers took their cue from the airport environment. Those markings are also reflected in the striping on the wingtips, wheel fairings, cowl and empennage. The resulting look nearly vibrates with energy.

Plus, Easter eggs such as the words “limited edition one of 8” on the door sill further tip off the custom nature of the interior and exterior finish. Perforated leather not only underlays the pilot’s grip on the yokes but also on the power lever and other handles in the interior. Highlight stitching on the rich black leather seats takes a cue from airshow pilot Mike Goulian’s SR22T, with its sporty red-and-black styling.

The Spectra exterior lighting system was introduced with the G6 in 2017—Whelen Engineering partnered to develop the wingtip light assemblies and other elements—and it has proven its value. It incorporates the snazzy landing-zone LED strips on the tips, as well as the highly visible light cluster forward for landing/taxi lights and position lighting. There’s a landing light in the nose bowl as well, but according to McIver, it’s not required; the brightness of the wingtip lights is more than adequate for illumination. With the touch of a remote fob, downwash lights in the step area and under the wings add more visibility in low-light conditions.

By the time you read this, the secret will be out, and No. 8,000 will be off to its new owner, along with seven companion SR22Ts that exemplify the pinnacle of what Cirrus has achieved since its inception. Those neon wings are hard to miss, and we can only anticipate what Cirrus has in store next.

Cirrus SR22T G6 Perspective+ Limited Edition Specs:

This story appeared in the March 2021 issue of Flying Magazine

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In the early 1960s, general aviation was experiencing tremendous growth, and Beechcraft wanted a bigger slice of the pie. The competition’s ever-expanding product offerings were not going unnoticed, and Beechcraft decided to expand into new market segments. It developed a new, lower-cost training-and-touring airplane that provided stable comfort for long trips, the sturdiness necessary for a trainer, and even limited aerobatic capability. And thus, the Musketeer was born.

Over the following 20 years, the Musketeer would evolve into a wide variety of subtypes. More than 4,000 examples would be built, including the more powerful Sundowner and the retractable-gear Sierra. Here, we’ll explore the fixed-gear variants of the Musketeer family—and evaluate whether the combination of Beechcraft quality and refinement, at a price comparable to a basic Cessna or Piper, remains as attractive today as it was then.

Model History

Presented as a simpler and less expensive alternative to the popular Bonanza, the Musketeer was launched as a 1963 model following a particularly speedy development process. Beechcraft took the concept from a blank sheet of paper to full FAA type certification in only 16 and a half months.

The Musketeer family was marketed as something of a Swiss Army knife of GA aircraft, able to fill multiple roles from training to longer-distance touring. Perhaps as a result, few general aviation aircraft have as confusing an assortment of model numbers, subtypes and names. The Musketeer Custom, for example, became the Sundowner in 1972, when midway through production, Beechcraft changed various names and model numbers. Similarly, the A23-19 was configured as a two-seat trainer and became the B19 Sport. Later models added—at various points—a third side window, a second door, electric flaps, a wider cabin, and even an aerobatic kit that permitted basic aerobatic maneuvers. Other models were available with two small seats in the rear baggage area, for a total of six seats.

Over the 20-year production run, entry-level models were equipped with the 165 hp Continental IO-346 and 150 hp Lycoming O-320, while the more upscale models sported the 180 hp Lycoming O-360 and 200 hp IO-360, some with constant-speed props. Gross weights range from 2,200 to 2,550 pounds, depending on the specific model and whether the aircraft has been modified with a gross-weight-increase kit. Useful loads range from 800 to 1,050 pounds, again depending on the model.

Two books that have covered the type (Kites, Birds & Stuff: Beech Aircraft by P.D. Stemp and The Fabulous Flight of the Three Musketeers by Gene Nora Jessen) each dedicate multiple pages to outlining all the various permutations of the type in comprehensive lists that specify production numbers and serial-number ranges.

The IO-346 Engine

It’s rare for an engine manufacturer to design and build an engine for only one aircraft type, but that’s precisely what occurred with Continental and the IO-346. Produced for only five years, the 165 hp engine has a 1,500-hour time between overhauls and is essentially a four-cylinder predecessor to the popular six-cylinder IO-520.

The engine has some significant strengths. Owners regard it as reliable and well-designed, and many feel it produces more power than the rated 165 hp. But the availability of parts and maintenance is a concern. As of this writing, Continental has only one part listed in its entire system for the engine (cylinders), so owners are forced to scour eBay and other classified listings for parts, scooping them up for future use whenever they become available.

Only 540 examples of the engine were produced, and with an ever-dwindling number of camshafts, crankshafts and crank cases in existence, the scarcity of parts will become only more challenging as they’re used up. So, while the engine itself provides good reliability and performance, prospective owners should carefully consider the pros and cons before buying.

Market Snapshop

A survey of Musketeers and Sundowners listed for sale at the time of this writing found 18 examples ranging in price from $26,500 to $68,000, with a median price of $39,900. Most had midtime engines, and the median airframe time was a relatively low 3,300 hours.

The Musketeer family is one of the least expensive means of obtaining a certified aircraft equipped with the 180 hp Lycoming O-360. Based upon a survey of online listings, they can presently be had for tens of thousands of dollars less than Cessna 172s and Piper Cherokees equipped with the same engine.

Early 150 hp Musketeers are sometimes shunned by prospective shoppers in favor of the more powerful examples. This can be a mistake, as the lower weight of the 150 hp models maintains a comparable power-to-weight ratio. Additionally, the entire Musketeer family is equipped with 60-gallon fuel tanks. Compared with the 40- to 50-gallon tanks of comparable Cessnas and Pipers, this adds flexibility. Pilots can fill the tanks for long-range flights or leave some fuel behind for improved takeoff and climb performance.

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Flight Characteristics

Despite the brash, swaggering image of its name, the Musketeer is anything but a swashbuckling daredevil. In terms of flight characteristics, the name “Engineer” or “Consultant” might be more fitting because the airplane is defined by quiet competence as opposed to snappy bravado. The airplane simply does what is asked of it with little complaint.

A second, left-side door was optional in the early years and eventually became standard, simplifying entry into the cabin. Once inside, Beechcraft’s goal to provide Bonanza quality at a lower price point becomes evident because the yoke, pedals and other touch points have a solid feel, devoid of any creaking or flex that can be found in some other types.

Like any other aircraft model, takeoff performance varies based on engine type. The performance charts, however, can be misleading at first glance; under identical conditions, the 180 hp Sundowner is listed as requiring approximately 10 percent more distance than the 150 hp Musketeer. A closer look reminds us that the more powerful airplane also includes a 250-pound greater maximum takeoff weight. A buying decision must therefore take into account the whole picture, considering not only horsepower but also fuel burn and useful load.

Visibility from the cockpit is fantastic, with the wing positioned far enough aft to provide a nearly unobstructed view downward from the front seats. The airplane is stable in cruise and remains stable in bumpy conditions. Handling is unremarkable, the controls delivering what is asked of them with the expected results, predictable feedback and no complaints. Beechcraft added an aileron-rudder interconnect to reduce the likelihood of stall or spin accidents, and it goes largely undetected during normal flying and maneuvering.

As comfortable as the Musketeer is on cross-country flights, owners concede that they will never win any air races; cruise speeds hover around 110 ktas in 150 hp airplanes and 120 to 125 ktas in 180 hp examples, burning 8 to 9 gallons and 11 to 12 gallons per hour, respectively. With the aforementioned 60 gallons of fuel capacity, the 150 hp models boast a maximum endurance of nearly nine hours and a still-air range of more than 900 miles.

The modest cruise speed isn’t far from the 95-knot limitation of the flaps, so a slight power reduction makes it easy to set up for an approach with 30 to 35 degrees of flaps available, depending on the model. Actuation varies as well, with some models sporting a manual floor-mounted lever and, on others, an electric, three-position switch adjacent to the power quadrant.

The trailing-link landing gear does a good job of absorbing firm landings, and the rubber discs minimize the tendency to bounce or rebound. Crosswind landings are made easier with main gear that, at nearly 12 feet apart, is spaced almost 2 feet wider than a Cherokee and more than 3 feet wider than a 172.

Musketeers have earned a minor reputation of being tricky to land well, and a survey of National Transportation Safety Board reports does reveal an assortment of incidents stemming from porpoising and improper flaring. Owners report that this is at least partially related to a CG that trends toward the forward limit. With two larger occupants in the front seats and nothing in the rear seats and baggage area, it’s easy to find oneself outside of the CG envelope, and with a forward CG, the elevator can run out of authority in the flare. This is further exacerbated during a flight because the CG moves forward as fuel is burned.

To remedy this, many owners make a habit of keeping supplies and even bags of sand in the rear luggage compartment. Midway through production, Beechcraft offered an optional 10- or 22-pound tail weight to counter the forward CG, which owners report improves the landing characteristics immensely. The Beech Aero Club offers detailed plans and specifications to fabricate a tail weight for aircraft lacking one.

Ownership

Compared with some other types, the Musketeer family is easy to own and maintain. With 4,460 examples produced, airframe parts are plentiful, and while it’s always worth seeking out a mechanic familiar with the type, maintenance is by the book, with no significant traps or pitfalls to newcomers.

Aside from the usual avionics upgrades, a freer-flowing exhaust kit and a well-respected vortex-generator kit, most Musketeers remain largely unmodified from their original factory configuration. While a number of ADs apply to each model, few are recurring and most are straightforward to address.

Shock-absorption duties are provided by simple rubber discs, and owners enjoy their trouble-free simplicity. While pricey at $4,000 to $5,000 (or around $1,000 via a third-party supplier), they last approximately 10 years and require zero maintenance. Most owners have replaced the corrosion-prone, black-colored ductwork that routes air through the cabin with modern, orange-colored ductwork. This is considered to be a particularly important modification that requires approximately $450 in parts and 10 to 12 hours of labor to convert.

Every owner would be well-advised to become a member of the Beech Aero Club. This well-organized type club provides a wealth of expertise, arranging social events, and renting specialized tools to members for low rates. Even prospective owners would benefit from membership; a continuously updated pre-purchase inspection guide is available, outlining all type-specific concerns to address when inspecting an aircraft.

Compared with more-popular types such as the Cessna 172 and Piper Cherokee, the Musketeer family offers a compelling set of strengths and few weaknesses for a relatively low price. Over the years, the type has quietly delivered refinement and reliability to its owners while going largely unnoticed by the masses.

Though a Musketeer will cruise about 10 knots slower than a Cessna 172, the additional 20 gallons of fuel capacity might enable it to reach the destination first if a fuel stop can be omitted. With a relatively large fleet size, few onerous ADs, and an enthusiastic and engaged owner’s group, the Musketeer family offers real merits that make ownership a pleasure for those who own, maintain and fly them.

This story appeared in the March 2021 issue of Flying Magazine

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