From: dierks@austin.ibm.com (Herman Dierks)
Subject:  Buying planes and training in them
Originator: dierks@dierks.austin.ibm.com
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 01:33:01 GMT
Organization: IBM Austin


 I agree with most of the mail advising you NOT to start training in the Navion.
 The Navion is a nice flying aircraft and easy to fly, BUT:
  - it is a complex aircraft: Retract gear, Const Speed Prop, 6 Cyl engine,
                              
  - You will be burning a lot more fuel for each hour.

  - It is an old A/C with complex systems.  Not many A/P's or IA's know how to
     work on them properly.  This means more costs at annual and for maint.

 My suggestion.
   1) Start training in a rental aircraft until you solo.  This will be 10 to
      15 hours.  Drop out rate is high for various reasons.  It may take you
      months to get this far.

   2) Once you have solo'd, you will know if you want to continue.
      If all of your friends make it this far, great.  If not, you are better
      off not owning a plane with them. 

   3) If you can find a set of partners after you solo, then consider buying
      a time builder.  This would probably be a C150, or maybe a C172 or
      Piper 140 or 180 depending on how many will be involved and how much
      funds you have.  These A/C are low cost to ensure because the are
      as simple as they come and there are lots of parts to fix them and
      everyone knows how to work on them.

    4) If you really want to learn about flying, buy a tail dragger by 
       yourself (after you solo).  Find a Champ, T-craft, C120/140 
       or (my favorite) a Luscombe.  You will need tail wheel checkout
       here.   This may or may not apeal to you.

   Regarding the Navion, they are built stronger than most as they were a 
   spin off of military design at the end of the war.  They are easy flying.
   If you really want one, wait until after solo then transition up to it
   (given you accept the negatives noted at the top).
   
   FYI, I started flying over 25 yrs ago in a C150 and solo'd in it.
   Then, me and two other young pilots all threw in $500.00 and bought
    a 1946 Luscombe.  One of the partners had his private and he tought me
    to fly it.  You need to learn spin recovery in these older A/C as the
    Luscombe would spin very easy compared to a C 150. 
    I later sold the Luscombe and bought a Cessna 170A which I still have
    20 years later.  Every time I thought of moving up to a more complex
    A/C (like a Mooney, a Piper Comanchee, or C 180) the extra cost and
    expense of retract gear and CS prop kept me from doing it.  
     Also, with the 170 I fly out of grass strip(s) with no problems.
     Tri Gear on the grass strip I fly from would be a problem with the
     rocks and soft turf (read mud).   
    Also, a C172 (or 170) will appriciate faster than a Navion because 
    there is a bigger market for them and they don't have the high maint. costs
    of the Navion.  Also, I have seen hundreds of Navions and I don't think
    any two are the same.  That plane has more engine combinations and mods
    than most around.  

   Don't any Navion owners send me hate mail.  I like them.  It is just not
   for this person at this time.   I rode to Oshkosh in one from Tx and have
   about 1 hour flying one. I also know a lady that learned to fly in one 
   but her husband was a CFI and owned one.   

   Cheers, Herman
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