Leaving the world of Piper Cubs and starting the search for a x/c single. Looking forward to learning more on the site. Canada based.

Ken,
Welcome to BT.

There are a lot of "cross-country singles" ...... What's your flying mission going to be? How many people? How far?

Welcome to BT Ken!

Many here will be pleased to help you spend your money!

I'll brace myself for the replies. I have looked at a Rockwell commander 114 but I am drawn to the V tails. My budget is in the 80-90K range. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I am feeling a bit swamped with all the data re safety of the V tail. My flying mission is 100 to 300nm 3 adults 1 Labrador.

Ken,

People more knowledgeable about the Bo will be along. One item a lot of people recommend is Larry Balls' Book, you can get is from ABS.

Good luck in the hunt.

Tim

Ken,

As an owner of 2 Commander 114's (a 1976 and a 1978) several years ago, I'll comment.

GOOD:
- one of the best looking planes on the ramp; the crucible tail is mmm mmm good.
- a very comfortable cabin, big.
- the trailing link landing gear makes every landing great.
- they have that wonderful Lycoming IO-540 engine.
- a door on BOTH sides.
- I think the selling prices are better (cheaper) than other cross-country planes..

BAD:
- not very fast, maybe 140 kts
- it's an orphan aircraft, so sometimes parts can be hard to find
- not every A&P wants to work on them; they're somewhat overbuilt...like a tank.
- not very many of them seem to have updated, modern panels.

Here's one of mine....sometimes I still miss her...

Ken,

V-Tails rule! Many of the "safety" issues you hear about V-Tails are somewhat misleading. Great traveling machine, easy to fly, docile to land, and real eye catchers on the ramp! We will be happy to help you spend your money!

PS: Welcome to Beechtalk!

Arlen,

If you still like the Comanche, take a look at this experimental (the Ravin):

http://www.woodward-aerospace.com/ravin-aircraft.html


Tim

Thank you all for your thoughts. Arlen the 114 is nice but I have done a couple of W&Ts on it and the 28% penalty for grass strips is causing a bit of a problem. Other than that it was pretty nice to fly although there was some dutch role when we hit some lgt to mdt turb which I will have to investigate further. The speed by the way was 150kts true @ 23/24 @ 8.5. Is there a place on this site to research the V35 in more depth?

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