Hello
thanks for letting me join your group
currently looking at a 1979 skipper and would love to hear the great things (and the squaks) about the A/C
I am currently a student ticket 3rd time and a grandfather
thanks in advance
Pat

Welcome to BT Patrick.
There are a few other Skipper owners here, send Dan MacDonald a PM, he has one.

I wouldn't buy a Skipper.

I would buy this one (assuming no corrosion or serious defects): http://www.controller.com/listingsdetai ... 272727.htm

It has a good GPS, good radios and autopilot.

I have approx. 50 hours in a Super III and loved flying it. It is a roomy, stable and reasonably fast airplane at 120 knots TAS.

That's a good one at a great price. I loved flying the Musketeer. I'm tempted......

Welcome aboard Patrick !
Enjoy your shopping !

saw the plane Max spoke of on controller
question is do you trade speed weight and distance for 13 years? 79 vs 66
all else is about equal assuming the musketeer is in as good a shape as the skipper?
thanks all for the input
pat

I also loved my Super III... and that one looks like an absolute steal at that price.

The 13 year difference is no factor, IMHO. Four seats, 200hp (much better climb, especially at higher DA), nearly 1,100 lbs. useful load...

There's a reason a '79 Skipper is a $20-25k airplane, and a '66 Super III is (usually) a $30-40k airplane.

Just me, but I would trade two Skippers for a good Super III. Should you want to travel with luggage the extra speed and load carrying ability of the Musketeer is a really big improvement over the Skipper. The Super III is faster than an older C172 by 25mph, and as fast as the Pipers with the 180hp engines. These are serious traveling machines.

that one is gone
what do you think of the b 19
thanks
pat

You aren't likely to go wrong with any Beech. Now to be sure you buy the best Beech for you, tell us about your budget, mission, and where you are as a pilot (hours, ratings, etc.).

For me, The Sundowner is about perfect. If I had to regularly go 300 miles farther than I usually to, then I'd be in a Deb or Bo (as soon as i could afford one). If I were single & didn't need to go far & fast, there's a good chance I'd be looking for a Skipper. The key for you is what do you need to do with your AC?

I leased a super 3 for about 6 months from a guy and had to do nothing to it but add fuel and a little oil. It is as they say built like a tank and easy to fly and very forgiving. It will take you anywhere you want to go and you can take someone along with you too. Any of the musketeers are good planes but at least the Super 3 can get out of it's own way. Listen to Max!!

tt in this book 42 hrs 30 hrs 1988 when I last solo'd plus 12 now about to solo again with an instructor that is 10 years younger than my daughter getting boxed out of my time available vs a/c available and want to transition from top to low wing Skipper would be a time builder as would anything else but at 200lb the useful has me worried max cross I would be looking at is 300-350 want to keep under 25/30k as a purchase price and just purchase outright Happen to like the quality of the Beech so here I am Had a 25% interest in a Tcraft as a kid 69-72 but not counting that time as I have no idea where that log got to would be another 25hrs??
All help is appreciated as always
Pat

Ok, with that mission, any of the straight legged Beeches will probably work for you and can be found in your budget w/o buying a dog that will burn through all your $ and then some getting airworthy and fixing all the problems from deferred maintenance.

The Skipper can handle your range with no issues, but not with two people, full fuel, and bags (unless the second person and the bags are really small). In a Mouse, Sundowner, or even a sport you will pick up a little speed. You also pick up two extra seats and the ability to trade some of the large fuel capacity back for useful load, though you loose the super low fuel burn of the Skipper.

Whatever you do, don't rush, get a good prebuy by a mechanic you trust, follow the advice on Beechtalk and absolutely join the Beech Aeroclub www.beechaeroclub.org.

Bill - N6699S

While not wanting to knock any airplane, especially a Beech, the B19 Sport is under powered, certainly for anywhere that gets hot weather. I flew one in 100 degree heat one day with a female (light) passenger, and it scared me with its anemic climb. The Sundowner/Musketeer is a far better airplane, especially if you get one with 200 HP or one with a 180 HP engine and a powerflow exhaust, like I had.

I flew my wife and 2 children, with bags, from TX to New England and back several times. It's not a Bonanza, but it's a good solid 4 seater with serious cross country and IFR capability.

There is a Sundowner for sale in Ft Worth that might work for you, it's a aerobatic model that I think is going for $28k. Not sure of the year, but I can find out. I don't think it's currently listed, but I've had people ask me if I want it

I had a Super III many years ago, great airplane.
Way better than a Skipper for cross country flights.