Great thread. Loving the discussion.

Excellent idea. For the $125K the CJ could be had with an M14P (360HP) but even better get a Yak52TW (think Aerostar Team). I and many other owners are convinced that the M14 is one of the best, if not the best, small radial engines ever made. The Yak will aerobatically outfly the other candidates mentioned.
Charles

Heh...at one point I owned both a T28 and a T33...I was "living my dream" of being an aviation cadet...of course, I was considerably older, and it was the 90s, not the 50s, but still.....had a wonderful time going broke awfully fast.


I got a chance to fly in a restricted area in a Mustang out west...that's fun....and when I had my Mustang I would occasionally be able to tempt the jets into circling with me in the MOAs out by Brownwood. What fun!

and I agree....if the money is no object, a T28 is fun...but I think maybe a mustang would be more fun....!!!


thanks for the stories...

I want that.

True...but it's NOT a T6.....


<grin>

The P3 is, um, interesting. My first flight enforced what the owner warned me ... really good flying characteristics, but S L O W. There's a reason a few have turbo-props.

I want that.

OK, you're kidding right?

Right on for Stan and Doug.

If you go see and hear a T-28 and that appeals to you, what can anyone say, except I doubt it there are $125 K ones..

You might find a stock T-34 for that price. The 34 is probably the easiest airplane to fly, especially land, that I have ever flown, and can do a little bit of everything. It is not a good trainer for a hotter more demanding plane.

I think you might find a T-6 for that price, though not a top one. It is a real airplane, a real warbird and if you are good in it you are good period.
Not that hard to fly, of you do it right, but it can kill you real quick if you do dumb things like bad acro down low, or forget to use the rudder or pull high gs. And if some day you move up to a fighter, the T-6 hours will prepare you for one.

Even if you don't buy a 6, go to Kissimee or somewhere and buy a flight in one. Maybe even do that for the T-34 or even the 28 also, if you can stand the noise.

Re read everything Stan wrote, then go buy a T-6.

I can well remember the day John let me solo his T-6 and signed me for that rating. I was really new, maybe 500 hours, but I could now do something that put me above the ordinary Cessna or Piper pilot.
Anybody that thinks the top end of aviation is a glass cockpit in a fancy Beech and has never flown a T-6 is like a guy who thinks Leroi Newman is a great artist.

This thread is making me plan to spend money I may never have...

Do big people fit in the T-6? I'm 6'2" and 250, with broad shoulders. What about the T-34?

The hunt begins. I've started talking to sellers but I don't know what to ask for other than the usual questions, all logs, hail damage, SMOH on prop and engine, blah, blah. I've heard the steerable tailwheel and high ratio aileron bell cranks are nice to have? What else should I be looking for? I need to make a deal on the super cub before finalizing a purchase so please spread the word.

No problem... Lotsa room for normal sized guys like us....

As for size, you can fit in a 6 or 34, but at 250 you might be at aft cg if in the rear seat.

As for money, well years ago, before I owned a plane, I had more money. It is more fun with less money and more airplanes.

Famous av author Gordon Baxter once wrote that a friend of his was getting interested in aviation, maybe becoming a pilot. But he was worried about costs?

So he asked, " How much money does this flying stuff take anyway."
And Gordon replied, "All of it, of course."

And you have a Champ?!

The T28 will fit you a bit better.

Robert