For safety, the Piper Cub; it can just barely kill ya.

Low and slow is fun, but the risk of power lines and towers rises significantly.

For safety, the Piper Cub; it can just barely kill ya.

Low and slow is fun, but the risk of power lines and towers rises significantly.

Loving these ideas, all, thanks for providing me with these options.
Tony, your new plane sounds awesome, congrats

Yellow Super Cub.

I used to rent one. With the window open, you can fly low over people and they wave and smile. Do the same in most other planes and they are videoing and calling the FAA.

BirdDog would another fun one.

One way to really enjoy low and slow is to fly something with a lot of adverse yaw, limited visibility, controls that haven't been harmonized to perfection, simple avionics, etc. Doing that in a relatively inexpensive aircraft that also preserves more aviation history, creates the opportunity for interesting discussions on the ramp and isn't commonplace and therefore relatively expensive (i.e. a Cub) is something to consider.

Here are some planes that fit that kind of description:

Porterfield Collegiate (skinny bird)
Aeronca Champ, Chief
Piper Clipper
Piper Tripacer (well not a tw but otherwise qualifies)
Stinson 108
Taylorcraft
Interstate Cadet
Rearwin Skyranger
Luscombe
Swift
Fairchild 24 (really nice one on Barnstormers currently)

There are others but these are all representative. Some have motors which aren't as common as they used to be (like a Franklin or Warner) but generally there is good support. You live in an area with lots of fabric expertise as well. You can find a nice example of all but the Swift and Fairchild for under 50K. The latter two certainly under 100k. Some of the ergonomics are interesting so you have to try them on.

We bought a 62 172 for the son to train for less than a used Honda (got lucky on market timing!).

Turns out the thing is quite fun for low and slow cruising. And the early ones fly poorly enough to make you use your feet, etc. And crazy cheap to own (insurance) and operate (mogas).

Probably won’t be selling it even after the boy has outgrown it.

for 100k, that would buy 4-5 aeronca champs. Perhaps the best low&slow sightseeing classic

I did make the comment, which someone else did as well, that an open cockpit biplane wouldn't be a great year round choice where you live. But, you cannot beat open cockpit flying and you do have an embarrassment of riches in your part of the country for such flying - lots of grass and 6 months of moderate weather.

For your budget you can find:

- WACO RNF
-Great Lakes (I looked at a beautiful one in Michigan this spring that hasn't sold)
-Hatz
-Stearman

I have to throw the short-wing Piper's hat in the ring! (Pacer, Vagabond, Clipper, Colt)

1) Far more handsome than their tri-pacer cousins
2) Can be had in 2-seat or 4-seat liveries
3) SxS seating is my preference - maybe it's yours too (even if no pax, nice to leave a bag or iPad next to you)
4) Can be had from 100 to 200 horses
5) Inexpensive to buy and fly
6) Dead simple airframe with well-known quirks (fuel system)
7) Absolutely intolerant of side-loaded landing, short coupled, and impossible to direct in flight without rudder
8) Freaking adorable
9) Great community (https://shortwingpiperclub.org/about-us/what-we-fly/)

Best,
-J

AirCam - the best low and slow airplane ever built.

May be challenging to find one for $100K, but I sold my 2000 for not much more than that last year.

Pros

Multi-engine redundancy
Super STOL
Can burn MoGas
Rotax engines are really bulletproof
Stalls at 40 mph no flap, even less with flaps
Fits in any standard hangar 36’ wingspan
Cost per flight hour is ridiculously low



Cons

Need multi-engine rating
Need tailwheel endorsement
Open cockpit models can get really cold
Very slow 60-80 mph range
Only 2 seats

The red one was my first one

Butch

I once ran into a fella flying across the country in his aircam. He added floats because he said, “I like to fly real low” and supposedly (he thought) the floats helped make it legal?

Very neat airplane.

Cessna Birddog. I'm biased because I own one but it's an extremely capable aircraft with a lot more room than a cub or similar. Both the pilot and copilot windows open and there's a ton of windows so visibility is fantastic.

This makes me think of Brent. He owned an A36 I put into prebuy but passed on. He also had a Waco. His dream was to take his sweet time flying the Waco from KY to CA, then up and down the coast. Yes, life is meant to be slow and open air.

I like this idea more and more each day.

Can't beat the visibility of the CH750. I think they're very cool, very reasonably priced and built tough. Also it's a tricycle gear but if you don't care about "man card" BS and just want a low stress low & slow cruiser that does better STOL than the just about anything.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/mlPq-JppLbE[/youtube]

I've had a j-3 with a c85 that i converted to a stroker for about 20 years, they are about a third of cost of supercubs these days.