Looking for advise on potential upgrades from a 182Q, but on a budget of 60k-80k.
Currently most of my flying is from SF to Tahoe, so the 182 works perfectly. But want to take advantage of lower prices currently and thinking something faster would potentially enlarge my normal radius of places I go with the family (making trips to San Diego or Oregon more often as our radius is usually 2 hrs flight time). So my initial thought is a Bonanza or Mooney. Wife would prefer Bonanza with club seating, but on a budget of ~ 60k -80k the question is if that is a reasonable to or what options should I think about?
If that’s your monthly budget, you can’t go wrong with a G-IV. Their prices have really come down. If that’s your total purchase budget plus the trade of your 182 I’d consider a Mooney, Bo or Cirrus. You can scoop up a twin but fuel/mx might kill you down the road.
Honestly, Meek, where do you come up with this stuff? My wife can easily drive 4-5 hr without stopping – of course AFTER the morning coffee has come through. 8)
well i just have to use my own experiances, if i want to go anywhere with my friends that are girls, after 2 hours, they are not thinking of what good time we are making, but they are looking for a bathroom, period. and if for some reason they know we will be more than 2 hours away from a bathroom, they will stop drinking water several hours before hand and dehydrate them selves. its not a weird thought, its reality. its the same way with heat and cold, they will not leave the house without a sweater or long sleeve shirt, even here in arizona in the summer, its crazy. We go to a movie and if its cold and i talked her out of bringing a sweater, the movie is ruined, and the ride home early is gonna be 1 sided and its gonna suck.
anyway 2 hours is max, between stops unless you prepare a day in advance
You got a good airplane for sure. The Mooneys will be a bit faster. The later ones have more room in back seat which is nicer. You might want to explore the Mooney conversions…Rocket, etc. for more speed and not a whole lot of money.
