mike cap

The L3 is a beautiful ship. Lucky guy - post a photo if you can. I have some tail dragger time in an AT6 - I had a "warbird" thing going for a while, but never soloed in it. Spolied by the comfort and speed of the Bonanza I guess.

EMBPilot

awwwww that thing is adorable! w a whopping 15,000 pounds of thrust per side, cute.

But yeah , seriously , just go-around. nbd.

RudyP

I've never heard of a G550 referred to as 'cute' but Ok, there's a first time for everything.

I'm sure there is a greyhound bus driver out there who saw you in your 993 and felt smug because his is bigger... Want to trade places with him?

EMBPilot

lol I guess it could go something like that

Quadcammer

ahh, the gulfstream g550.

Obviously my statement was an in jest comment made about commercial air travel.

That said, if you gave me the choice of a private 737 or a g550, I'll take the 737 every time.

CalvinC4S

I learned and flew 10 years in a mellinnium edition 206. No Floats but ordered with all the provisions for them. The plane was sold and ported to Australia four years ago. I hope to return to aviation in something fast and tandem like a rocket or RV8.

mike cap

NC,
Great post about Walter Beech and his company. I also met Mrs Beech at an event - must have been 1982. It was a fiftieth anniversary celebration and she handed out beautiful bronze 50th medallions. I still have it, keep it polished and on my desk. The motto on the perimeter says, "The World Is Small When You Fly A Beechcraft".

So sad what happened to Beech post Raytheon and as recently as last year. I toured the Bonanza factory floor in the 90's with my Flight Safety instructor. It was a Saturday and quiet - to me it was like a tour of heaven.

NC TRACKRAT

Mike, I know what you mean. Going to the main plant early in the morning, seeing all those beautiful fuselages sitting on the line in various stages , wondering where they would go, what paint schemes and interiors they would get. Wow! A little piece of Beech history...I played a small part in the last orders for the Beech Model H18 twin radials back in 1970 for JAL. It had been so long since they'd built any, they had to recruit managers, supervisors and anyone else who'd worked on them in the past to put on coveralls and go back on the line for a few weeks! They did a great job.

mike cap

NC,

Love the Beech 18 story. JAL must have used them for multi-training? My good friend has a jet management company, very successful and lots of big iron. I'm always ragging on him to sell that stuff and replace the planes with Beech 18s and Lockheed Electras. He just rolls his eyes.

Did you ever read that rant (very funny) about why turbines are ruining aviation? I'll post it tomorrow.

The aviation legends I'd have loved to meet.....Doolittle, Lindbergh and Howard Hughes. Walter Beech too - just to say "thanks" for designing the greatest single engine plane in history. In continuous production for 65 years with, what, 20,000 built?

My original Bonanza instructor was an older retired airline pilot. Had 40,000 hours, WWII P38..... Knew Doolittle and Lindbergh.... So I did "shake the hand, that shook the hand".

Falcondrivr

That's because you haven't been in one. The 550 (and most purpose built corporate jets) gets you higher (for a better ride and faster routings) AND a lower cabin altitude (so you feel better when you get to the other side of the world.) That's why Glufstream, Bombardier, and Dassault have years-long waiting lists for their jets and Boeing witl build you a BBJ tomorrow, for less money... The new G650 is alreaddy sold out for the next 5 years at 65 Million a pop...

NC TRACKRAT

Re: Corporate Jets, we worked on the Lear 23, 24 and 25's, the first Cessna Citations. One of my friends in Wichita was the Chief Instructor for Lear (as a matter of fact, owned a '58 Speedster, too). When students needed flight hrs., he'd call me and ask if I'd like a ride...Never knew where we'd be going but, Lordy, it was fun! Damn, those Lear Jets can climb!

Ed Hughes

Not to mention access to more convenient airports.

Hoserpilot

I used to fly a 56tc baron. Duke engines... Now that was a rocket ship!! Were getting "new" 717's, oh joy. A dc-9 with a Boeing name.

I was in savannah a couple weeks ago. All those gulfstreams sitting on the ramp are a sight to see. Beautiful airplane. Wish I could've had the chance to fly one before I left the corporate world for the airlines.

Quadcammer

and a 996 performs better than a 993 and is more comfortable doing it.

Give me an old crappy boeing. I have more faith in them than general dynamics. Call me crazy.

mike cap

Just for laughs.....

Turbines are Ruining Aviation

We gotta get rid of turbines, they are ruining aviation. We need to go
back to big round engines. Anybody can start a turbine, you just need
to move a switch from "OFF" to "START," and then remember to move it back
to "ON" after a while. My PC is harder to start. Cranking a round engine
requires skill, finesse and style. On some planes, the pilots are not
even allowed to do it.

Turbines start by whining for a while, then give a small lady-like poot
and start whining louder.

Round engines give a satisfying rattle-rattle, click-click BANG, more
rattles, another BANG, a big macho fart or two, more clicks, a lot of
smoke and finally a serious low pitched roar. We like that. It's a guy
thing. When you start a round engine, your mind is engaged and you can
concentrate on the flight ahead.

Starting a turbine is like flicking on a ceiling fan: Useful, but hardly
exciting. Turbines don't break often enough, leading to aircrew
boredom, complacency and inattention. A round engine at speed looks and
sounds like it's going to blow at any minute. This helps concentrate
the mind. Turbines don't have enough control levers to keep a pilot's
attention. There's nothing to fiddle with during the flight.

Turbines smell like a Boy Scout camp full of Coleman lanterns. Round
engines smell like God intended flying machines to smell.