Sweet!
Posted on 12/21/2009 6:59:29 PM PST by The Magical Mischief Tour
Well, after spending most all of my adult life flying other peoples toys, I'm officially in the market to buy myself a plane.
I have spent the better part of the past year narrowing my search for the perfect steed and have settled upon the Piper Malibu Series.
This seems to have the best combo of speed, range, economy and cabin size for my personal travel needs. Plus I like the idea of the pressurized cabin over the supplemental oxygen system especially for passengers mostly the younger ones.
I have found a sweet deal on one nicely appointed, modern avionics, well maintained with fresh inspection and annual that has the Piper certified long range tank installed and is more or less a turn key purchase.
My question to those who own has to do with current insurance rates on comparable airframes.
Who did you have write your policy?
As a member of AOPA, I have been in contact with their Insurance Agency Reps but wanted to see if anyone has a successful story from another vendor.
AOPA is concerned over the pressurization of the aircraft, they lump it into the same category as a turboprop. They wanted me to talk more with an Agent and submit proof of experience etc... Which I have no problem with, I hold an ATP with multiple type ratings, Gold Seal CFII, MEI and over 12,000 hours in jets up to the Gulfstream V. No FAA violations etc, ever...
I have found an approved training course taught by Flight Safety In't at Vero Beach specifically for the Malibu.
Anyone have any advice to give, any holes, craters or trip wires to look out for?
Some of these Insurance folks seem like used car salesmen to me at times.
Didn’t FR have a General Aviation ping list at one time? I can’t help you, but I can bump your thread.
You’re right about a ping list. I’m not sure but I’m thinking it might have been PukinDog who headed the list.
Somebody mentioned a crash in FL recently in a single engine. They said that certain plane had some issue and if the engine started smoking it was a problem and you could not see where you are going. I forget the specifics.
I would assume it was not a pressurized cabin and I think it was a Piper.
Yeah one did, does exist but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember who maintained it.
ping
Have you ever run into one that didn't?
Wow! I do envy you!
I have only flown twice in my life.
A 1935 Taylorcraft when I was 15, and a Navy T-6 for my 50th Birthday.
Both models a bit too “retro” for your taste, I’m sure! LOL.
They put a parachute on me for the T-6, and taught me how to “Bail-Out”. :-)
I always try to have special “adventures” on my birthday.
Having owned and operated a complex aircraft for 32+ years, it seems like I’ve bounced back and forth between insurance companies and come back to AV**CO more than half of the time.
Yeah, pressurization is something of a problem when it comes to getting a reasonable insurance rate. Realize that you’re in a fairly narrow corner of the GA market. What will save you is your experience, license and (hopefully) continued currency and training. It’s not so difficult if you’re working for the scheds, where they’re throwing you in the sim every six months with lotsa’ flight time in between. If you’re “winding down” from that mode it becomes more difficult to get a good rate from the insurance companies. That’s where the “approved” course comes in. My guess is that the folks that offer such a curriculum are fairly few and far between, but it will probably pay for itself if it gets you insured. Best to pencil it out.
Not that the course is going to be anything you can’t handle. If you’re typed in the G’s, this aircraft will be a walk in the park. Training is a given, but time and currency in type is where it’s at (which you knew as well).
I’ve always felt that the SF-340 would make a nice family airplane, but apparently you already have a preference. :-)
Fiddle - buy a Cessna 152 and have fun ......
They are easy to work with but have tighter rules. Be prepared to change companies from time to time if your looking for the best price. I own a complex but not as complex as the one you're looking at. ;-)
Good luck!
Thanks,
I’ve went back and forth over several different types both single engine and multi. But I started renting a Malibu from a local club when I lived in LA a few years ago and fell in love with it.
I’m a bit of a stickler for training, one of those who believes you can’t ever have too much and always enjoyed recurrent training trip back to FSI. At one time I was Part 135 current on the G-IV, G-V and a King Air. Acting Chief Pilot of the Flight Department, Regional FAA Safety Manager and a current Part 135 Check Airman. All of which had me “in class” about once every three to four months through out the calendar year.
Thanks for the insurance info.
Thanks for the link!
Gave it up 10 years ago with only about 150 hours. Didn’t feel like I was able to fly often enough to maintain my skills. Then, when I got married, I didn’t want to get AIDS (Aviation Induced Divorce Syndrome).
Hey, whatever you do, Good Work! Keep it up.
I learned to fly in a 46 BC-12D. Retro is the way!
Oh...and I think you a budgeting too much money on airplane and too little on 100LL and Adventure.
Beech 18 man!
I really love old aircraft.
You really get the wind in your HAIR! LOL. (NOW THAT’S retro! hee hee!)
“Thanks for the insurance info.”
You’re welcome. I wish I could have been a bit more comprehensive in my recommendations, but it seems like I kept coming back to that particular company (mostly based on the lowest premium). I never collected on any of the policies in all that time, nor did I bend any of the metal on the stuff I drove for a living (Boeing aluminum is SO expensive to replace). :-)
Amazing that I never bent anything, or had a violation over the career. Given all of that TT, it was probably divine intervention that accounted for it. I hope you enjoy that aircraft. Pressurized piston stuff, especially SE, is interesting equipment.
Piston or turboprop?
Sorry, can’t help you as this is completely out of my realm of expertise. However, I am wondering what the laws are on arming your aircraft.
Sweet!
Looking at that, it makes it clear that the reason we don’t have flying cars is because most people can’t deal with an automatic and interval windshield wipers.
My little girl.
LOL, It’s actually pretty clean compared with what he’s used to flying. You soon figure out where everything is. ;-) Glass cockpits are even cleaner looking but harder to work with in my opinion. I suppose it depends on what you where first trained on.
Not to worry, most GA aircraft don't have them. ;-)
Cessna with G1000 glass.
My uncle owned a single engine pressurized plane that he let me fly quite a bit. It was a little cramped so it couldn’t be used for family trips like your Piper. He never bugged me about insurance but was a stickler about maintaining CR.
What are those things that look like deer horns in your pretty pictures?
:-)
I’ve got some left seat time in a Piper Malibu. Very nice and practical aircraft for traveling. Great speed for economy vs the turboprops. My ownership experiences are only with the old fabric stuff and homebuilts.
Have you asked the people at the approved course about insurance? They might well know a company that is familiar with them and trusts their training of pilots. Don’t know if they would make a recommendation, but it can’t hurt to ask.
"It was a little cramped so it couldn’t be used for family trips."
Merry Christmas!
Aviation stuff. :)
I miss PD.
Can't afford an 18...but I do manage to almost afford my single-breasted B18...a Cessna 195...:o)
Round Engines Rule!
Cool thread! Bookmarking.
Yes they do. I consider flat engines as wrong turn in the evolution of the air/oil cooled piston aircraft engine. :)
Besides, I bet my 0-300 is using as much oil as an R-755.
My Jake is the R755 S model (turbo) ...and if a radial isn't leaking it's out of oil!!
150mph for 8 hours @ < 10gph
Yes but they have no soul...:o) In a 195 you get 150 mph for 6 hours @ 12 gallons but when you pull up to the pumps to purchase that extra gas you empty the restaurant as they all come out to look over your airplane...when an RG pulls up they don't even look up from their hamburger...;o)
They're very pretty old gals alright. ;-)
Yep...was love at first sight for me at 10 years old...the most affordable personal "airliner" made...:o)
I love that old airplane smell!
If you’re looking for a just for fun bush plane check out the Highlander at www.justaircraft.com. Great folks and a great plane made in Walhalla, SC.
The sweetest of perfumes!
Thanks for the photo-post of Chuck Yeager.
On a job interview (I didn’t get the job...which maybe was a good thing),
I had a meal with a guy who said he’d run into the legend while working an
aviation/tech job a couple of decades ago.
He said, even though he was somthing of an academic/leftist geek:
“Yeager is the real deal.”
Thanks for the photo-post of Chuck Yeager.
On a job interview (I didn’t get the job...which maybe was a good thing),
I had a meal with a guy who said he’d run into the legend while working an
aviation/tech job a couple of decades ago.
He said, even though he was somthing of an academic/leftist geek:
“Yeager is the real deal.”
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