Post by Cluemeister on Jun 2, 2016 21:58:26 GMT
Back in October of last year, somebody sent me a link to an article on the Icon A5. I read the article, and instantly was fascinated. Kirk Hawkins talked about being a sport pilot to fly, and that was something I had never heard of. I started to do intense research on this sport pilot thing. I had always had a mild interest in flying, but never took it further then a few rides in friends' planes, mostly because I never had the financial resources to fly. But I'm a little older and in a little better position than before.
After much research, I focus in on the CT. It has a chute, it's the most popular brand, and used ones are in the $80k range. I convince my wife to go to the Light Sport Expo in January to see the CT and other possible aircraft. We get to the show, and walk around. She likes the Bristell and Sportcruiser, and I think those are nice as well. We head over to the CT, and we were a little underwhelmed. The interior is fairly spartan, and my wife doesn't really like the exterior looks. I really want my wife to be part of the flying experience with me, so the CT begins to fade out of the picture.
As fate would have it, the weather closes the show one day, so we found ourselves wandering into the Tecnam facility at the airport, which was open. This is where my wife and I met Mark Gregor. He was very polite and casual, and actually interested in having a conversation with you instead of just sell sell sell the aircraft. At the time I thought, "well that's a nice guy, but we will probably buy someone else's plane."
We then went to dinner the next night, and met several sport pilots, vendors and spouses. We had a great dinner, and talked planes. One guy in the group was looking at a P2008, and was close to making the decision to order. I picked his brain, and he was generous with his time. We went to dinner the next night, and he said if his demo flight went well, he was going to put his on order. I figured well, I better take a closer look at this thing.
During training, I was in high wing aircraft. I really got used to the way they flew, and liked it. So I took an even closer look at the Tecnam. Then another guy from the forum contacted me, and he and his Dad were looking at a few aircraft, but really loved the P2008 turbo. There must be something to this plane!
I kept in touch with Mark, and kept looking for a used model. Couldn't find one that met my specs. So one day Mark offers to have us fly from Houston to Tennessee for a demo flight. He's picking up a P2008 turbo, and he said we can fly from Texas to Tennessee. That's one heck of a demo flight! I agree, and we meet in Texas. This is where I met MackAttack in person. The details are in the Houston trip report I posted earlier on the forum.
After this long demo flight (631nm) I am firmly in the P2008 camp. But my original $80k budget has gone up to $125k to $150k. And now a new one is even more. I decided to take the advice I give my customers all the time and buy what you really want if you can afford it.
So Mark and I went back and forth on features, and here's what I settled on:
Aircraft: 2016 Tecnam P2008
Options/Equipment:
P2008 Opt. No. 3 Dual Garmin G3X
Rotax 914 Turbo
Garmin 2 axis auto pilot with Auto Trim
Garmin 305 External autopilot mode controller
Garmin Heated Pitot/ Angle of Attack Stall warning
Garmin GDL39R ADSB Receiver
Garmin GPS 20A ADSB out
Parachute 600KG
Night Lighting package
I signed the contract, and mailed in the deposit. Now I eagerly await the plane. In the meantime, i continue to train in the Skycatcher, and build experience towards my certificate.
Now you know the rest of the story!
After much research, I focus in on the CT. It has a chute, it's the most popular brand, and used ones are in the $80k range. I convince my wife to go to the Light Sport Expo in January to see the CT and other possible aircraft. We get to the show, and walk around. She likes the Bristell and Sportcruiser, and I think those are nice as well. We head over to the CT, and we were a little underwhelmed. The interior is fairly spartan, and my wife doesn't really like the exterior looks. I really want my wife to be part of the flying experience with me, so the CT begins to fade out of the picture.
As fate would have it, the weather closes the show one day, so we found ourselves wandering into the Tecnam facility at the airport, which was open. This is where my wife and I met Mark Gregor. He was very polite and casual, and actually interested in having a conversation with you instead of just sell sell sell the aircraft. At the time I thought, "well that's a nice guy, but we will probably buy someone else's plane."
We then went to dinner the next night, and met several sport pilots, vendors and spouses. We had a great dinner, and talked planes. One guy in the group was looking at a P2008, and was close to making the decision to order. I picked his brain, and he was generous with his time. We went to dinner the next night, and he said if his demo flight went well, he was going to put his on order. I figured well, I better take a closer look at this thing.
During training, I was in high wing aircraft. I really got used to the way they flew, and liked it. So I took an even closer look at the Tecnam. Then another guy from the forum contacted me, and he and his Dad were looking at a few aircraft, but really loved the P2008 turbo. There must be something to this plane!
I kept in touch with Mark, and kept looking for a used model. Couldn't find one that met my specs. So one day Mark offers to have us fly from Houston to Tennessee for a demo flight. He's picking up a P2008 turbo, and he said we can fly from Texas to Tennessee. That's one heck of a demo flight! I agree, and we meet in Texas. This is where I met MackAttack in person. The details are in the Houston trip report I posted earlier on the forum.
After this long demo flight (631nm) I am firmly in the P2008 camp. But my original $80k budget has gone up to $125k to $150k. And now a new one is even more. I decided to take the advice I give my customers all the time and buy what you really want if you can afford it.
So Mark and I went back and forth on features, and here's what I settled on:
Aircraft: 2016 Tecnam P2008
Options/Equipment:
P2008 Opt. No. 3 Dual Garmin G3X
Rotax 914 Turbo
Garmin 2 axis auto pilot with Auto Trim
Garmin 305 External autopilot mode controller
Garmin Heated Pitot/ Angle of Attack Stall warning
Garmin GDL39R ADSB Receiver
Garmin GPS 20A ADSB out
Parachute 600KG
Night Lighting package
I signed the contract, and mailed in the deposit. Now I eagerly await the plane. In the meantime, i continue to train in the Skycatcher, and build experience towards my certificate.
Now you know the rest of the story!
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