Missed My Chance....

I wrote last week about wanting to get "checked out" in a 182. I've been fascinated with that airplane because it's kind of fast compared to a 172, very stable, and will haul four people and luggage. Pilots gripe about it's handling, saying it handles like a truck. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. I mean, I would love to fly a plane that's very responsive and just carves up the sky. The kind of flying I want to do most, though, are 400-mile trips to Maine and Tennessee. That is, flying in straight lines at higher rates of speed, in all kinds of weather. Big and stable is kind of appealing for that kind of trip, so I've really been looking forward to getting checked out in the 182 owned by one of my clubs. Who knows, perhaps I'd want to own one someday, and flying one owned by my club would be a good way to find out.

I just got an email today that the club is selling the plane. There's been a faction in the club for a while that has been wanting to sell the 182 to buy something fast and sexy like a Cirrus SR20. The problem is, everybody knows that the SR20 or whatever other plane they'll buy to replace the 182 will have minimum experience requirements imposed by the insurance company-- I've heard both 250 and 500 hours as potential minimums. I've got around 85 hours. So, for me, this move effectively removes the 182 from the stable of planes I can fly, and doesn't replace it with anything.....

Bummer.