Sport Pilot Talk

Passed my PPL checkride today to upgrade from my Sport ticket! Took a while to get wx, plane, DPE, and the stars to align. My CFI signed me off 3/31 but I couldn’t get a ride scheduled until late May. We did the oral, but winds prevented the ride. Then the DPE was out of town for 3 weeks.

So this afternoon everything finally worked out. 1 hour on the Hobbs and I have a new ticket!

Time to start plane shopping. I’m thinking maybe a Grumman Traveler.

Congratulations.

That's a big deal and something to be proud of... see you in the air !

Let’s go find you that Traveler!

FastEddieB wrote:Let’s go find you that Traveler!

Know a CFI who has flown one? I need transition training.

Congrats Half Fast, we met in Sebring this year at one of Paul's talks.

Good luck in your plane search.

Do yourself a favor, if you can afford it, get a Tiger. I should have never sold mine...

Well done, sir. We're all proud of you.

Sling 2 Pilot wrote:Do yourself a favor, if you can afford it, get a Tiger. I should have never sold mine...

Half Fast seems committed to the Traveler. I owned one in the 1980’s, instructing in it and using as a rental out of Opa Locka. Fine little plane.



But more recently, I also owned a Tiger, purchased in 1992 and sold in 2003:



I think the Traveler cruised at about 125 kts, the Tiger at about 132 kts. Not a huge difference. Where the 30 extra hp does make a difference is in climb rate. Based in FL, perhaps not a priority for Half Fast. But there are lots of airports in the mountains where the “pucker factor” on climbout in a Traveler would be a lot higher, especially on a hot day. As such, I would lean towards the Tiger.

Two asides:

1) The folding rear seat, combined with the sliding canopy, makes loading bulky objects easy. I once carried two full-sized bicycles to Cape Canaveral to ride to a better view of a shuttle launch. Very handy.

2) When I owned my Tiger I was listed as an approved instructor for the American Yankee Society. So if Half Fast does go this route, I’d love to be involved.

A few more Grumman points...

3) GREAT engine access compared to most planes - two latches and the whole cowling top opens up on either side.

4) There’s also the AA5A Cheetah to consider. A bit more hp (160) and a bit newer and with a couple of aerodynamic mods from the Tiger.

5) I spoke with the owner of an original AA1 - the two-seat original version - on Saturday at a fly-in and he said parts were still available from FletchAir. Good to know.

Fun!!
Did you use First Landings for the additional training?

Sling 2 Pilot wrote:Do yourself a favor, if you can afford it, get a Tiger. I should have never sold mine...

A Tiger would be nice but they’re going for 2.5x to 3x the price of a Traveler. I just can’t justify that right now.

Type47 wrote:Fun!!
Did you use First Landings for the additional training?

Yep! And flew the same Tecnam I did my Sport checkride in.

Congratulations, Half Fast!