This being a Skylark the price is still quite low. It also appears to be decently equipped and does not have the Franklin engine but the Continental GO-300.
There is only one other Skylark on the market right now, which is a stored one in Italy at 29k. If this one checks out, it may well be a steal.
Sale of much loved Cessna ‘Skylark’ N6881E. Due to Covid, Brexit and ill health it just isn’t getting used enough. 2464 Hrs on the airframe. The aircraft has an original ‘D’ series GO-300 Continental with 678hrs. The aircraft comes with heavy duty covers and has £12,000 of new avionics including a Garmin GNC255A 8.33 fit.
All Skylarks came from the factory with a GO-300. Those with a Franklin or O-360 Lycoming have been retrofitted by available STCs. I’ve heard rumor that Cessna considered the Franklin but didn’t build any production aircraft with that engine. The GO-300 as many will be aware has a mixed reputation, cooling is apparently reputedly an issue when you try to extract about 20% more power by raising RPM.
Early fastback 172s are wonderfully smooth and vibration free in flight so I can imagine the 175 would be a very nice plane to fly, unlike the 172 also having a good enough climb rate. Some more detailed info here for anybody who may not be familiar with them.
I’m a big fan of owning and flying something slightly unusual and suspicious to the masses, as a way of saving money and benefiting long term through doing so. I could see a 175 fitting that model if you wanted a four seat Cessna in today’s overheated market.
Fair price for a capable plane in light of the current market. Engine overhaul needs to be factored in, but still. Does anyone know more about the Aiglon?
Lots of range, 180hp (mogas STC available), does the TCDS or POH prohibit IFR?
We had one at our club. A metal Robin with yoke instead of a stick took a bit of getting used to for many of our members. But I enjoyed flying it and once I became comfortable with it I thought is was a super little machine. It is possible to fly IFR but I’m not sure how many STCs there are for most of the new avionics from the USA.
It was very stable, ours had a single axis autopilot or wing leveller. Its a while ago now so I don’t remember the performance figures but the book was pretty accurate.. I remember we only had the grass runway at the time and we never had any problem. But then I am French and have a bias as you might expect towards the Robin.
Robin Aiglon are metal, I know 2 near north London, they actually fly IFR/IMC (one was parked outside all year along under rain & snow, so they would take weather hits unlike wood & fabric)
Snoopy wrote:
does the TCDS or POH prohibit IFR
TCDS doesn’t say anything. I don’t have a POH at hand, but it would be very strange to have a GNS430 installed in a VFR-only plane, it’s quite inconvenient for VFR and much more expensive than VFR GPS units.
Snoopy wrote:
Fair price for a capable plane in light of the current market. Engine overhaul needs to be factored in, but still. Does anyone know more about the Aiglon?Lots of range, 180hp (mogas STC available), does the TCDS or POH prohibit IFR?
Basically the successor of the highly successful (for a Robin) HR100. Good range, as you say, a slightly less powerful but cheaper engine and fair performance. 60 USG fuel would give it about 5.5 hrs endurance at 130 kts. The HR100 however almost has 100 USG and consequently much larger range.
I think some HR100 are IFR and I know of no restriction to VFR for the Aiglon. As a matter of fact, the one offered here has a GNS430 and even a single axis AP, so it should be basic IFR capable under Part NCO.
Where it will get difficult will be things like EFIS or Autopilot installations I suppose for lack of STC’s.
the one offered here has a GNS430 and even a single axis AP, so it should be basic IFR capable under Part NCO.Where it will get difficult will be things like EFIS or Autopilot installations I suppose for lack of STC’s.
The one I flew with one owner in UK had similar fit for IFR, 430 & AP, yes there is a lack of fancy “STC upgrades”: IFR avionics are manufactured in US while most Robins are not FAA certified (except those made by NZ Alpha Aviation, DR2160 and DR2120)
Robin STCs is a huge topic which has led many up a looong garden path of wasted money. This guy paid more than most, losing his plane in the process. Admittedly he didn’t help himself, by using an installer way too far away to do regular visits.
Why? The lack of FAA TC is a big reason (it prevents the use of US AML STCs, and kills any significant Robin N-reg community in the US) but basically it is because most Robins fly in the French club scene where they fly mostly short legs in great VFR wx and there is low demand for “avionics”, so most of the demand is outside France and there the numbers are very low. Some of the US avionics names “sponsored” STCs and fairly quickly washed their hands of it when they realised the payback will be tiny e.g. Aspen mentioned in the last link. Robin owners talk a lot about avionics but the % willing to actually pay up the 5 digits on the day is even lower than with other brands.
Most Robins on the French club scene came fitted out for night VFR with mode C. Unless we talk about the early models which were mode A.
It is true that Robins are most prevalent in France and in the clubs. Some 500 clubs IIRC.
But there are Robin owners clubs in many parts of the world.
I don’t know where @Peter gets the impression that they are only flown in great weather. Most clubs fly their Robins all year round including in the Alps, Massif Central etc. They are flown when the Mistral, the Tramontane etc are blowing. As for distances, well that depends what you call long distance. A flight from the coast to Eastern France can take several hours and many do that. But pre Covid many also fly down to Morocco and on to Senegal, to Norway, Sweden, Finland etc.
The only difference I see is that the Robin did not sell as well worldwide especially to the USA as Piper, Cessna etc. Without the USA market no manufacturer clocks up huge sales.
The Aiglon is a very nice plane. Is not VFR/DAY limited and I have heard of several which are equipped and do fly IFR in France. I’m just not sure about STCs for the more modern toys.
On the surface the one posted by @Snoopy looks a pretty good deal and is probably IFR approved. But the best way to find out if you like it is to 1st fly it for yourself.
