What a brilliant bit of thread drift – the sweet potato PA 23 in 160HP form is a wonderful twin. I operated an Aztec for some years, but prefer the Apache’s flying qualities, and on Mogas it is quite economical. As you can get a FIKI Aztec for Apache money these days, the temptation is to buy the Aztec – my advice is buy a well turned out Apache if the intention is to only use it privately.
Some of the Geronimo mods, in particular the gear doors mod and the single piece windscreen, add some useful speed, and at FL80 a nicely trimmed PA-23-160 will deliver 145 KTAS. I would not want to mess with the retro look and get the pointy nose and square fin/rudder. I would also pass on the fuel injected 180 HP upgrade as the carb 160 HP is happy on Mogas.
Very comfortable for passengers, and the view up front is nearly helicopter like.
Three up and half tanks it will deliver SE climb, and on a standard day probably good for a 4,000’ SE ceiling. The steel cage and good slow speed handling make them quite benign if you did need to park the ’plane off airport.
John Talmage of Diamondaire does a nice job in supplying parts, all the way from Montana.
Well, I think I’d prefer the classic Fiat 500 before the “new” version in that case, as with the Apache vs Seminole… :)
Is there really any huge difference in maintenance cost between the PA23 and PA44?
I would expect both to cost quite a bit, but the added benefit of the PA23 is that it is in fact a “classic” so could be considered a hobby aircraft (thereby justifying cost) whereas the PA44 would be a practical travelling aircraft costing way too much…
This is all about convincing the head of the family that the investment is reasonable… :)
Just came across this thread from 7 years ago. It rapidly drifted off-topic, and it is worth a revisit because we have a lot of new people here now.
I have wondered how much my own outlook on this has changed.
In particular I didn’t need the Euro IR (which I did in 2011) until Dec 2021, which is when the derogations actually ended for the UK. Mainland ones were supposed to end in June 2022 but despite my enquiries nobody has confirmed whether this happened. Probably millions of Euros were spent unneccesarily within the European IR community, to comply with this FUD from Brussels.
And I am not sure whether I would have endured that paper collection exercise today. Well, the CB IR conversion is easier (no written exams). I did the much more time-consuming version.
Overall, I have totally lost interest in complicating my flying life. No more wondering if I should buy a Jetprop, set up a TBM syndicate, or even the Evolution (which is useless anyway in Europe, being VFR-only).
I can only repeat what I said then, never let one’s ratings lapse, particularly the IR.
I would have done most the same except that I wish I had started younger and taken advantage of all the opportunities I had to fly.
But younger I was based in the UK and so many people including pilots were sucking in their breath and telling me how difficult and expensive it was to fly. Morons.
I should have got few FAA papers (pilot & enginner) rather than drinking every evening in rooftops of Manhattan and party every night in Hoboken
Ibra wrote:
I should have got few FAA papers (pilot & enginner) rather than drinking every evening in rooftops of Manhattan and party every night in Hoboken
Ah but I bet your anecdotes are far more interesting as a result…..
He he. Reading my original (first) post, I would say I still agree with myself. One thing I think perhaps is more important today is to focus on the fun part, not the “serious” part.
There is too much “seriousness” in private GA, and that seems to have increased the last years.
LeSving wrote:
One thing I think perhaps is more important today is to focus on the fun part, not the “serious” part.
Thanks for that @LeSving.
Private GA is “only” a hobby, and as such must produce pleasure, satisfaction, and fun. Fun as in “enjoyment, amusement, or light-hearted pleasure”…
This has been, and hopefully will still work for a few years for fellow passionates and myself 
If I started all over again, I would have gotten my wife onboard with the new hobby from day one, and be more clear about my intentions to fly the whole family later and not just pick this up as a hobby for myself.
I would also not allow her to see me completely botching my very first solo landing, which gave her a mighty scare and is probably one of the reasons she never flew with me even five years after I completed my PPL.
Also in hindsight I might have done the PPL too early in life. Yes, learning is easier the younger you are, but I have been time-poor ever since. That should improve later in life, as the kids grow up and the career stabilises. But as it stands, I probably have a record for the least flight hours within five years of getting a PPL, without getting lapsed.
