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STOL aircraft

So what would be your choice, and why?

Ideally certified, but not necessarily, ideally true bush country, but something with a little more utility value than a strict two seater with no load carrying capacity and made out of sticks and fabric.

I like the husky. Pretty well built, decent useful load and when light can operate really pretty short. Taking off shorter than landing at max gross is also nice, so if you get in you can be fairly comfortable you can get out. 50 gallons of fuel is good for getting to places and back.

If you want more seats and space, maule, cessna 170b, 180 , 185 are all options.

Non certified the bearhawk 4 place looks pretty interesting.

Cessna 180 is very hard to beat. It’s so quick off the ground, steady on instruments, quick in the cruise and lands so slowly. Just a minute ago on Facebook I spotted one heading for Belguim in a container. It’s the one I’d want to own.

206 is the Daddy but the skill factor to exploit it like these Mexicans is higher than you think!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CG02YMzD0it/?igshid=1phi9g564nw1z

Buying, Selling, Flying
EISG, Ireland

There is STOL and then there is STOL, the tube and fabric (not ‘sticks’) designs, and here the Super Cub probably still has the edge (bungee gear, easy to fly with tailplane trim), can still operate out of less than 200 yards.

The medium tail wheel types, even the early 180, are less consistent on short, uneven ground. Their forte is more the ability to go from skis to floats in Alaska, than landing in Super Cub terrain.

Interesting the 206 operators in Sinaloa and Chihuaha are nose draggers. The 206 is built somewhat tougher, and seems to be appreciating,..quite a lot. As an investment it may be a better bet. @WilliamF traded a 180 for a 206, and he wasn’t wrong :)

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

I recently got to fly a C185 on wheels. I had done a bit of flying on it while it was on floats in the prior years, but in September it was the first time I tried it on wheels. It’s quite good at short take off and landing in my opinion but I’m not an expert :-).

ENVA, Norway

What is the real world performance of a 206 with noise wheel?

@Fuji_Abound depends if at 2300 lbs or 3600 lbs :)



Infamously the largest concentration of 206 are in the wilds of México.

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

Not cheap, but prob 99 the best of the world of STOL and travel capability:
http://www.katmai-kenai.com/

Private field, Mallorca, Spain

Sure, but, as mentioned here, even a standard 182 comes close to being a decent comprimise between short/soft field capability and half decent cruise speed and fuel efficiency.

Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

King Katmai. @STOLman used to own one.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom
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