We bow to the virile he-man capabilities of C180 though C210 pilots 
Good point about elevator forces with a wide CG range. I enjoy a side by side two seater from the point of view that CG calculations aren’t really a thing. This goes along with my laziness in wanting light control forces!
Silvaire wrote:
We bow to the virile he-man capabilities of C180 though C210 pilots
It’s a cost-saving measure…you should see how costly gym sessions are in Mallorca, and how many of those I have avoided thanks to the 210
The elevator forces are out of this world
Never flown a 185 but the 182 certainly takes some heft. You fly it with trim for all but the smallest elevator input.
The flying stabilator in the TB20 must be quite light
Certainly compared with the 182. Hence my feeling that 182 is more stable in pitch.
Marchetti SF260
Great plane but it’s only a three-seater. The front seat shoulder straps make it impossible to put 4 people in the back. Probably a bit of a maintenance challenge too. My friend Rich just sold his and bought an Extra 300.
I once flew my TB20 from Corfu to Santorini and then back home to EGKA via Corfu and Bastia… with a blown up KFC225 so all by hand. The elevator trim works great and it is fairly easy to hold altitude to 50ft. It is not a truth that heavy elevator = great pitch stability.
In these threads there are always a lot of people who bring up aircraft types which are going to be an absolute nightmare to own, for anyone without a great “ground situation” i.e. hangar/workshop, engineering expertise, breaker contacts for oddball parts, etc. Like here. If you are new to ownership, you must stick to easy to own types.
As I always say, I could buy a shagged 1984 TB20 (for many years they were going for ~40k), throw 100k at it, and end up with a nice TB20. But that’s because I know this game. Actually I would not do it because I don’t have a hangar/workshop and I do have a life and lots of other stuff to do. But a novice would have no chance.
Same reason why I would not recommend my Swiss-Army-Knife-210 (not because of elevator force)
This thread is so funny, typical of its kind. After initial question and few replies OP just disappeared overwhelmed with advices that have very little with what he aimed for. I’m pretty sure he didn’t have anything like P51 or Yak on his mind. I can recommend Yugoslav G2 Galeb jet with same level of usefulness of the post
My opinion on the OP’s question hasn’t changed since my first response: aTB20 is not an ideal solution for the stated requirements, and a Grumman Tiger would be closer to the mark.
The rest of the discussion will hopefully broaden the outlook of the OP so that he understands that choosing a plane involves many factors other than what he may have initially considered, given that his approach appeared that of an inexperienced buyer.
Silvaire wrote:
My opinion on the OP’s question hasn’t changed since my first response: aTB20 is not an ideal solution for the stated requirements, and a Grumman Tiger would be closer to the mark.
Is that the Grumman that requires a mandatory wing spar AD?
Here is a nice consolidated list of ADs applying to the Grummans. The one you mention is this one, if I understand correctly.
The ‘purple passion’ glue issue for one year of aircraft would be a bigger consideration for me, but the type is not disproportionately burdened by ADs.
TIO540 (TB21) engine costs much more to OH than IO540 (TB20) which should be around the 30k-40k area, depending on whether you are EASA-reg or not (much wider engine shop choice if N-reg; avoids the European shops which are often dodgy).
30-40k seems optimistic. Why would EASA vs N result in a different cost? It’s the same engine ;)
Parts prices are a bit higher than US-made GA average but not anywhere near TBM level.
They are very high.
Examples:
Our U.K. based, G reg TB10 was found to have a cracked exhaust (muffler box) and ruined clamps (should have been noted by previous maintenance company) during a routine 50hr check.
The crack was sufficiently bad that the maintenance company or indeed anyone else we tried was not happy to patch up and we’d still require new clamps.
A new exhaust from Socata was quoted at £15000 ish + VAT and the clamps are currently £325.99 + VAT + Shipping.
