Probably a lot of airplanes that will work for the 2000 ft strips if managed properly. 1000 ft is pretty short for 5000 feet altitude.

Don't discount pacers if you are looking at 2 place airplanes. VGs and squared off wings make a difference too.

Their was a t-crft f-19 on the taylorcraft site for sale with floats. If I did't already have a tcrft I would be calling on it. Why don't you buy it and sell me the floats!
46tcrft

Thanks for the thread. I'm in the same boat..Cessna 140 or Luscombe 8E. Your airstrip specs sound like mine but I don't have the high density altitude to contend with. I'm interested in seeing where this thread goes.

A couple of us have mentioned this before, and it may bear consideration since it has also been mentioned in this thread. An old straight tail 172 with the rear seat removed and half fuel might have very acceptable performance for your mission, on a very modest budget. Mine has flown in and out of 5-6K density airports (plenty of runway) without much drama. It will not deliver PA-18 or C180 performance in these situations of course.

Because it is not an LSA airplane, the prices are artificially low at present. Fifteen to twenty grand would get you a good undamaged basic airplane with time left on the engine. VG's will make an improvement, as will droopy tips. Removing the 300 pound WW2 vintage AN gyro compass and other similar dinosaur equipment will save weight. When you're ready, you can turn it into an even sweeter little light duty sport bushplane by performing a nosewheel-ectomy.

Lots of great comments and suggestions, thanks. I am leaning toward an all-metal choice at this point (or mostly-metal in the case of the early 120s and 140s) as I think durability and resale will be better in this climate. I like Luscombes, but I have not seen any here in Kenya so that puts me off a bit. I agree that a four-seater flown light may be a good choice.

One option that has caught my eye recently are the David Lowe taildragger conversions of the early, straight-tail, straight-back C150s using C140 landing gear since the early C150s had essential C140A fuselages. I don't mind a yoke instead of a stick and I think those big flaps would come in handy. Here's a clip I found of a very pretty one done by Ken and Lorraine Morris of Taildragger Aviation (sorry, couldn't figure out how to embed the clip, so just a link).

Keep those suggestions coming and please include links to actual aircraft for sale if you've got any.

Cheers,

Matthew

Mole,

A Cessna 150 is underpowered and not the greatest performer. I learned to fly at 5,000' msl in a C-150. The highest I could climb and cruise at by myself (170 lbs.) was about 9,500' for my cross country flights. This was in July so yes it was warmer but I don't recall the DA. With my instructor (230 lbs.) I could only cruise at about 7,500'.

After I got my private ticket I purchased a Cessna 120. Huge difference in performance between the two airplanes. My C-120 would climb to at least 13,500 with just me and outrun the C-150 any day. It also would also get off the ground quicker. The C-150 would land shorter (fowler flaps) but, it would not get off the ground. I doubt the lack of a nosewheel will fix all of this either.

In short.....C-150s are great to learn to fly in, and learn to fly in. Not the best high elevation airplane in my Most Humble opinion.

Yes I am partial to a C-120/140. Also you can find 1948 C-170s for pretty cheap. They are roomier but you will need 800 feet at 5,000' msl and gross weight to get off the ground in the summer. Essentially for 2 more gallons of gas per hour you gain 300+ pounds of useful load. (I owned a '48 C-170 until last Sept.)

byeBill

Mole,

http://www.barnstormers.com/cat.php?mode=listing&main=

I had a 1948 C-170 with metalized wings. It seemed to fly fine and it behaved better than my C-120. The metalized wings added 26 lbs. to the empty weight (just a FYI). You might look for one with the 4th fuel tank already added in the left wing to allow 50 gallons of fuel. The drawback is no one manufactures the struts for these old C-170s so don't crack it up.

Happy Hunting, I am too.

byeBill

Thanks for your comments, Bill. What engine was in that C-120?

cessnaford wrote:After I got my private ticket I purchased a Cessna 120. Huge difference in performance between the two airplanes. My C-120 would climb to at least 13,500 with just me and outrun the C-150 any day. It also would also get off the ground quicker. The C-150 would land shorter (fowler flaps) but, it would not get off the ground. I doubt the lack of a nosewheel will fix all of this either.

There is a Luscombe around here w/ O-200, fixed up, $25M, I believe.

I know some people really like their Luscombes, but $25M sounds a bit high. For that price I might consider something more like a Gulfstream or a Lear...

Mole,

My C-120 was an extremely original stock airplane with a C85-12-F with no electrical system & 603 lbs of useful load.

The C-150 was a mid 1960s model with a Cont. 0-200 & electric flaps. Can't recall anything else about the C-150.

Personally I would urge you to buy an old C-170 or C-172 with a young engine. The seats adjust better and you begin to realize you have more possibilities when you want them.

byeBill

I have seen mention of a 140 with an O-290 as a good candidate for what you want. I have personally never flown one but did look at purchasing the same exact type of plane once. I spoke to the owner last summer and the plane is not advertised but he did state he would sell it (believe the price was $25K). He has a couple of planes and flies his PA-11 all the time and has the 140 'loaned' out to a friend so it gets flown occasionally. I will be seeing the owner in 6-8 weeks and will ask him more about it if you are interested.

It's a little more than you wanted to spend but there is a luscombe 8a on barnstormers for 30k with an 0-320 in it! I know nothing about luscombes but that has to be great performance for 30 grand.

I would have to say the Taylorcraft f19 would be a good choice owned one for several years very inexpensive and a good performer As far as the alignment goes yeah there are some cases where you have to get your gear straightened etc. and that does cause an issue. But if everything is true they are honest airplane if you treat her good she will do pretty much anything you ask But get sloppy lazy or too relaxed and she can also be a handful

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Don't know if I would dare get a tailwheel plane, no one can figure how to land em.
gary

shortfielder wrote:Don't know if I would dare get a tailwheel plane, no one can figure how to land em.
gary

6 pages and counting. All we need to know is watch the trees and snow eh Gary

OregonMaule wrote:... All we need to know is watch the trees and snow eh Gary

Hey that sounds like a story! Don't keep us in suspense too long! Who clipped a tree?

I did that once, it is really humbling and does bad things to airplanes .