Read it all. I feel you on all of this. I daydream all the time about the best plane for me and everyday I come up with a different answer... I don't even know why my mind changes so much on airplanes when I know exactly what motorcycles I want and can utilize for my purposes . Weird.

I have a nice Cherokee 235 Pathfinder that serves me well but I long to go further into the wilderness and get the tires dirty. What to do?

After Eons of pondering, I think I have the answer, for me at least. Narrow body 182. Some say straight tail but I love the '60 C-model and '61D-model as well with their swept tails. Dirt simple. Great performance, not just as a backcountry plane, as a traveler too. My friend had a C-model with wheel pants that would do 140 knots in the cold Winter . You can get places at 135-140 knots! Or do the big tire thing and mingle with the 180's. Carry's a load. 4 people if needed but great for a party of 2-. Auto-gas capable if the blue juice ever disappears.... Perfect balance, or close to it.

Problem is everyone else knows this too and as you said, heavy upward pressure on 182 prices. The older ones seem to have appreciated the most relative to their former values. Ive still seen a few deals out there but you have to be a Shark.

But you know what is more expensive? Time.

Time is finite. Its limited. Once you lose it you can never get it back. Is there a higher cost known to Man than letting life pass you by? I would argue no. There are good decisions. There are bad decisions. But when it comes to how you spend your life, indecision is the most expensive of all. When its all over you will regret the things you didn't do far more than the things you did. Get shopping. Soon. Someday you'll run out of somedays...

My .02

Some of that advice was borrowed from an older fellow on another site but it rings in my ears everyday.

Good luck-

David...you need to buy an airplane. It really doesn't matter what you buy. Just buy a good one. If you change what you want, then buy a different one. But if you want to fly...buy...

Troy and SixTwo said it best....time is precious to all of us....and unlike a tattoo that made sense at the time...and May be possible to remove or hide...with an airplane if the mission changes just sell the plane....I have learned more from my mistakes or minor errors than my easy decisions

When in doubt, find a Widebody 182. If you find it doesn't meet your mission, it will likely be worth more when you go to sell it in a year or two than it is today.

DavidB. wrote:
Recently we have fallen in love with Southern Mexico, not a short flight in a small aircraft, but broken up into 3 or 4 days if needed would be fine for us, lots to see and do along the way down there. We will probably buy a place there soon. I discovered a cool spot called Taema Airpark just North of Tulum, connected to Puerto Aventuras. We envision retiring there eventually. Right now, we could easily spend 3 months there in the winter and vacation rent it the rest of the year.

David

Now you're talking! The Yucatan is an awesome place. I've spent alot of time in Tulum and further south down to the Belize border (Xcalak) and every time I go I think how much fun you could have down there with an airplane. Is the strip at Taema built yet? I looked on the Google aerials and didn't see it, but I know aerials are sometimes old, esp down in Mx. A close friend has been a landowner down there for 30+ years and he always jokes about how the Yucatan is the "land of broken dreams." Developers come in, announce grandiose plans and then things never materialize. So careful there. If your desired amenities aren't in place when it comes time to buy, I wouldn't buy cause it may never happen.

Specific to your aircraft search, I'm a new pilot with a similar, very broad mission-set. With that, I will add another vote for a 182. Its fast enough for your intended traveling mission, won't break the bank if you want to fly it locally for Sunday strolls, and parts availability and mod kits are plentiful. It is also capable off-airport. Compared to a 172, prices are definitely going to be comparable in this market.

I have little tailwheel time so I can't speak specifically to the romance associated there, but I get it. If budget is at all a concern, the higher TW insurance rates would have my practical side thinking, is the added premium worth the added romance? For me its probably not, but I realize everyone is different and personal wants are real.

Let me help you out.... a LOT:

https://backcountrypilot.org/community/ ... ndes-24883

Thank you for the bump Utah-Jay.

SpamCanFlier wrote:Thank you for the bump Utah-Jay.

Just trying to help out and keep it in the “family”

Utah-Jay wrote:Let me help you out.... a LOT:

https://backcountrypilot.org/community/ ... ndes-24883

Almost makes me wish I was in the market for a 182! Really nice airplane for $110K... And super-easy to re-sell if you changed your mind.

This thread seems so familiar....
from 2/10/2012:

DavidB. wrote:Everytime I start thinking this or that would be neat, I come back to one airplane. I guess I just need to buy a Maule. Most I have seen in my price range are IFR with steam gauges. If I add a GPS, I will be fine for what I need it for and have saved enough money to offset the fuel burn.

Nine years of tire kicking. My Grandma always said shit or get off the pot.

maules.com wrote:Hi DavidB, sounds like your search may take you down the Maule road.
If so give me a call and at the least I can describe the 42 different models and what can be done with them.

I didn't log onto BCP for a few days, just saw this. I'll call this week.

hotrod180 wrote:This thread seems so familiar....
from 2/10/2012:

DavidB. wrote:Everytime I start thinking this or that would be neat, I come back to one airplane. I guess I just need to buy a Maule. Most I have seen in my price range are IFR with steam gauges. If I add a GPS, I will be fine for what I need it for and have saved enough money to offset the fuel burn.

Yep. And I ended up working for Cub Crafters and few the crap out of everything they make, why buy when you get it at work for free. The I moved on to a mechanic job in Medevac and was too busy to own anything, but also had a Tri-Pacer to fly cheap anytime I wanted, and was flying a neighbors RV6 a few times a month, and flying all over the US and Canada in the right seat of a PC12 do pre-buy inspections on other PC-12's, and also doing some part time work through my main employer for Airbus as a marketing mechanic on the H145E, which usually meant sitting in the left seat of the H145. I didn't have time to own my own aircraft, or really the desire to. I learned a lot from some seasoned pros though and had fun while working.

An M5 180 was listed on Barnstormers this morning. I was notified via email alert, and read the email at about 7:30 AM PST. I called the seller by 8:00 AM PST and left a voice mail, I called my insurance, and started to look at one way plane tickets to South Dakota.
I got busy and didn't have a chance to call again until 5:00 PM PST. The seller informed me that of the 10 offers he had in the first hour after the ad was posted, he accepted one for $85K.

$20K over asking? WTF. I wonder what the wait on a new one is? I assume the deposit is some percentage of the final price, I'm confident I'd have the balance by the time it's done.

D.

That is just crazy. Makes me wish I had bought some of those $5 and 10,000 TriPacers that were for sale five years ago. Almost looks like I could have slapped a tail gear and new covering on them and still doubled my money.

DavidB. wrote:An M5 180 was listed on Barnstormers this morning. I was notified via email alert, and read the email at about 7:30 AM PST. I called the seller by 8:00 AM PST and left a voice mail, I called my insurance, and started to look at one way plane tickets to South Dakota.
I got busy and didn't have a chance to call again until 5:00 PM PST. The seller informed me that of the 10 offers he had in the first hour after the ad was posted, he accepted one for $85K.

$20K over asking? WTF. I wonder what the wait on a new one is? I assume the deposit is some percentage of the final price, I'm confident I'd have the balance by the time it's done.

D.

I know how you feel, I look through the classifieds every morning up here and for the desirable planes the wanted to buy adds are out numbering the for sale. There was a pretty nice M5 in Quebec but I think it just sold to a fellow down south. If I was without and new I could pay my order would be put in.

IF you have the cash, order the one you want. My preference would be the M-7 235B, but I am at high DA so the 180 would be a bit sluggish. And go for the long wing..... M-7

If you order a new Maule don't make the same mistake my buddy did and only get one landing light. The second light is a cheap option and very much worth it. A new Maule would be nice! Expensive today but down the road you will think you made a wise move when the airplane is worth what you paid for it and you had all those years to enjoy it.

Kurt

The airplane market is moving faster than the housing market. It's a double edge sword for me I guess. My wife and I are as busy as we can handle with our real estate business, which affords me to by an airplane, but the choices are limited and the prices keep rising.

I went and looked at the 182 with the airplanes conversion in Spokane. I didn't like a lot of things about it. The observation window was a huge turn off. I didn't like the installation of it, and it's just too much window. I could see my dog jumping through it, it could easily be punched or kicked out. I also didn't like the missing logs before the California DOJ turned it into a spy plane, and I am not too enthused to fly a 182 down through Mexico that looks like a spy plane and had been registered to the DOJ. It had other issues too, some remnants of the old spy equipment and such. somehow useful load was around 700 pounds. The wrecked airframe with the 550 has 12K or so hours, was too tweaked to fix, and had Japanese log books. So I've moved on.

I am talking to the owner/seller of a MTX7-180 for sale on Barnstormers. There is one person interested ahead of me, hoping he passes on it or the owner decide to give me the opportunity to buy it. Price is okay at 110K, older ones have sold for 78K to 85K a year ago, this one looks nice and is a 2004 with 1600ish hours. Apparently it was supposed to have been built as a MTX7-180C but at some point was changed to the A model, so fixed pitch, I'll verify all that when he sends copies of the logs. I'm wondering if, when it comes time to overhaul, I can swap in a constant speed prop, like a nice light MT? Also wondering what the chances are to field approve an IO-390? Or if Maules will be added to Lycomings STC's? I know, dreamy idea, but I think that combo would be quite nice.

Now I'll wait and have everyone tell me that a 180 HP Maule wont get off the ground in the back country and I need more HP.

This today on Bstormers,

https://www.barnstormers.com/classified ... 4-210.html