Inspired by St_Ides post in this thread by Phlosphr, what plane(s) would you get if you had, say $10M to spend on planes (plus however much it would take to maintain, operate and insure them - the $10M is just for the airframes). Purely fantasy, since you generally don’t get that rich by being a pilot . . .
I think I’d get a used Beechjet because many of my buddies have a type rating for it and you can get around to a lot of places with family or a half-dozen other folks. Next would be a Viperjet MkII, for something to keep me occupied building, while waiting for the Javelin to be certified. On the lower performance end of the spectrum, probably a Decathlon or new Waco. Plus a Taurus motorglider and PW-6 for the glider days. Oh yeah, will need a towplane for the PW-6 . . . Air Tractor or something.
Yeah, Duo Discus would be nicer . . . I thought PW-6 because most of my time is in a PW-5 and Grob103 and I’d like to take a buddy up occasionally, but the performance definitely ain’t too hot. Plus, I’m not very experienced (less than 50 hours in gliders over 2 years); some of the high performance gliders are kind of intimidating. I see the DD has a self launch option though.
Supermarine Spitfire. That would be the top of the list.
T-38 Talon. Choosing a jet is difficult. There are so many! My first thought was a TA-4J Skyhawk. Great little airplane, and it has two seats. Or what could be more classic than a T-33, polished to a mirror finish with EAFB markings? L-39s are pretty and have two seats. And they’re cheap. F-104? Sweet, but I think it would be too big a handful to really enjoy. In the end, the T-38 gets the nod. I’m a bit of a Space Cadet, and they’re used by NASA. And they’re supersonic.
Then there’s a helicopter. The Spitfire and the Talon have already eaten up about $4 million. Can’t get a Black Hawk for what’s left (as far as I know). So I’d choose a…
UH-1N. Gotta love the Hueys. I think I could get one for about $2 million.
Robinson R-44 Raven. Hey, you can’t fly the Huey all the time! And I may as well pick up a Robinson R-22 while I’m at it, just to bring us up to a round $6.5 million (approximately).
PBY-5A Catalina. I’ve always wanted one of those. There was one sitting at Montgomery Field for the longest tiem when I was growing up. And Jacques Cousteau had one. That would be just the thing for hopping round the Caribbean. Call it $7 million so far?
So I have about $3 million left. Can’t really think of what else I’d want or need. I suppose I’d get dad’s 1970 Cessna 172 (N84573) and his 1968 Cessna 182 (N61413) and have them made better-than-new. I’d have to have an SNJ/AT-6/Harvard just because. Maybe a yellow one in Navy markings and another one that’s polished aluminum in EAFB markings. A yellow T-34B Mentor in Navy markings, and a T-34A in USAF markings. And a white-and-red Navy T-34C.
That still leaves about a million simoleons. Since the OP states that all operating costs are covered I guess I’d buy 20 Cessna 172s, 1970s-vintage, and set up a flying school in the Antelope Valley for high school kids and college students (who maintain at least a 3.0 GPA) who would not otherwise be able to afford to learn to fly.
Does the $10 million imply that I have endless free time for maintaining currency, getting type ratings, etc? Or am I supposed to buy these while maintaining my current job and commitments?
Oh, and does the $10 million include a hangar and a full-time mechanic or two?
If I have endless amounts of time to stay current, I’d have to be a nice warbird like a P-51 Mustang or an F4U Corsair, for starters. Then a travelling jet, like a Citation, for taking the family around the world. Throw in a fun aerobatic plane or two like a Pitts Special, and a puddlejumper like a C-150 or C-172 for my daughter to learn to fly in and for just motoring around the practice area on a summer day.
If I didn’t have time for endless recurrancy training, I think I’ll just take a nice safe travelling plane like a Beech King Air, and forget about the jets and warbirds. Toss in a couple of sport planes for fun like a Grumman Tiger and I’d like to buy back my old AA1 (CF-ATI) and restore it.
That should do it for me. If there’s money left over, donate it to the EAA.
Woohoo… was hoping someone would start a list like this… I was too lazy. So you’ve already seen most of my my list…
I’ve remembered quite a few since then, and I knew I had still missed a bunch.
Of course I’d love to own an old warbird (I totally forgot about those ME-262s that Quartz mentioned… I was keeping an eye on their operation a few years ago, but I must’ve forgot at some point. I’ve always wanted one.
As far as warbirds go (and having spent my day at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, I should have a good idea)… I’d love a Spitfire most of all. A Hurricane would be nice. Then again, I have a major soft spot in my heart for twin-boom aircraft, so a P-38 would fit the bill nicely (though a De Havilland Vampire would be lovely too)
I used to want a Sea Fury, but I knew a guy who packed one in at an airshow a couple years ago… so not anymore.
This here Tiger Moth would be quite a pleasure to fly.
As far as a personal transport goes, I think a Silence Twister would be good-looking enough to suit my needs.
Oh yeah, guess I forgot to link to the original thread . . . thanks St_Ides!
Gotta say I like Johnny L.A.'s idea too, but maybe my school in NW Oklahoma will have Diamonds or some other tricycle trainer with a stick. A handful of 172s too, by the way.
Hey St. Ides, there’s a two-seat Vampire for sale at an airport near me. I think they want around 65k for it. I found some pictures of it here , at top left. Nice paint job.
As for me, this is a very serious question. I’m a commercial rated pilot with some warbird experience. So I’m answering realistically, thinking this is a machine I could actually learn to operate safely in real life.
No question about it, no hesitation, I don’t even have to think:
F-86 Sabre
The sweetest fighter jet ever built, I’d wager. Only drawback of the Sabre is that I don’t think they made any two-seaters.
… That’s heavenly. Although I just looked up the Canadian regulations for ex-military aircraft, and I’m betting a Vampire would be pretty limited. Although if I win the lottery, expect a call from me… That’s just too tempting.
