Looking the perfect aircraft

[Biscuit]

I am doing my homework on my first aircraft purchase. I have a few in mind, Cessna 182 or maybe a 180, Beech Bonanza V are the strong leaders.
For my needs I am looking for somthing I can get my instrument rating in, with a good useful load, and can operate out of a 3200ft grass strip with the standard faa tree's on each end. Also I would like something that can do all this on 1 to 2 gal hr. wishfull thinking

[sternone]

Originally Posted by Biscuit

I am doing my homework on my first aircraft purchase. I have a few in mind, Cessna 182 or maybe a 180, Beech Bonanza V are the strong leaders.
For my needs I am looking for somthing I can get my instrument rating in, with a good useful load, and can operate out of a 3200ft grass strip with the standard faa tree's on each end. Also I would like something that can do all this on 1 to 2 gal hr. wishfull thinking

the cessna will do better on the grass strip, bonanza's on grass, you have to clean the landing gear after each landing. 1 or 2 gal/hr you missed a zero ? you mean 10 or 12 gal/hour ?

[a_man0311]

I'd go with a 172 or a cardinal if you are looking for economy. I'm closely associated with a Mooney owner while I own a 172 150hp. Yes the mooney goes 2x faster and yes you can carry a rear seat full of bricks, but 95% of the time both of us fly we are single pilot. Specifically if you are working on an IFR ticket I'd place the money in quality avionics and take the performance hit. Add to that the fact that things happening slowly while single pilot IMC is a GOOD thing and it's hard to argur for a complex single. As an aside the mooney annual usually runs 2-4K while my cesssna annual runs 500-1200. I'd expect something similar from any complex retract and on the bonanza you've got a 6 cylinder to work on vs. a 4cyl, so more stuff to look at and pay for. It adds up quick!