Reply to "Any pilots here on this forum?"

Im a B737 Airline Captain, so I'm a little out of touch with general aviation, but if I was looking for a personal plane, I would consider a Piper Cherokee 180. Solid plane, good performance, good range, not homebuilt or experimental, and above all safe and forgiving. I have about 400 hours in one; mostly cross country trips all over Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

http://m.controller.com/Listin...1389563&categoryId=6

This would be a good machine not only to learn in, but to fly and enjoy for many years. I would recommend you get get at least 1000 hours under your belt before considering something riskier (ie. Experimental, faster, retractable gear etc). I've seen too many people kill themselves by getting in over their heads!

If it was me, I'd spend $50 grand on a good Cherokee 180, have it re-upholstered in nice high end materials, upgrade the electronics to one of the fancy new touch screen EFIS systems, and install a ballistic parachute. Probably $60 -$65 grand total, and it would be a stellar machine.

G