New Member, Soon to be New Pilot

[sdwalter]

Just wanted to introduce myself. I am a 50 year old student pilot hat will hopefully take my checkride in the next few weeks. Joined the forum a week or so ago and have been reading a lot. Picking up a lot and trying to figure out what I don’t know.

Commanders look interesting to me, but trying to figure if they make sense for a new pilot. In any case, glad to be here and look forward to learning more.

 

[scootshep]

Welcome.

What have you been training in?

 

[Commander91gm]

Welcome to the group and good luck on getting your license.
Whether it's the right plane for you or not, really depends on what you intend to do with it. I'm sure you've heard it by now, but your mission and your requirements really dictate what kind of plane is right for you. Too many people buy the wrong plane to start out with and get to do it all over again a short time later.

 

[gmascelli]

Welcome to the group!
Good luck finishing up with your PPL. As others have stated, aircraft fit depends on your mission, for now knock out the ticket.

 

[gmores]

Welcome!

 

[Rcahamilton]

I agree with the previous comments about defining your mission first and being honest about your current state of training before shopping for an airplane. A 172 or a Cherokee is a very different animal than a high performance, complex aircraft like the Commander for a new pilot. I know of new pilots that started out in a Commander and did very well, but it's easy to get behind the airplane while learning with little experience under your belt. Not to mention the potential difficulties in obtaining insurance without having to mortgage the house as a low time pilot. I'm not trying to discourage you from purchasing a Commander, I love mine, but to just be realistic about your wants, needs, and abilities first. This same rationale would apply to a Bonanza, Mooney, Cessna 210, etc. It never hurts to build time in something that goes 115 kts before stepping up to something 30 or more knots faster with more systems to manage.

 

[mrcshbs]

Welcome and I am sure once you get your ticket, it will be one of the most rewarding experiences in your life.

The insurance will be hard to get. Most insurances probably won't even issue you a policy for you to train in a commander. Once you get your ticket, fly around in a 150/152 for a while, get some experience and your IFR ticket and transition to the commander. Like other folks here, I love my commander and you should definitely consider it in the future.

If you're around Saint Louis, I will take you up so you can get a feel for it.

Before buying my commander, I linked up with Allan Judge (other member here - with Judi's help) and I was a great experience. Allan is a pro pilot (like dungeon master pro and that made me realize how little I knew about flying )... even coming in from a Warrior, it took me some hours to get plenty comfortable in the commander. That experience helped make a decision.

 

[scootshep]

The insurance will be hard to get.

I am learning this myself. I am actively training toward CFI and Commercial Multi-engine licenses with Commercial Single, instrument rating, and ~375 TT and my best quote so far is $4,500 annually with multiple companies unwilling to even quote me. A hard pill to swallow.

Part of the calculus here might be where those dollars make the biggest impact, paying insurance premiums or buying flight time. That’s a conversation for you and your loved ones but yours is not the only one having it.

 

[mrcshbs]

Oh, my goodness... that's nuts!!! a few years at that rate and you can have another 112 for spare parts in case you bend metal!! ha! ... I've heard (not 100% sure) that insurances look at the risk factors by time in the airplane, amongst others... So if you have 300 hours on that commander, it would go down.

Insurance rates for high performance complex singles are getting ridiculous and I think they are just going to get higher. What a shame!!