Where have all the big singles gone?

For the private pilot wanting to hire a high performance four or six place touring aircraft or the new commercial pilot wanting to get checked out on a commercial type these aircraft are getting fewer and harder to find. Today there is a constant cry ‘where can I hire one of these aircraft? ‘

If one wants to fly a big single, a Cessna 210, Cessna 206, Beech 36, Cherokee Six, Lance, or even a fixed or retractable gear Cessna 182 there is a real problem in finding one available for hire. The problem exists to a certain extent with the Cirrus and Cessna Corvalis aircraft line. One has to ask why.

In years gone by the airframe makers were producing many big singles, the types that could carry four to six people and bags, at 140 to 160 knots. Fly-aways and long haul holiday flights across Australia were all the go. Today we live in a different world. While the number of aircraft in Australia has increased the number of available high performance singles has decreased.

Many of the so called big singles are no longer being built. The Cessna R182 and 210 retractable lines have closed although the Cessna 182 and 206 are back in production. The Beech 36 is still being produced. The Piper PA32 fixed and retractable gear singles are apparently out of production. The only good light is that the fixed gear Cirrus 20 and 22 and Cessna Corvalis high performance singles are in continued production.

Of the aircraft that are in production most if not all are glass panel, digital instrumentation aircraft. This in itself presents a problem for the occasional flight flyer hirer.

Glass aircraft typically require an extended ground school before one can comfortably fly the aircraft and then have to be flown regularly to retain that knowledge. For those who only fly occasionally, such as the club or school weekend pilot, learning to fly those aircraft is more difficult than just hopping into a round instrumentation aircraft and going for a flight.

In years gone by the availability of high performance fixed and retract singles gave birth to a breed of aviators who got a quick endorsement and then charged off on a long haul tour. Sometimes those quick endorsement pilots got themselves into trouble trying to fly an aircraft that they did not have an adequate knowledge of; the systems, speed, endurance, gear, weight and balance and performance.

More than one aircraft ended up as a smear of aluminium on the side of a hill or came home on the back of a trailer, sometimes never to fly again. To counter this CASA introduced an endorsement engineering paper and the insurance companies wisely started to typically require 200-250 hours or higher minimum total time, plus 20 hours on type and 90 day currency for a solo hire. This limited the number of potential hirers to the more experienced and helped reduce the bent metal. The limitations could also put off potential hirers to the extent that the owner did not get sufficient hire hours to justify owning the aircraft and so opted to sell up. Thus the aircraft was lost from the hire market.

Now with much reduced numbers of high performance singles available to hire, and those that are available having experience requirements, pilots wanting to fly these types can find real problems in finding aircraft that they can readily hire.

The likes of the Cirrus and Cessna Corvalis line are in a league of their own. Being of composite construction they are a specialist item when it comes to repairs. Both would not be considered short field type aircraft. Both are glass and four place but they do offer fast comfortable travel. Like all very fast GA aircraft that creates a new problem in that the pilot flying them has to be up with the aircraft at all times. Has adequate allowance been made for the let down to the destination or the oncoming inclement weather, especially if the pilot is only VFR rated?

From the instructing side a pilot who has managed to find a high performance single to hire would be wisely advised to find a good instructor, one who has experience plus time on type in order to conduct a quality endorsement. The engineering paper is a good start to getting to know the aircraft. Indeed sometimes it can take more time to complete the engineer paper than to do the endorsement.

For those that aspire to fly a high performance single get to thoroughly know the machine and be in front of it at all times.

Contact Dave by email at [email protected]