[Paul_Sengupta]

Regarding the costs, how about expanding the group out a little to more people? If the cheap club is closing, it sounds like you may have a lot of others looking for a share around the same time...

[dont overfill]

Two ways.
1) Start with an aeroplane and find the group.
2) Start with a group and find an aeroplane.

I would prefer #1 as by default it makes you the boss and saves the group falling out over choosing an aeroplane.

[rikur_]

Of course I could move my flying activities to Full Sutton when John retires, rent their spam cans until I have 100hrs and then if the share is still available on the T67 go down that route.

I can only speak from my own experiences and preferences .... but why not dip your toe in the water and try Full Sutton now? There's a C152, 2 x 172, a warrior and a cherokee generally with good availability. There's also plenty of syndicates across a wide variety of types, once you get to know people there are more opportunities than just those advertised (providing you are a nice chap and reasonably competent at flying the things)

A T67 is a pretty capable aeroplane as it will do aeros and is likely to be fitted out for IFR, and is a reasonable tourer. That keeps a lot of interesting options open to you as a pilot.

I mostly fly T67s nowadays (in two T67 syndicates) and it is one of the reasons I am so glad I didn't buy a C172 when I thought I wanted to buy one (I think that was around the time I had 70 - 80 hours under my belt). I still fly C172 for taking up friends etc .... but if I'm on my own, give me the T67 any day.

[DBo]

If you're interested in the T67 then why not speak to the group. 75 hours isn't that far from 100 and if they'd let you fly with an instructor while building the hours then a good chunk of the 25 hours would be used for differences and aerobatic training...

[MercianMarcus]

Matt

Based on your figures you could well find that a LAA a/c in an expensive hangar is actually far cheaper that an old CofA a/c kept outside.

I haven't owned and old CofA a/c for quite a few years now, but when I did the maintenance was ALWAYS far higher than expected.

Mark

[T67M]

TWO T67 groups? That's just greedy! I thought I was bitten bad by my Firefly - although I admit that at one stage we did consider becoming a two Firefly group... I have to agree that it's a great all-rounder though - day trips, touring, instrument platform and aerobatic all in one plane, albeit a little restrictive on weight and balance.

[kanga]

..

And the ADF is invariably tuned to the light programme....

Hull being City of Culture, surely it would be the Third Programme this year ?

But back to OP: join (or at least attend) your local LAA Strut. There may be strips and hitherto unadvertised aircraft/groups of which you were previously completely unaware. You might meet a sole owner who has realised that the lovely and cherished Permit type is seriously underused, and is now looking to share. That way you may also find that (initially minor) maintenance becomes part of the aviation learning experience.

[rikur_]

TWO T67 groups? That's just greedy!

....and completely irrational .... don't ask me why, I think it's some form of addiction.

[GAFlyer4Fun]

mattmoxon

For us tall/heavier types, it is not just cabin space/headroom but available useful load once deducting the pilot weight that needs consideration when selecting an aircraft type, particularly if want to take a passenger.

Many years ago when I got my licence I got a C152 share. Over the years the aircraft gained weight with upgrades to IMC, and a bare metal respray in the same colour scheme. Both of those made a significant dent in the useful load for this particular aircraft.
I also gained weight, as have some of my passengers.
That particular aircraft is notably more range restricted due to the amount of useful load available for fuel if I were to fly it. I could still do the longer trips but it would need extra fuel stops, which becomes a bit of a nuisance as lose at least 20-30 minutes (plus landing fee) per fuel stop out of a day trip.

Needless to say, my next share was in a 4 seater for its more practical useful load.

If I were in your shoes I would rent to get 100 hrs and go for the T67 share.

[riverrock]

It depends how the T67 group you're looking at is structured. It might be that the group have decided not to allow people with less than 100 hours into it on principle, or it might be to keep insurance costs down (so they have an "any pilot over 100 hours" policy).
If its the insurance reason, offering to pay for the additional insurance cover (which may not be much) could be one way of getting in.

[Melanie Moxon]

The T67 group 100 hours requirement was for insurance reasons rather than principle.

There is a lot to think about, thanks for the contributions. I'm probably more bewildered than I was from the first post

It has made me think somewhat. Building up a few more hours and looking again at the T67 may be the better bet, it did seem like the sensible choice from the outset, I can hang on to the Mustang whilst I build hours too.

[Ben K]

What about something like a later model Kitfox; something you can keep in a trailer rather than a hanger?

[Melanie Moxon]

What about something like a later model Kitfox; something you can keep in a trailer rather than a hanger?

I have nowhere to keep it unfortunately

[T67M]

The T67 group 100 hours requirement was for insurance reasons rather than principle.
[ ...]
It has made me think somewhat. Building up a few more hours and looking again at the T67 may be the better bet, it did seem like the sensible choice from the outset,

Get a quote for yourself as a named pilot under 100 hours on the policy - it will probably cost less than £100, which if you're buying a share worth £x,000 won't make a lot of difference to your finances. But do fly it before you buy it - the T67 is a great plane IMO, but it's not right for everyone. Make sure YOU are comfortable - some people find the elevator a bit too sensitive, and full aileron deflection to the left can trap your knee against the throttle if you have long legs. Finally, make sure you're happy with how the group is set up, run and financed.

[Thumper]

CofA/ARC aircraft: tread lightly....