May 2005
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Aircraft
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2005 Liberty XL2
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Buying Your First Plane
It’s an issue practically all of us must address at one time or another. Virtually every pilot—student, private, commercial or ATP—dreams of owning an airplane.
by Douglas Colby
 In most cases, the first question a pilot must answer is the obvious one: How much money are you willing to spend on an airplane? In the majority of cases, this will be a finite number that will make the selection process easier. In others, a prospective buyer may be willing to spend as much as he or she needs to buy the airplane he or she wants. One way or another, a smart purchase, like a small fight, begins with gathering all the important information.
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Cherokee 6
This Oshkosh winner is one of the all-time great flying SUVs!
by Scott Perdue
 Folks who live in Seattle, Wash., tell strangers about how bad the weather is; it’s a mantra for them. The message is almost subliminal—it’s a gloomy place, the sun never shines, it’s always raining… For some reason, they don’t want the rest of us up there. But the weather in Seattle actually is different from the message. In reality, the climate is mild, the landscape beautifully green, and for Randy Kersten, it’s one of best places on the planet to own an airplane.
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Piper Cherokee Six 300
by Staff
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The New & Improved Liberty XL2
The composite and aluminum two-seater has already come further than most. Now it’s pulling into the fast lane!
by Scott Perdue
 What would you do with a successful two-seat, kit-built airplane? Some folks would be happy to just bask in the glory of it. Others would think about a new model at some point, or a different engine, or even a fast-builders program. But this path was no good for Tony Tiarks, the CEO of Liberty Aerospace.
Proficiency
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Don't Be Dense About Density Altitude
As the warm weather arrives, your airplane’s performance can really suffer
by David Ison
 It can prevent you from taking off from the same runway you did the day before. It will sap power from your engine. It can eliminate any chance of a climb rate on departure. It can drastically increase your takeoff and landing rolls. What aviation phenomenon has this much power over your flying? Density altitude. And if you fly without paying it due attention, you may find yourself staring down the end of a runway without hope of stopping or taking off. Even if you do make it in the air, high-density altitudes can cause you to quickly meet up with terrain that has a gradient superior to your ascent.
Products
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10+ Most Useful Cockpit Gadgets
A buyer’s guide to the latest must-have gear for aviators
by Katherine Diaz
 Almost every pilot searches for the right tools to make any flight a safe and enjoyable one. Whether it’s a gizmo that enables us to enjoy that short $100 hamburger flight or a portable piece of equipment that can save us baggage space during long cross-country treks to the backcountry, we’re always in need of that extra-special something that will make our trips a whole lot easier and the ride a whole lot more fun.
Pilot Talk
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A Needle In A Haystack
Current ELT systems can make life difficult for search and rescue
by Peter Katz
Sometime in 2009, the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite system will no longer be receiving distress signals on today’s common distress frequencies, 121.5 MHz and 243.0 MHz. Instead, the satellites will monitor only 406 MHz, a frequency that’s being phased in for civilian use.
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First Flight
Alleviating a non-pilot’s fears of little airplanes
by Bill Cox
As one who is sometimes asked to speak before pilot groups, I was struck by a column written by fellow editor, retired airline captain and general-aviation bon vivant Dave Gwinn in the February 2005 issue of Plane & Pilot. Gwinn was lamenting that some of the experiences we relate to live pilot audiences and write about to 300,000 readers each month may only serve to turn off non-pilots.
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Young Geniuses
When do you get too old to be a prodigy?
by Budd Davisson
The other night, at the urging of a friend, Marlene and I did something we rarely do: We went to see a band play at a local watering hole (I would have said “dive,” but didn’t feel it necessary to be that accurate). The actual reason we went was because we kept hearing about Nick Sterling, this unbelievable local guitar player that everyone, from MTV to Gibson Guitar, was falling all over. We weren’t disappointed. He was an experience not to be missed, and this was just weeks after his 14th birthday.
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