Re: Group Poll: Best 2+kids or 4 place taildragger?

> Depending on where you live, a Cessna 170 may turn out to be a good
> economical 4-seat taildragger. I've carried 4 adults and full fuel in
> one (admittedly only one of the adults was on the rotund side). The nice
> thing about the C170 is that the forward visibility on the ground is
> better than the forward visibility in a PA-28 due to its down-sloping
> nose. The view over the nose in flight is awesome.

I used to own a C170 and it was a fun airplane to fly.
I eventually traded up to my C185 and now that my family
is larger (wife + 2 kids) I appreciate the C185 more than ever.
I've done quite a few trips half way and even all the way
across the country with the whole family. I don't think they
would have had the patience to do that trip in the C170
not to mention that sometimes we were loaded to the gills.
The C170 is not exactly a load hauler and is underpowered
for any high altitude operations with four people.
So bottom line, if you can scrape enough money together,
buy a C180/C185. You will never regret it. If you can't
afford it, go with the C170 and you will have fun with
that too.

~Paul