The world's largest community of Beechcraft owners and enthusiasts.

Growing up during World War II, my friends and I were well aware of the newly developed fighter aircraft at the time. Some of my friends were fans of the F4U Corsair, but my favorite was always the P-51 Mustang. When I started flying back in 1977 I became comfortable with the Cessna 150 and 172, however, these planes had their wings on top of the fuselage. I aspired to buy a Piper Cherokee 180, because the wings were on the bottom where they should be, like a fighter’s. Finally, I purchased one for $17,500. That was my fighter for the time being, until one of my fellow pilots, flying a 1955 Beechcraft Bonanza, would appear at my four o’clock and speed away from me and my little Cherokee. After many occurrences I was fed up with these gorgeous planes leaving me in their dust.