21st Century Grumman Tiger in South Florida

Hi all,



Just thought I'd share a marvelous experience. Over the years I've been in
and out of several old single engine cessnas, (c150 and 172's).



This morning, (June 29, 2004), I was invited to try out a 2003 Tiger; an
invitation I couldn't refuse.



I met up with the owner, Gerard at Lantana (KLNA) at 8:30am. It was a calm,
slightly overcast, hot day, and pretty typical of summer mornings in
Florida. We spent about 20 minutes chatting about the controls and discussed
a brief flight plan. For a variety of reasons, I was flying right seat.



In a nutshell, "WOW". This aircraft is gorgeous, sleek, purrs like a kitten,
flies like a bandit fleeing a bank robbery and is comfy like a Jaguar XJ
sedan.



The plane I flew has a loaded panel, complete with an autopilot that's
slaved to the Garmin GNS 430. You select a target destination on the Garmin,
and set the autopilot to take you there. That's it. Push the right buttons,
and you're as good as home!



The cockpit is drenched in leather, and the slide away cowl gives all the
open air you'd expect from a convertible BMW ! In flight we popped open the
canopy just a crack, and at just 2,000ft MSL, it felt like a comfy spring
day. In the 172, even with the windows open, you slowly cook in July.



The Tiger is owned by an ex-Navy pilot, who recently left his position at
American Airlines. A truly wonderful person with a passion for his family as
well as flying. If there's anyone I'd like to learn from, it's somebody like
Gerard. Competent, relaxed, and enthusiastic.



If you're in the South Florida area and interested in owning a Tiger, Gerard
has set up a fractional ownership plan, which is how I found myself in the
seat of this flying wonder. I'd spoken to Gerard a couple of times over the
phone, but had never met this pilot before today.



I'm back to the drawing board to see how my finances can get me into the
left seat, but it's certainly reachable. I could never come up with 1/5th
million dollars for a new Tiger, but I can buy 1/4 of it if I sneak out and
sell the wife's car (hush).



If you're interested in this plane, please tap me an email or call Marty at
561.478.1098. My email is - just dump the z's and
change the yyy to .net



Hope everyone's having a great summer.



Marty from Boiling Hot Sunny South Florida