Aside from Van’s planes, are there any planes capable of both XC and Aerobatics?
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$\begingroup$ What are you criteria for "capable"? I'd say pretty much every airplane has some capability of both. $\endgroup$– Fred LarsonApr 10 at 14:24
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$\begingroup$ @FredLarson this is true… I’m referring to planes that are “known” to be good for both… e.g. a Van’s RV7/14. $\endgroup$– SinglePistonEnjoyerApr 10 at 14:40
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4$\begingroup$ “Capable” and “good” are both very subjective. Got any specific criteria you are looking for? (Max Gs, max range…). Number of seats? Cost?! $\endgroup$– Michael HallApr 10 at 15:20
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$\begingroup$ @MichaelHall I realise this is a very vague question — i suppose if I had to give you numbers, a touring plane capable of pulling +6gs? or vice versa, a plane you can use in competitions but also can be used to fly comfortably for long distance (say 5h endurance at 75% power) $\endgroup$– SinglePistonEnjoyerApr 10 at 15:35
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$\begingroup$ Aerobatic aircraft (particularly high performance competition aircraft) are typically less stable than other GA aircraft. Consequently, they take a higher degree of attention for cross country flights. You could perhaps install an autopilot and servos, but all that weight takes away from aerobatic performance. In a similar vein, a strict competition aircraft is going to be barebones in terms of avionics -- day VFR only, and nothing that adds extra weight. In a cross country aircraft, I'm looking for dual controls, all the fancy nav, wx, traffic gizmos, seats in the back for family, etc. $\endgroup$– Rob McDonaldApr 10 at 16:26
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The Cessna 152 Aerobat is certified for aerobatics and also has passible XC performance (depending on what you want to optimize). You can fit two statistically small people and a bag with 100Kts cruise which gets you around a bit faster than a car depending on headwinds. Its also a widely produced airframe, easy to get parts and A&P's for.
There is apparently an aerobatic Bonanza out there which could be a decent candidate but you would need to actually find one.
Bob Hoover made it clear you can fly some aerobatic maneuvers in a Shrike Commander which is a decent sized twin for getting places.
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1$\begingroup$ Not so sure I'd want to be doing aerobatics in a beat up 50 year old Aerobat lol. $\endgroup$– John KApr 10 at 16:13