My next airplane will most likely be a late model Cardinal, with 180 HP and constant speed prop. An autopilot would be nice too. I loved my 1968 Cardinal (now owned by Nathan Meese) It was roomy, and had good range, I flew it coast to coast round trip twice. Now that it is gone, the 150 seems quite cramped, and lacking in baggage room.
Why did I not just keep my Cardinal? I saw that in the current depressed market I could purchase a newer Cardinal with better paint and interior and the bigger motor and constant speed prop for less than it would cost me to paint and reupholster my Cardinal. Once I sold it to Nathan it was such a relief to only own one airplane that I promised myself I would not ever own two airplanes at the same time again. Of course that means I have to sell the one I have in order to buy another Cardinal.
My life is a little complicated financially, we currently have two big California (as in overpriced) mortgages (for two neighboring houses, both in need of repairs.) My priority is to "flip" refurbish the houses, and rent or sell one or both of them. Accomplishing that would make airplane ownership more financially realistic in the future. In the meantime, I can stand to be wingless for a year or two (I think...)
