We recently looked into the market for inexpensive basic aircraft that new pilots or students on tight budgets could buy reasonably and use for a range of missions including travel, training or building time toward aviation careers.
What typically comes next is a high-performance aircraft. Even pilots who buy barebones airplanes with modest power and features, and enjoy them for many years, eventually find themselves yearning for more–more speed, more hauling capacity and more comfort. Often the only way to satisfy these desires is with a high-performance airplane, defined as one with more than 200 hp.