What’s more complex? More difficult? Give you a pass on expensive.

You get comfortable with what you know. When I first started trying to learn to fly jets it was a little overwhelming. After about 200 hours I think I use more brain power when I get in a piston plane.

Completely true.

Don:

Like the consultant you are you are focused on the “expenses”. The “revenue” side of things would be all the time and stress you get back around weather related issues. Especially ice and storms. Plus l,as you point out, the time you back.

Imagine you have only flown a jet and you started reading threads about piston engine maintenance, mixture management (including about LOP), prop RPM control, cowl flaps, alternate air/carb heat, mag checks, fouled plugs, compression checks, and so on.

You'd think owning a piston aircraft would be WAY too complex.

Mike C.

You said you landed with 400 lbs, so that would be 2782 lbs used if you started with full tanks, which seems likely.

The planner says 2497 lbs for FL340, or 285 lbs less than used.

Winds higher than forecast plus routing?

Mike C.

So you planned on landing fuel being 685 lbs based on the flight planner, but winds were worse and that reserve eroded to 400 lbs. That's a fair amount of loss, 285 lbs, equal to 43 minutes, 225 nm of cruise at FL340.

Now 400 lbs landing fuel is an emergency in a jet, but not that bad for a TPE331 twin, but you had to be watching the gauges pretty closely towards the end. How far were you from aborting the original destination and what was your land short option?

Mike C.

So you planned on landing fuel being 685 lbs based on the flight planner, but winds were worse and that reserve eroded to 400 lbs. That's a fair amount of loss, 285 lbs, equal to 43 minutes, 225 nm of cruise at FL340.

Now 400 lbs landing fuel is an emergency in a jet, but not that bad for a TPE331 twin, but you had to be watching the gauges pretty closely towards the end. How far were you from aborting the original destination and what was your land short option?

Mike C.

Capacitance fuel gauges are very accurate. Fuel gauges are the certified source. FMS fuel data is advisory and not part of the type certficate. FMS fuel can be synched with fuel gauges when there is a discrepency. If i remember correctly you clear the FOB field and it synchs with the fuel gauges.

There's absolutely nothing complex about flying a piston SR22. No prop control, LOP is standard and you run at one power / mixture setting (30.5" and cyan marker on fuel flow), no cowl flaps. However, I agree with you on the mx. I'm getting really tired of maintaining piston engines. When you're flying 300-400 hrs / yr the mx is continuous. A turbine with little / no mx between major inspection intervals is incredibly attractive.

Jet with a fuel stop.

Mike C.

Capacitance fuel gauges are very accurate. Fuel gauges are the certified source. FMS fuel data is advisory and not part of the type certficate. FMS fuel can be synched with fuel gauges when there is a discrepency. If i remember correctly you clear the FOB field and it synchs with the fuel gauges.

Not a chance.

JC gets the $2MM back when he sells it so that doesn't count.

$2M tied up is $100K/year cost of money, at least.

That is ~30,000 gallons of fuel per year.

That likely covers the extra fuel a jet would burn doing his missions.

Mike C.

Mark,

Not sure about the Universal FMS in the CJ2 but most FMSes use the gauge fuel to start and then calculate fuel remaining based on FF from the DAU. I’ve never seen one that was exact but I know most FMSes can be adjusted with a FF bias. You’d have to dig in the book to find out how.