For some reason I either didn’t get it, or deleted it as spam. LOL….

For what it’s worth, it looks like I’m going to make a run at an early Meridian that’s off market but available to me. We’ll see how that shakes out and if it meets our needs for a while. If not, I’ll be shopping again and slumming it in the antique TP world like many of you……..

Good luck. Join MMOPA. And get good transition training. It’s a great plane.

For some reason I either didn’t get it, or deleted it as spam. LOL….

For what it’s worth, it looks like I’m going to make a run at an early Meridian that’s off market but available to me. We’ll see how that shakes out and if it meets our needs for a while. If not, I’ll be shopping again and slumming it in the antique TP world like many of you……..

Go find a good king air 90, you won’t regret it

Go find a 441 and you won't regret going 310 knots and passing suffering KA 90 pilots bucking a strong winter headwind.

The smaller King Airs are just too slow.

Mike C.

Not everyone flies like you do, I fly mostly north/south and rarely have to “buck a strong winter headwind”, I also don’t fly long enough flights to utilize cruise speeds seen by the higher cruising 441

The bravo airspace and arrivals also push me down lower sooner than I desire

Oh and the best part? No SIDS and plenty of parts

I have a once or twice a month mission from central Missouri to Leesburg, VA……the East / West thing is a real deal for me. Unfortunately, I’m usually alone on that trip so a big plane is a bit of a waste. But, the wife wants bigger. I’d still go Meridian if I found the right one, but I can’t be months without a plane. I’m not getting back into the commercial sausage unless I’m flying internationally.

~700 nm.

You'd want a 1000 nm range plane to do it most of the time, more if the plane is slow.

This is what the winds look like at FL210 tomorrow:

70-80 knots on the nose headed west.

A 200 knot piston airplane is going to suffer under those conditions losing close to half the ground speed. Even at 8000 ft, the winds are over 60 knots, so going low doesn't help that much.

A 250 knot turboprop would not be ideal since it has to fly high for fuel flow and doesn't go fast enough to cut the wind.

If that was my main mission, my MU2 would have done that very well, basically always non stop and with 300 knots, not so bad in a 100 knot headwind.

A Citation 501SP would do that nicely, but at some increase in costs. Very nice, though, if passenger needs are being considered.

Mike C.

This headwind talk reminds me of when I bought my old Commander 520 in the winter of 2011 in Minnesota: I wasn't yet twin rated, so had a Commander pilot ferry it home with me. He was an old crusty crop duster and we took off on a insanely cold day heading west. Stayed 500ft AGL to beat the headwinds. We stayed low all the way, dodging old church towers and small towns on our way west and didn't hit Stockton until almost midnight, all VFR. I can tell you it was pretty lonely over the Rockies in that moonlight, but at least you could see which ravine you'd have to put her down in if one quit. Good memories.

That escapade seems like yesterday!

I’d love the jet. Out of my operating price range. I have exactly 0 multi time, so will be spending a lot of time with a mentor pilot my first year regardless if I go the twin route. The MU2 may be harder for me to find that mentor for since there’s not a lot of pilots for hire around me (Lake of the Ozark). Unfortunately, there’s just not a great selection of good airframes on the market right now.

My wife is giving me the business for selling the Cirrus before I had a replacement.

I’m wide open for suggestion. I do think the King Air will be higher cost for marginal performance compared to other options, so that’s probably off list as well, although I could find a mentor pilot for that the easiest.

I thought Twin Commanders were solid on one engine, is that not true?

Mike C.

Sounds like you can pay more for the plane but want lower op cost.


That's true for everything out there.


Smart lady!


700 nm into headwinds over mountains in all weather. It just feels "turbine" to me.

The SETP are expensive to get. The Meridian is cheaper to run, but the TPE331 twins can run as cheap as PC-12 and TBM. The twins will be a lot cheaper to buy.

It all comes down to budget to buy and budget to operate.

Mike C.

I have an MU2 at the Lake of the Ozarks and Patriots bank will loan on them. Give me a holler.

I thought Twin Commanders were solid on one engine, is that not true?

Mike C.