I am very serious. Costs are very reasonable. There is some good information in these threads:
viewtopic.php?f=49&t=146315

There is some noise in this thread you'll need to skip over but a lot of great info as well:
viewtopic.php?f=49&t=230026

Yes, they burn a lot of gas (140g/hr at 365KTAS) but there is NOTHING safer than a 501. Also, Jet-A is cheaper than 100LL ($3.63/g for Jet-A vs $5.63/g for 100LL at my home drome today). If you lose an engine, the autopilot doesn't even kick off. Vmca is below stall speed for all configurations. Even if you lose one on the runway you have enough thrust to continue the take-off and climb away.

Yes, annual recurrent training is mandatory by regulation but insurance is requiring that in all planes now AFAIK plus it's just a good idea anyway.

On the maintenance side, things almost never break. I don't track my expenses but Mike C does. Here are his 2023 expenses: viewtopic.php?f=49&t=225871. Note that his plane hit 10,000 hours last year which involves some pretty serious inspections. And 2022: viewtopic.php?f=49&t=221386. Textron has a Low Utilization Maintenance Program (LUMP) that pushes your Phase 1-4 (equivalent to a piston annual) from every 2 years to every 3 years and your Phase 1-5 (more in depth inspection) from every 3 years to every 6 years. That makes a huge difference in costs. Plus on Part 91 overhauls are not required so while Hot Section Inspections are expensive, they only come every 1,750 hours which is pretty close in time (and cost) to TBO of a big bore Conti.

You talk about the family getting used to flying above the weather - you top a lot more weather at FL380....

Anyway, if you can fly a 421 you can fly a 501 with one hand tied behind your back. Do some reading and then give Tarver a call.

My opinion, your right to consider the Cheyanne. Not fancy, flies like a Chevy truck, reliable, maintenance somewhat predictable. No issue with parts that we ran into yet. If you acquire one fully upgraded it’s like have a new Piper single turboprop with way more room and load capacity with the redundancy and piece of mind of two engines. All at a fraction of the price of new or even used. It handles short strips easily, even grass. We fly regularly from eastern Pa to SE Florida. 860 nm, 3.45-4.00 hrs, usually 100 gallons left in the tanks. Ed.

Thank you I will familiarize myself with those threads!

I am very serious. Costs are very reasonable. There is some good information in these threads:
viewtopic.php?f=49&t=146315

There is some noise in this thread you'll need to skip over but a lot of great info as well:
viewtopic.php?f=49&t=230026

Yes, they burn a lot of gas (140g/hr at 365KTAS) but there is NOTHING safer than a 501. Also, Jet-A is cheaper than 100LL ($3.63/g for Jet-A vs $5.63/g for 100LL at my home drome today). If you lose an engine, the autopilot doesn't even kick off. Vmca is below stall speed for all configurations. Even if you lose one on the runway you have enough thrust to continue the take-off and climb away.

Yes, annual recurrent training is mandatory by regulation but insurance is requiring that in all planes now AFAIK plus it's just a good idea anyway.

On the maintenance side, things almost never break. I don't track my expenses but Mike C does. Here are his 2023 expenses: viewtopic.php?f=49&t=225871. Note that his plane hit 10,000 hours last year which involves some pretty serious inspections. And 2022: viewtopic.php?f=49&t=221386. Textron has a Low Utilization Maintenance Program (LUMP) that pushes your Phase 1-4 (equivalent to a piston annual) from every 2 years to every 3 years and your Phase 1-5 (more in depth inspection) from every 3 years to every 6 years. That makes a huge difference in costs. Plus on Part 91 overhauls are not required so while Hot Section Inspections are expensive, they only come every 1,750 hours which is pretty close in time (and cost) to TBO of a big bore Conti.

You talk about the family getting used to flying above the weather - you top a lot more weather at FL380....

Anyway, if you can fly a 421 you can fly a 501 with one hand tied behind your back. Do some reading and then give Tarver a call.

I had a 421 for 20 some years moved to a CJ. As Mike and Chris say you can hold some costs down if you shop. But the best part for me is the safety factor in jets. They just feel better to put your whole family into. Looking back into the cabin of the 421 and all my family faces and then looking out at those piston engines up at 25,000 with crappy weather just would wear on me. With the jet not so much at all.

Rocky- YES totally. That is exactly one of the reasons. I look at my wife and four kids who are trusting me 100% with their lives. I feel safer in my single engine bonanza- now of course I don't push it into the same flight conditions obviously.

Here you go. $500k and don't look back. Your family will thank you and as Rocky said, the peace of mind for you is priceless...

I'm guessing another $250k if you want to go full glass. It'll also give you 300lbs or so of extra payload by removing all of the old stuff and wiring. Mine is full glass and my full fuel payload is 1,566lbs.

viewtopic.php?f=43&t=232244

The mu2 single engine is a complete non issue to fly. It flies absurdly easy on single engine - and the autopilots while outdated can fly the plane in single engine and shoot approaches. There are some differences that you will learn about in training - namely not to do the drill and to level the plane (no 5 degrees of bank). So it essentially flies level and straight with one engine inop

The jet is a good option if it works for you. We prefer the turboprop - as it gets us to many 3k fields which my home field is and other places we like to go on the easy coast. It’s also fast - like slippery fast. But quite docile. It essentially flies like two different planes - no flaps it’s like a jet (fast and high stall speeds). With its big Fowler flaps - once the flaps are deployed, it’s very docile. Stall speeds are down in the mid 70s with any amount of flaps in.

You will need to go in to sfar training recurrent every year (8 hours ground, 4 flying). But you have to do that with all the others as well.

It’s a smooth running plane and not a lot of surprised. Fly it within its envelope and it’s a safe and great plane. The long body holds a crap ton of stuff. Usually configured with 6, 7 or even 8 seats in the back - along with pilot/copilot and a huge netted cargo area. Range is about 1100 miles on marquise and 1200 on solitaires. But a seriously great platform with a very committed and tight knit group of owners. The consensus best place to get training is at Howell enterprises out of Smyrna Tn (near Nashville). The group of trainers there (Jerry, marty) are laid back, a wealth of knowledge and truly want you to succeed. Maggie keeps the ship going and is awesome there. Can’t say enough nice things about them.

But seriously - you would be doing a disservice by not exploring and considering the mu2.

There is a concern that you only fly 50-75 hours. The mu2, to stay on top of your game - you should look at flying every other week. But it gets costly to do short flights in a turboprop. But at the same time - most people use their piston time to convert to turboprop time. When in reality that time will drop because you go faster. But the reality is that you use your plane even more. Your family won’t mind going on farther trips, and will want to use it even more - so your hours of usage actually go up

I moved up to an MU2 3 years ago and haven’t looked back. It took awhile to get fully comfortable in the aircraft, but this was my first turbine. I would love to fly a Citation, but the fuel burn and calendar items have held me back. King Airs that I could reasonably afford are slower, more expensive, and also have the calendar items that the Citations have. Routine 295kts with reliable turbines is hard to beat! Happy to discuss in more detail if you’d like.

There's a wildcat in the regular hen house: the 400LS. Lots of bang for the buck, but you're in rarified air with not many produced. But what a rocket.

Otherwise, always a vote for the Commander from me - a Suburban of the sky. So versatile. They're just big, warm, friendly and fuzzy bear in flight.

Just chiming in with the other Citation guys...moved up from a piston twin and never looked back. Even if you don't care about speed, climb, ceiling, comfort, etc...the relative safety margin over a 421 is almost incalculable.

Edit: The hardest part of the transition training was getting my brain to accept the single engine climb rate and pitching for V2. After so many habit forming years of lowering the nose when you lose an engine it takes a hot minute to get your brain to pull back on the yoke when the instructor cages one.

Good thought! Wonder how the fuel burn compares? And I might need a type rating. But I sure insurance and hangar would be reasonable…

$3,000,000+

Very little (1 year) experience with the 441, but in my research the parts issue is mostly a rumor. There may be a few hard to find parts out there, like any older plane, but it's not a routine problem...from what I can tell.

First year insurance was double the 421 (2 pilots, late 40's & late 60's), with 3x hull value. It dropped 15% at recent renewal.

It's an easy transition, and all of those engine squawks just go away.