Somewhat off topic but I've long been a fan of the upgrade/conversions of the PA-31 family, mostly Chieftans and CR's, done by Mike Jones in Murfreesboro, TN. Very thoroughgoing refurbs of this very nice design group. He seems to stay away from the P's and turbines which is understandable I guess given the added complexity. The PA-31 is one sweet airplane. If you're interested you can have a look at:

https://www.controller.com/listings/air ... 0423&dlr=1

or at their website. No, I have no affiliation or financial interest in them. Just a fan of beautiful airplanes.

http://www.mikejonesaircraft.com/default.htm

I like a quirky airplane as much as the next guy but there are 2 rules of buying quirky airplanes:

1) Can I get most of the oddball parts from Aircraft spruce or parted out planes? Probably OK on this account given it's basically a piston Cheyenne.

2) Do they still make the engine? No.

I think this airplane violates Rule 2 so you better price it at the value of the estimated motor hours remaining (divided by 2) + the Avionics.

The first one on Controller is really nice and probably a good value at $100K (he has that in the panel) Throw it away when a motor grenades and hope you had a few hundred hours of safe fun with it.

Just my guess but these are probably 800 hour engines.

I think Micheal is right. I love P-Navajos probably more than anyone, I built my first business around one. But before I paid anything more than scrap value I would do some deep homework on who is supporting those engines and if the critical parts have a supply source. Otherwise you'll just have an expensive to operate old airplane until one of those items goes, then you'll have an expensive piece of hangar ballast.

Maybe there are a few shops that have a stockpile of spares for the critical stuff, engine cores, etc... but boy would I check on that first.

Since I think a Cheyenne is genuinely equal or less money to operate for a far better experience, it comes down to what you could buy it for in comparison. The difference in a few hundred thousand simply doesn't amortize to very much money in the big picture of the overall yearly budget - I mean literally if you look at the payment for an entry level turboprop in comparison, you will be +/- 15% on the entire budget including capital recovery and are in a whole different world. That's probably the main thing that is slowly killing off the pressurized piston market, and the P-Navajo is one of the earlier victims. I won't dive into that whole debate / comparison - but the economics are pretty clear anymore.

The full Lock & Key PA-31 remain aircraft (it does seem to be that thorough) is about $850K for new everything. Much like a Nextant or Pristine Aircraft sort of job? I don't have enough background with those to know if that can be made to "work" as a business tool but they are absolutely gorgeous and I know I would be proud to fly it. Love that airframe. Piper gave my brother and me an impromptu factory tour back in the 70's and I've been smitten ever since. It's a very good thing that God did not bless me with Kermit Weeks's money