The guidance from Honeywell is that a TPE-331 has to be run at least once every 30 days or certain maintenance is called for.

I agree with Mike Ciholas that the engines are probably fine, but that doing oil analysis, the required maintenance and then another oil analysis after running the engines would be useful.

The other thing I would do (before running the engines) would be to borescope them. Corrosion is unlikely for all the reasons mentioned, but if the plane has been sitting for months/years, it is not unlikely that some debris might have made its way into the compressor section (via the inlet) or the power turbine section (via the tail pipe). Think bugs or even some small animals (there are mice that can fit through a gap as small as 1/4" and the gap between the first stage compressor blades at the outermost point is larger than that). I'd focus the borescope on the 6 o'clock position of the engine just to make sure there isn't any material/debris in there that could cause a problem on startup. If there was, the engine is probably still fine but may have to have the case cracked open to clean it out (depending on what the debris is, how big it is and where it is located).

This is a big part of the reason most turbine engines have inlet and exhaust plugs or covers put on them if they are going to be shut down for any extended period of time....

Just my 2 cents' worth.

You just need to submit to the FAA for approval to use the MMEL as a MEL. They can issue Ops Specs to do so.

I think Adam's note about that was tongue-in-cheek about the recent thread about getting an MMEL approved for his plane (I was the one who brought the issue up). I took it with the humor Adam intended...

Reviving this thread. I'm considering a Marquise.
Mission is 7 pax approx 900 miles west bound. Minimal baggage. Good choice? Is there a better choice for a competitive price/op ex?
Who should I talk to for a buyers rep?
I know about Reece and Air First in Augusta. Will likely use Reece for initial if we move forward with this purchase. I have a very small amount of turbine time in a BE-200.

Thanks.

900nm 7 pax westbound might not be doable non-stop routinely. Not sure if we have any current long-body owners although Jay Garnet (Garnett?) used to have one. A Cessna 441 or Commander would be the likely comparison.

Do you want nice cabin (not cockpit) seating for 7 adults or can some ride in cockpit or otherwise less fancy seating?

You need a Jetprop Commander. 1000-1200lbs useful and 2000nm range. MU-2 won't do that mission in headwinds.

One up front with me and 6 in the back would be fine. (after some mentor time)
Not worried about a nice cabin. I'm looking for a fast flying van. Employee transport, not executives.

So a total of 8 adults in the plane? We talking 250lb men?

8 would be the max. Avg per person is prob 180.

Would the Jetprop do that with a reduced fuel load or would a zero fuel max weight kill it?

A fuel stop wouldn't be the end of the world, but it would be nice to do non-stop. Round trip now is over 12 hours flight time plus a fuel stop both ways with a max of 4 pax.

You would be able to do that trip in a Marquise marginally. So, some of the time it would work. Sometimes you’d need a fuel stop.

Basically, a Marquise has roughly 4100 lb useful load. 2700 lbs full fuel means 1400 lbs payload, maybe a tad more depending on example airframe. 8 x 180 lbs = 1440 lbs, so you are at the edge of full fuel payload. If you’d like stuff in addition to bodies, you’d be leaving some fuel behind.

Round number flight planning, figure fuel burn as 700lbs for 1st hour, 600lbs subsequent hours. 600 lbs reserve means 2100 lbs trip fuel, minus 700 lbs 1st hour leaves another 2.33 hrs cruise, or about 3.3 hrs. Call it 3.5 since all of the above is a touch conservative. At an average of 250 kts, that is 875 nm.

So you are in the ballpark. Could probably eke it out some of the time. But it is tight.

For higher purchase price, similar opex, the 441 would do it nonstop reliably.

How often will you have one or two bravo airspaces on the trip?

Jetprop stats. The 1000 model can load 1200lbs full fuel. The lighter models a little less with full fuel. A 441 would be similar.

Depends on the winds. 900NM is essentially from Mid-Michigan (where we're based) to Denver. With todays winds (fltplan.com says -83 knots), burn is 2000# (at FL320), and I wouldn't do it with less than 2600#. In our 441, that only leaves about 1000# payload...

Seven people on a 4:30 flight is a lot to ask of most corporate sized turboprops...

Jason

My Marquise can carry 1300lb with full fuel so you would have to leave 200lb-300lb of fuel of behind with 8 adults. You can fly 900nm like that, but many if not most westbound flights will require a fuel stop with the headwinds. For that mission, I think a 441 is a better option.

Is 83 knots a worse than average headwind? Maybe reliably was an overstatement. Perhaps "significantly more reliably than a Marquise"