$250,000 for a nice 58P. Fly it "for free" forever.

Yup, that's another way to look at it....
Do you pull a 58P out for a pancake run on Saturday morning?????

Of course I could do that and then put 100 AMU in a panel, 30 AMU to paint it and have quite the plane....

Yup, that's another way to look at it....
Do you pull a 58P out for a pancake run on Saturday morning?????

I had similar concerns, stepping up from a T210 to an MU2. I worried that the apparent complexity and/or cost of the MU2 would be a barrier to going places.

But in real life, it hasn't turned out to be that way. Once comfortable in the airplane, I'd take it out for a short hop somewhere, or even, gasp, just pattern work every now and then. Yes, even a pancake run.

Of course, what I call a "short hop" is now something like EVV to CVG, 150 nm, to go see a baseball game like I did yesterday.

In reality, the extra effort of the twin turboprop is starting the second engine. Everything else is the same effort and time. So about 60 seconds more than a single.

Another point is that a turboprop is so much more reliable that you worry so much less about break down or failure. That can increase your spontaneity.

Mike C.

Yes. Once you've got the fixed costs of the 58P (or name whatever step up bird you'd like), the incremental cost of a couple of pancake runs per year are so much smaller than the fixed costs of owning a second airplane that you learn not to worry about it.

Another way to think about it: the first hour of aircraft ownership per year is INCREDIBLY expensive. Every hour after that is free. As long as I can continue to afford the first hour I can continue to own the airplane. Once I can't afford that first hour anymore, I will sell it. It's the annual budget that matters.

Luc, sales in your past life was in the farm business, right? Do you know any former customers, owners of very large farming operations, where you could partner on this second bird? I would give that some thought first, perhaps?

Completely agree...twin may add a minute or two.

If I remember correctly you're diligent with training...why not try the ME rating at your next training session? Seems like an E55 or B58 would be a perfect mission fit with a lot more capability at a marginal increase in cost and well under budget.

Yes!!

As I read the thread title, before I read even one post, I thought a 58 P would be the best option for the question posed.

I'd love to see a Red P!

Is there any reason you're limiting yourself to a single? Transitioning to a twin isn't that hard, and the insurance issues are an OWT.

Just as an example, I transitioned into a 421 with 5.5 total ME time (commercial multi, 1500TT at the time) and needed Simcom and 15 dual.

If you're looking just at singles, your options really are limited to the P210 and Malibu. Each have their strengths and weaknesses. As others have mentioned the P210 with the Vitaoe conversion looks really interesting and makes a heck of an airplane.

That all being said, I'd look seriously at a twin. There are a lot more options for pressurized twins than there are for singles, and as everyone knows, they are all pretty inexpensive to acquire.

Of course, your opex on a twin is going to be more than on a single... The P210 with a Vitaoe conversion is going to be the cheapest way to operate a pressurized fiki airplane.

Robert

Nice thought, but not in my DNA...... I even tried it with boats and collector cars with the best partners you can imagine
Owning two ships would be hard to justify.
Letting go of my Bo would be almost impossible.
I have too much emotional capital invested in it.

It is very easy to justify two.

I have two motorcycles.
One, a normal Bonneville T100, for general around town cruising.
The other, a CX500 Turbo. For going really fast on something really weird.

Of course a MMU is about 1/20th of an AMU, so it's a bit easier on the hangar, feed and fix front.

Luc,

The most inmportant question has not been asked. What is your annual distance requirement (NM)? How many legs? What is the annual OpX budget?

You could easily spend the purchase price of some of these options (in OpX) every couple of years flying for business.

300hrs x $500/hr x 2 years = More than the purchase price of a P...

You should get a ride in a P baron. I've never even flown one but sure would be nice. If I could combine the pressure that I've experienced in the 414 with the ride and style of my baron, would pretty much be awesomeness! And thats what a P Baron is.

A P Baron would be roughly the same speed as what I have now, so it would indeed be between 250 and 300 hrs.

Feel free to PM me w questions. I have a Malibu and a Mirage.

The Malibu will be going on the market at $349k in 60 days with an overhauled 550, prop, gtn750 and other upgrades. I can share with you the differences between the planes. The pilot seat in this one has a mod that gives you few more inches.

Expenses are as earlier posted as long as you do not defer maintenance. If you do then it can get real pricey. My cost per hour in the Mirage is historically $353 including capital upgrades, depreciation to market and not including fuel.

Few of these engines get to TBO w/o a top end so factor that in. My Mirage made it to 1925 but had two top ends.