I wrote a while back about how my wife wants a chute or a second engine for the perception of safety. Here is how I see my choices at the moment.

1) An '09 SR22 with Perspective and FIKI, about 400K

2) Partners in a new DA42-VI with the same epuipment as the Cirrus, also about 400K.

3) A C, D, or E 55, 75-100K

4) Keep what I have.

I come up with the following considerations. Aside from tying up the money, the depreciation on the Cirrus or DA42 is going to be in the ballpark of what the increased operating expenses will be on the Baron compared to any of the other planes. I also feel there's some risk in the DA42 besides depreciation, in that the previous iterations of the DA42 are now severely devalued, and that the market is thin. The Baron won't depreciate, at least not much. The Baron is old, the other planes are new, which doesn't bother me much. Bottom line, the net cost of each of the 3 first choices is about the same, and at least double what I'm spending now. BTW, I love the Mooney. It fits my mission, and I've invested a significant amount of money into it-paint, a new engine, resealed tanks, new gear donuts, and engine monitor. Women

Opinions?

Take your wife for a ride in all three and let her decide. I'll bet $5 I know which one she will pick.

The Baron will do everything the other two airplanes will do, but not the other way around. Also, I think you are a little bit light on a '09 SR22 FIKI etc at $400k. Maybe, but I think you are going to spend a smidge more for the one you would want to buy.

I think I could run a $300k Cirrus (with a loan) for close to the same money as I run my Baron, which is bought and paid for. The four people and bag trips are not feasible in the Cirrus with any real range or fuel reserve. It is a normal day at work for the Baron.

If the mission is only two people and bags then the other two airplanes work fine.

YMMV.

No brainer for me. You can buy a heck of a nice Baron today in the $100k to $200k range. Barons are easy to insure, easy to fly and easily maintainable.

Plus: Becuz Beechtalk.

Tj

I'd show here the accident/safety ratings of each of your candidate planes before deciding to trade.

What is your mission? Where do you usually fly to?

Something else is going on here, though you might not be aware of it. Boredom maybe?

You love your current plane and it fits your missions. Yet you are looking at vastly different craft, all costing a lot more than you are paying now and all at radically different operating expenses.

There is no plane that "does it all" so what's important to you?

Maybe buy a boat if you have H2O around and keep your plane.

Boston, DC, otherwise mostly in the northeast. My longest trip is to Lafayette, IN, where my daughter is in college for the next 3 years, at least. I'll do it 2-3 times per year. It's about 620 nm.

The only reason I'm thinking about changing is because my wife wants the parachute or a second engine because she thinks it will be safer. She'll be more comfortable, which means she'll be go more often.

The direct costs of running the Cirrus or DA42 are probably 20-30% more than the Mooney, which in my mind are small compared to the cost of money and depreciation.

I agree with Sandy, it all comes down to your mission.
We owned an M20M and several SR22's for a number of years, the Mooney was my favorite plane to date...but if you take your wife on a trip in a Cirrus, and it fits your mission, you're buying the Cirrus...that's my experience anyway. My wife would choose an SR22 over the 421 if it fit our mission and it had nothing to do with the chute.

I think the first thing is the first thing. If you want your wife to fly with you more, and be comfortable, then you need to change airplanes apparently.

There is some debate about whether the Cirrus is safer than other single engine airplanes (I probably should have used green for that statement!). There shouldn't be any about whether a twin is safer than what you fly. The statistics say it isn't.

So, buy what makes you and your wife feel most comfortable.

[quote="Tony Caldwell"][quote="Dennis Wolf"]

There shouldn't be any about whether a twin is safer than what you fly. The statistics say it isn't.

BS, The statistics are very skewed! They don't show every twin that loses an engine and lands safely and therefore becomes a non-event. I'd rather have a second engine and a well trained pilot any day.

I know that you've squeezed into a Mooney, so a short Baron would seem roomy. But they are tiny. Frankly, if you want to move to a twin I would get a twin Cessna. Their roominess will spoil you, not to mention their ability to haul a lot of stuff. If you can afford it, look at a pressurized twin Cessna like a 414 or 421B or even a 340, you can find good ones for under 200k. You will never go back to a non-pressurized plane if you try it. One other thing that will spoil your wife is the air conditioning in these planes. Yes they will cost more to operate, but if you can afford 4-600k on a depreciating asset, you can afford a 421B.

Dont let her fly in the Cirrus if you dont want to buy her a Cirrus.

Anything but the DA42. I never see Diamonds anywhere and I gotta imagine it would be hard to get rid of.

Cirrus SR22 at our field, the wife sat in it while telling me how comfortable the seats felt compared to ours, and look honey it has all the glass just like ours.....then she ask how much do these cost....I replied about 1/2 mil......she got right out

If my wife talked that way, my first approach would be to medicate her for a few flights. If she couldn't fly comfortably without Xanax after a while, I'd get a Twin Bonanza.

That way, she gets the second engine she wants but we don't need, and I get the T-Bone I've always wanted but never needed. It's called leverage!