29 Mar 2024, 04:04 [ UTC - 5; DST ]
|
Username Protected
|
Post subject: Re: MU2-N inspection costs Posted: 20 Jun 2017, 09:23 |
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: 07/24/14 Posts: 1754 Post Likes: +2213
|
|
Username Protected wrote: Looks like the 100/200 hr inspections are less than $4K .... probably something in the range of 5-8 hours fuel burn. I'm hearing that the yearly inspection for a 40 year old 300+kt pressurized twin turboprop is under $3k and the "big inspection" is $4k. Those are NA piston single prices. It's doesn't pass my sniff test; I don't buy it. There's a zero missing. Instead of sniffing it, talk to someone who can tell you for certain. I've owned both a C340A and a Marquise and my average annual maintenance costs were less on the Marquise than on the 340. No, my annuals weren't $3 or $4k, that's just the inspection cost, but all in, my annuals were $15-$25k, comparable to a big bore pressurized twin.
_________________ Jay
|
|
Top |
|
Username Protected
|
Post subject: Re: MU2-N inspection costs Posted: 20 Jun 2017, 10:26 |
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: 11/30/12 Posts: 4006 Post Likes: +4410 Location: Santa Fe, NM (KSAF)
Aircraft: B200, 500B
|
|
Username Protected wrote: Instead of sniffing it, talk to someone who can tell you for certain. That's exactly what I'm trying to do - get input from owners like you on actual maintenance costs. I have talked to maintenance shops, and I've yet to get useful answers about costs from them. They will quote base inspection costs, but shy away from giving numbers on average real world costs once repairs are factored in.
_________________ Be Nice
|
|
Top |
|
Username Protected
|
Post subject: Re: MU2-N inspection costs Posted: 20 Jun 2017, 10:29 |
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: 11/08/12 Posts: 12798 Post Likes: +5224 Location: Jackson, MS (KHKS)
Aircraft: 1961 Cessna 172
|
|
Username Protected wrote: , but shy away from giving numbers on average real world costs once repairs are factored in. What you will find in owner reports, over and over, is that things don't break much. It's not like a piston where you can expect meaningful repairs all the time. Mostly things don't break. When they do, it's often a $10K event, but it's not the death by 1000 cuts piston experience. At one point the place in tulsa offered an hourly maintenance program, if still available, that would give you a reasonable upper bound on costs.
|
|
Top |
|
Username Protected
|
Post subject: Re: MU2-N inspection costs Posted: 20 Jun 2017, 12:31 |
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: 07/24/14 Posts: 1754 Post Likes: +2213
|
|
Username Protected wrote: Instead of sniffing it, talk to someone who can tell you for certain. That's exactly what I'm trying to do - get input from owners like you on actual maintenance costs. I have talked to maintenance shops, and I've yet to get useful answers about costs from them. They will quote base inspection costs, but shy away from giving numbers on average real world costs once repairs are factored in. Ok, then we're all good then.
I just took issue with your assertion that annuals were averaging $30-40k and they just aren't.
Regarding the hourly items, I don't recall there being a ton of those. Hopefully Anthony will provide some detail to his comment. 4 bladed props have to be overhauled every 5 years and can be extended to 7 years via AMOC. Replacing the windshields is an expensive proposition, but that only happens every 10-15 years, with some going longer than that.
Beyond the props and glass, the obvious other big ticket item is the engine. If something breaks on the engine like a fuel control unit or similar then you're talking some pretty big dollars. Fortunately, the Garretts are known for being relatively maintenance free. Over a 10 year period and say, 2000 hours of flying, I would take a pair of Garretts over a pair of big bore pistons without hesitation. Turbines don't need the constant care and feeding piston engines require. I didn't miss the tedious and time consuming setup of my 340's engines during each annual. And they often required more adjusting as the year went on. I never had to make any changes to my MU2 engines between annuals. The only maintenance I had to do between annuals was one time when I had a starter/generator go bad. IJSC sent a tech to my home field and changed it out in a couple hours.
I'll go back thru my annuals and see if I ever did a 600 hour inspection. If I did, I'll post the details.
You should also take into account, and I suspect you are, that an hour in an MU2 takes you quite a farther than your 340. If the hourly costs are similar, your per mile costs are less.
When I bought the Marquise and compared my all in costs to the 340, on a per hour basis, everything cost about the same, EXCEPT the fuel cost. My fuel consumption was a little more than 2x per hour (95 gph vs 40 gph) more than the 340. I'm talking averages here, including taxi, climb, cruise, etc. Factor in the MU2's speed and the cost difference between Jet fuel and avgas and that difference drops down in the 50-60% more PER MILE in fuel costs for my Marquise.
Funny story: When I started flying my Marquise, I was shocked to see how much fuel the MU2 burns on the ground at idle. My Marquise burned the same GPH IDLING ON THE GROUND as my C340 at full cruise! Needless to say, I tried to keep ground time at a minimum.
Short body MU2s burn less PPH and go faster so a short body will come a lot closer to what your 340 burns per mile, but it will still cost you more per mile to fly an MU2 vs a 340A, in my experience. Mike C. contends that his MU2M model costs less per mile than a C421 and he is likely correct.
I see that you're on the MU2 forums. Lots of good information there (and here in the archives).
_________________ Jay
|
|
Top |
|
Username Protected
|
Post subject: Re: MU2-N inspection costs Posted: 20 Jun 2017, 13:10 |
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: 11/30/12 Posts: 4006 Post Likes: +4410 Location: Santa Fe, NM (KSAF)
Aircraft: B200, 500B
|
|
The statement that failed the "sniff test" that I was referring to was the poster who said yearly inspections were about 8 hrs fuel burn, or around $2k. It looks like he was indeed missing a zero.
And yes, you can add my name to what seems to be a long list of people who are considering a move from a 340 to a twin turbine. My thought is not that I'll save money, but if I can go faster-farther-higher, carry more, go in and out of shorter fields while spending fewer days in the shop....who doesn't want that if the cost delta is reasonable?
It seems that in order to keep the costs down, I have to make the jump to -10 engines. The -5 HSIs are more than my TSIO-520 overhauls, and just as often.
_________________ Be Nice
|
|
Top |
|
Username Protected
|
Post subject: Re: MU2-N inspection costs Posted: 20 Jun 2017, 15:12 |
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: 07/24/14 Posts: 1754 Post Likes: +2213
|
|
Username Protected wrote: The statement that failed the "sniff test" that I was referring to was the poster who said yearly inspections were about 8 hrs fuel burn, or around $2k. It looks like he was indeed missing a zero. I think he was referring to the "inspection" part of the annual, which IIRC is $2-4k.
_________________ Jay
|
|
Top |
|
Username Protected
|
Post subject: Re: MU2-N inspection costs Posted: 20 Jun 2017, 16:17 |
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: 11/30/12 Posts: 4006 Post Likes: +4410 Location: Santa Fe, NM (KSAF)
Aircraft: B200, 500B
|
|
Two guys are in a blimp, lost in the Seattle fog. They pass by a skyscraper with an open window and the pilot leans out and yells to a person visible in the skyscraper: "Where are we?" The answer comes back "You're in a blimp!" The pilot then proceeds to navigate to a safe landing. The passenger says "How did that help you?" The pilot answers "Well, the answer was both entirely correct and totally useless, so I knew he worked for Microsoft tech support. Once I knew that, finding our way home was easy." That's how I feel about "the inspection costs $2,000." (This joke is from the early 90's. Feel free to replace "Seattle" and "Microsoft" with your company of choice.)
_________________ Be Nice
|
|
Top |
|
Username Protected
|
Post subject: Re: MU2-N inspection costs Posted: 25 Jun 2017, 10:56 |
|
|
|
|
Joined: 09/09/14 Posts: 776 Post Likes: +1729 Location: Grove Airport, Camas WA
Aircraft: Cub, Stearman
|
|
What's really instructive is when you crunch the numbers in regard to speed. Much higher TAS, coupled with lower JET A costs, negate the extra burn. Some back of the napkin chainsaw math yields a per mile cost similar to a non-pressurized recip twin like a Cessna 310.
So then the question becomes; is one able to swing the higher fixed costs?
I have got to start a business. I love my airline job, but I need to be making about twice as much.
|
|
Top |
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum
|
Terms of Service | Forum FAQ | Contact Us
BeechTalk, LLC is the quintessential Beechcraft Owners & Pilots Group providing a
forum for the discussion of technical, practical, and entertaining issues relating to all Beech aircraft. These include
the Bonanza (both V-tail and straight-tail models), Baron, Debonair, Duke, Twin Bonanza, King Air, Sierra, Skipper, Sport, Sundowner,
Musketeer, Travel Air, Starship, Queen Air, BeechJet, and Premier lines of airplanes, turboprops, and turbojets.
BeechTalk, LLC is not affiliated or endorsed by the Beechcraft Corporation, its subsidiaries, or affiliates.
Beechcraft™, King Air™, and Travel Air™ are the registered trademarks of the Beechcraft Corporation.
Copyright© BeechTalk, LLC 2007-2024
|
|
|
|