I’m thinking about stepping up to a Pressurized Twin and really think the 421 will fill the mission profile.

Lots of room for everyone and everything. Fast enough to make a 625 NM trip tolerable in pressurized comfort. Potty is a plus.

The market is asking $350k to $450k for a later model with trialing link gear, good engine times and some nice panel upgrades.

My biggest concern is the GTISO 520 engines. Case cracks, exhaust ADs, Starter Adapter ADs seem like a real hassle as well as an added expense.

So my thought is to move up to a Conquest 1 and avoid some of my concerns in dealing with the 421 and it’s ongoing maintenance headaches. For a few more bucks I can go faster, burn cheaper jet A while avoiding the constant AD compliance and worrying about which engine is gonna fail or need a premature O/H. Most of the log books I’ve seen in prebuys are littered with engines needing major work well in advance of TBO.

I understand the TP maintenance is costly with phase checks and such but at the end of a couple year cycle of predictable maintenance vs what I see as unpredictable nickel and dime’ing...Can I count on operating the Conquest for the same money as the 421?

Thanks in advance for your insights

Regards

AB

No :D

You’d get closer with a 441.

We have a nice 441 for sale...just sayin!

I've had my Conquest I for 2 years now and all in, including all fixed and variable expenses operating about 120 hours per year I see around $950 per hour. Keeping it simple, I go about 260 nm in 1 hour so that's $3.65 per mile. I think maintaining a 421 in good condition is going to be like $650/hour assuming the same usage so per mile it's about $3.09. The 425 is going to be more but not ridiculously more. The killer is maintenance. The parts are really, really expensive and there are a lot of regularly scheduled inspections that always uncover something which is true for all turboprops. On the plus side, the performance is fantastic and you will find yourself doing trips that you normally wouldn't do, just because you can. If those trips bring in more business at work then it's totally justified. I flew it over 8000nm in 3 weeks, all for work. The reliability is much better too and you don't fear getting stranded like in a piston. But if it's just for personal travel it's a little harder to justify. CapEx will be more too for a decent example.

Question: "Can I operate a Conquest1on a 421 budget?"

Answer: Yes* !!
* but you will just have to supplement it with some other budgeted funds

Honestly what we've found in 9 years of turboprop ownership is a LOT less constant nuisance maintenance, with occasional whoppers. We've had 2 @ $25k whoppers (part failures). The other big ticket expenses were common to any bigger plane (paint, boots and interior).

Guarantee you will love the plane a lot.

421 GTISO maintenance is the 800 lb gorilla in the room.
Seems like there are a lot of 421's on the market.
The tea leaves have spoken...turbine may be a better, much more reliable solution

I think Scott is spot on. It’s more but not a lot more. In trade for a little more, you get better reliablility, performance and safety. Most importantly you get there faster.

If you find a TP maintained by a good shop like Weststar you have a much more known quantity than a piston in most cases.

My 421C would do 230ktas on 44gph. A 425 uses PW engines and is not much faster, but burns a lot more gas. My 421C would go to FL270 on days many KingAir 90s would not.

Maintenance was easy on my 421, as I bought an excellent example.

A TP with -10s could be run efficiently in comparison. A 425 wasn’t close when I ran the numbers.

Talk to Max Nerheim. He went from a 421 to a 441 so he can give you both sides.

Don’t forget to factor that worst case engine event if you won’t be on a program. At least 2 of our BTers have lost jet engines recently. In each case you could have bought a nice 421 complete.

Best,

Its hard to beat the performance and fuel burn of a -10 Garrett.

Oh c’mon guys... Can’t we all just respond with a resounded YES and then drool over the photos and Flightware images of his soon-to-be-had gorgeous C425?

Perhaps.

However if I showed you a pile of actual recent mx bills for C441’s, it would make your eyes water and your wallet grow legs and run away.

Perhaps.

However if I showed you a pile of actual recent mx bills for C441’s, it would make your eyes water and your wallet grow legs and run away.

Thanks guys,

I really appreciate the comments and real life expirences you all have expressed. That the great thing about BT!

It seems the Garret powered planes have snuck into the conversation. With that in mind does the Turbo Comander make sense? It seems there’s a few good examples on the market at very reasonable prices.

Maybe Adam will chime in...

AB

C441's and Turbo Commanders are AMAZING airplanes - speed, range, efficiency. I think both will cost a little more than a C425 to operate but not a whole lot more, especially on a per mile basis because they are faster. But one thing that can really affect the budget is hangar space which depends totally on where you live. In Northern CA, hangaring a C425 is about $550 per month. Step up to a 441 or a TC with the 50' wing and it could be as much as $1600/mo if you have to put it in a 60 x 60 box (there are few T hangars anywhere with a 55' door). So if you own your own big hangar then go for it. But if you are renting then a C425 will fit in most large T's (but not by a lot). I have about 8" clearance on each side and putting the airplane back in the hangar is the single most challenging thing about flying the airplane. Also PT6 mechanics are everywhere but 331 people are a little harder to find. And rigging the engines on a 331 powered airplane is very important so access to qualified maintenance in your area is also a consideration.

Also just for comparison, I see 260 kts @ FL270/280 on about 58 GPH (-112 engines). For flight planning I use 500 lbs for the first hour and 400 lbs every hour after that.

Cheyenne II or I would be closer(II abt 250-260kts I abt 230-240) not a lot of mandatory inspections/overhauls