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 Post subject: Now flying, FL410.
PostPosted: 12 May 2021, 08:51 
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Joined: 11/07/11
Posts: 721
Post Likes: +392
Location: KBED, KCRE
Aircraft: Phenom 100
Well, when they say it is a sellers market, they are not lying. At the end of last year, we decided it was time to move away from our 2013 G1000 Meridian and into something a bit faster, a bit more legs and a bit more room. it had been 7 years with our Meridian and we have put just under 1000 hours on it and traveled 250,000 miles. 600 flights and my wife and I are trying to figure out if we had 0 or 1 AOG event in that time. In either case, we went to the airplane expecting to fly it, every time. Pretty great dispatch reliability. Also owning it has been very easy on the maintenance budget with an average annual year cost of $26,000 including the annual (coincidentally cheaper than the hangar). Depreciation was just north of $600 an hour, 3x the fuel costs and 3x the maintenance costs per hour. Of course nothing compares to the opportunity cost of $2,000,000 tied up in a depreciating asset for 7 years, because putting that in an index fund in 2013 would have turned it into around $6,000,000.

Sooooo, let's spend even more money per hour converting dinosaurs into thrust. Enter the search for higher, faster, longer legs. Our main mission is 660kn up and down the east coast. Winter winds can be pretty brutal and anything over 60 kts in the Meridian we were making a stop turning a 3:00 flight into almost a 5 hour day. This was our main goal with moving up, eliminate this stop. We made a budget, and put together the list of aircraft that fit into it as well as could do the mission non stop with 4 people:

Beech Premier
Cessna Mustang
Cessna 525 CJ1+/M2
Phenom 100

Our favorite overall of the bunch was the Premier from a speed and looks stand point, something about that plane just works for us. The range is pretty poor and maintenance is questionable. Also the avionics and cockpit aren't the most up to date either. Crossed off.

Next up was the Mustang. Probably the best cockpit and a very familiar G1000 setup. The slowest of the group, but the range works great and the seating in the back is nice. Smallest of the bunch as well and probably the cheapest to operate. But we found the 525 and the Phenom better fits for us, so we cross off the Mustang.

The CJ1+ and the M2 are similar enough to lump them together that it came down to avionics and price. Around this time I made a requirement of G1000 or G3000 and so the M2 won out over the CJ1+, but if we moved forward with the M2 it would likely have to be with a partner because program minimums are a hard 150 hours for both parts and engine, and we fly 100 hours a year. Also the capital cost was 50% above our budget. However, the M2 is sneaky fast. Climbs fast, goes faster and gets high quick. Whatever the book numbers on the M2 are you can toss those and add about 10 knots or more. The cabin didn't feel any roomier than the Mustang, and the seats require you to articulate them into the aisle so your head doesn't hit. The cockpit however was the biggest deal breaker for me - I just didn't fit. With 2 demo flights under our belt, I ran into the same issues on both occasions - the 5 point harness would cut off the circulation to very important parts of me and I couldn't adjust the seat back enough and reclined enough to be comfortable. Walls and cabinets get in the way. I really like the airplane and my wife really wanted it to work, but not being able to fit as well as not being a great sharer, having a partner in a plane - our first jet - just didn't sound like something we wanted to venture into.

Enter the winner: a 2013 Phenom 100. We looked at 5 other samples, 2 sold before we even made it back home, 2 were on non factory engine and or parts programs and 1 was going to be tied up until the summer. This is where we learned the value of a broker and broker's relationships. We knew we needed one for the sell side, but hadn't considered one for the buy side. We reached out to a few and Eric Hammer of Elliot reached out to us directly after indicating our plans to move out of our Piper Meridian and into a Phenom 100. Eric led pre-owned aircraft sales for the Embraer for nearly a decade - so it seemed like an obvious fit.

Our Meridian was under contract with very favorable conditions and price in less than a week of going on the market - it's an extremely good sellers market, and I'm very glad we didn't have to deal with all the inquiries directly.

As for the Phenom, Eric uncovered what we believe to be the best possible airplane for us, and more importantly prior to going on the market, in what is arguable one of the most demanding seller-friendly markets he has seen in decades. Timing was crazy as both the Meridian and the Phenom went to pre-buy at the same time and the amount of paperwork that involves is unreal. Very happy to have had Eric on our side organizing it all. Our Meridian closed 2 days prior to the Phenom closing, so timing was pretty spot on.

The Phenom:

Attachment:
IMG_0479.jpg


2013 Phenom 100
950 hours
And by far the nicest maintained 100 we had looked at. And as a topper, the very first flight we did with it was against 60-90kts of headwind and it made it down with not the best routing. We did get an unrestricted climb to FL380 which always helps range.

560 pounds per hour up there, 350kts. Fly lower go faster up to about 395 knots. FL360 is the sweet spot at 375 knots and fuel flow I think is 700 something. The faster you go, the fewer hours of programs you pay.

Sad to see the Meridian fly away for the last time, but very happy with our find and look forward to the next 250,000 miles.

Chip-


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 Post subject: Re: Now flying, FL410.
PostPosted: 12 May 2021, 09:09 
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Joined: 04/24/18
Posts: 727
Post Likes: +340
Location: NYC
Aircraft: ISP Eagle II SR22 g2
Username Protected wrote:
Well, when they say it is a sellers market, they are not lying. At the end of last year, we decided it was time to move away from our 2013 G1000 Meridian and into something a bit faster, a bit more legs and a bit more room. it had been 7 years with our Meridian and we have put just under 1000 hours on it and traveled 250,000 miles. 600 flights and my wife and I are trying to figure out if we had 0 or 1 AOG event in that time. In either case, we went to the airplane expecting to fly it, every time. Pretty great dispatch reliability. Also owning it has been very easy on the maintenance budget with an average annual year cost of $26,000 including the annual (coincidentally cheaper than the hangar). Depreciation was just north of $600 an hour, 3x the fuel costs and 3x the maintenance costs per hour. Of course nothing compares to the opportunity cost of $2,000,000 tied up in a depreciating asset for 7 years, because putting that in an index fund in 2013 would have turned it into around $6,000,000.

Sooooo, let's spend even more money per hour converting dinosaurs into thrust. Enter the search for higher, faster, longer legs. Our main mission is 660kn up and down the east coast. Winter winds can be pretty brutal and anything over 60 kts in the Meridian we were making a stop turning a 3:00 flight into almost a 5 hour day. This was our main goal with moving up, eliminate this stop. We made a budget, and put together the list of aircraft that fit into it as well as could do the mission non stop with 4 people:

Beech Premier
Cessna Mustang
Cessna 525 CJ1+/M2
Phenom 100

Our favorite overall of the bunch was the Premier from a speed and looks stand point, something about that plane just works for us. The range is pretty poor and maintenance is questionable. Also the avionics and cockpit aren't the most up to date either. Crossed off.

Next up was the Mustang. Probably the best cockpit and a very familiar G1000 setup. The slowest of the group, but the range works great and the seating in the back is nice. Smallest of the bunch as well and probably the cheapest to operate. But we found the 525 and the Phenom better fits for us, so we cross off the Mustang.

The CJ1+ and the M2 are similar enough to lump them together that it came down to avionics and price. Around this time I made a requirement of G1000 or G3000 and so the M2 won out over the CJ1+, but if we moved forward with the M2 it would likely have to be with a partner because program minimums are a hard 150 hours for both parts and engine, and we fly 100 hours a year. Also the capital cost was 50% above our budget. However, the M2 is sneaky fast. Climbs fast, goes faster and gets high quick. Whatever the book numbers on the M2 are you can toss those and add about 10 knots or more. The cabin didn't feel any roomier than the Mustang, and the seats require you to articulate them into the aisle so your head doesn't hit. The cockpit however was the biggest deal breaker for me - I just didn't fit. With 2 demo flights under our belt, I ran into the same issues on both occasions - the 5 point harness would cut off the circulation to very important parts of me and I couldn't adjust the seat back enough and reclined enough to be comfortable. Walls and cabinets get in the way. I really like the airplane and my wife really wanted it to work, but not being able to fit as well as not being a great sharer, having a partner in a plane - our first jet - just didn't sound like something we wanted to venture into.

Enter the winner: a 2013 Phenom 100. We looked at 5 other samples, 2 sold before we even made it back home, 2 were on non factory engine and or parts programs and 1 was going to be tied up until the summer. This is where we learned the value of a broker and broker's relationships. We knew we needed one for the sell side, but hadn't considered one for the buy side. We reached out to a few and Eric Hammer of Elliot reached out to us directly after indicating our plans to move out of our Piper Meridian and into a Phenom 100. Eric led pre-owned aircraft sales for the Embraer for nearly a decade - so it seemed like an obvious fit.

Our Meridian was under contract with very favorable conditions and price in less than a week of going on the market - it's an extremely good sellers market, and I'm very glad we didn't have to deal with all the inquiries directly.

As for the Phenom, Eric uncovered what we believe to be the best possible airplane for us, and more importantly prior to going on the market, in what is arguable one of the most demanding seller-friendly markets he has seen in decades. Timing was crazy as both the Meridian and the Phenom went to pre-buy at the same time and the amount of paperwork that involves is unreal. Very happy to have had Eric on our side organizing it all. Our Meridian closed 2 days prior to the Phenom closing, so timing was pretty spot on.

The Phenom:

Attachment:
IMG_0479.jpg


2013 Phenom 100
950 hours
And by far the nicest maintained 100 we had looked at. And as a topper, the very first flight we did with it was against 60-90kts of headwind and it made it down with not the best routing. We did get an unrestricted climb to FL380 which always helps range.

560 pounds per hour up there, 350kts. Fly lower go faster up to about 395 knots. FL360 is the sweet spot at 375 knots and fuel flow I think is 700 something. The faster you go, the fewer hours of programs you pay.

Sad to see the Meridian fly away for the last time, but very happy with our find and look forward to the next 250,000 miles.

Chip-


Awesome write up. Looking forward to the full pirep!

Just curious how you accounted for the reportedly 250k 10year gear and airframe inspection due in 2 years?


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 Post subject: Re: Now flying, FL410.
PostPosted: 12 May 2021, 09:50 
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Joined: 11/07/11
Posts: 721
Post Likes: +392
Location: KBED, KCRE
Aircraft: Phenom 100
Thanks. You account for anything with the purchase price, not much more you can do from there other than take it as it comes at you. 10 year gear pricing has been coming down pretty quick which is nice. The 10 year inspection will be for labor, so we are figuring somewhere south of $200k. :cross: :shrug:

Chip-


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 Post subject: Re: Now flying, FL410.
PostPosted: 12 May 2021, 10:42 
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Joined: 12/25/12
Posts: 3711
Post Likes: +3661
Location: KRHV San Jose, CA
Aircraft: A36, R44, C525
Congratulations! Did you already get your Type?

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Altitude is Everything.


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 Post subject: Re: Now flying, FL410.
PostPosted: 12 May 2021, 11:59 
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Joined: 08/09/11
Posts: 1726
Post Likes: +2048
Company: Naples Jet Center
Location: KAPF KPIA
Aircraft: EMB500 AC95 AEST
Smart choice and congratulations Chip! They really are great airplanes and the 10 year is nothing to fear.


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 Post subject: Re: Now flying, FL410.
PostPosted: 12 May 2021, 12:37 
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Joined: 08/05/08
Posts: 287
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Location: Raleigh NC
Aircraft: CJ1, T210, J3
Congrats!


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 Post subject: Re: Now flying, FL410.
PostPosted: 12 May 2021, 13:20 
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Joined: 09/16/10
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Chip, congrats! And thank you for posing your thoughts on selection of aircraft! :thumbup:

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 Post subject: Re: Now flying, FL410.
PostPosted: 12 May 2021, 13:41 
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Joined: 09/02/09
Posts: 8415
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Company: OAA
Location: Oklahoma City - PWA/Calistoga KSTS
Aircraft: UMF3, UBF 2, P180 II
Congratulations Chip! Nice write up of your thought process. I think the cabin in the P100 is nicer than the M2 and it's no contest in the cockpit. What does your wife think of the two cabins?

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 Post subject: Re: Now flying, FL410.
PostPosted: 12 May 2021, 21:06 
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Joined: 06/17/14
Posts: 4891
Post Likes: +1861
Location: KJYO
Aircraft: C-182, GA-7
Enjoy turning dinosaur juice into thrust in black smoke!! SWMBO and you probably enjoy the legroom in the back and the ease of getting in the front.

Is she impressed by the jet? A friend bought one and loved it until Pilatus made him a deal on a PC-24. Apparently it had a smidge more legroom and the ‘boss’ made the decision for them and their business’s.

The bright side - he got to spend ‘quality time’ with the CEO.
The downside - he got to spend ‘quality time’ with the CEO.


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 Post subject: Re: Now flying, FL410.
PostPosted: 12 May 2021, 23:41 
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Joined: 06/23/09
Posts: 2299
Post Likes: +707
Location: KIKK......Kankakee, Illinois
Aircraft: TBM 850
Boy did you depress me about the money in the index fund :bugeye: . We came very very close to buying a phenom 100. Great plane.


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 Post subject: Re: Now flying, FL410.
PostPosted: 13 May 2021, 08:26 
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Joined: 03/03/11
Posts: 1845
Post Likes: +1819
Aircraft: Piaggio Avanti
Cool post and info! Re:index fund - i would propose the 4mm not gained since 2013 is a small price to pay for zooming around in a turbine powered time machine.

Seriously, what else could you have spent 4mm on that would have created so much fun. Plus, the 4mm is about to be taxed at 50% if you sold so it’s really only 2mm of usable gain :)


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 Post subject: Re: Now flying, FL410.
PostPosted: 13 May 2021, 09:30 
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Joined: 11/07/11
Posts: 721
Post Likes: +392
Location: KBED, KCRE
Aircraft: Phenom 100
No type rating for me for a while - I'm a relatively low time pilot and we fly with a pro pilot for all of our flights. He's currently doing the training, first in plane type followed by recurrent in the sim down at CAE.

Wouldn't trade the opportunity cost for not having to fly commercial the last 7 years!

We both love the room in the back and I'm sure guests will love the lav privacy (we have a strong pee in a pilot john policy though). My wife is in charge of maintenance scheduling and tracking and what not, so she is drinking from the CAMP fire house right now and definitely not loving it. It's a pretty bad interface, but the plane was already on it so the transition was easy, just break of another 5AMU for the next 12 months.

We also lost our local service center, but hope they figure something else out as rumors have suggested.

What's pretty amazing about the 100 is there is a $15,000 magic sheet of paper that increases the max weight 110 pounds!

Chip-


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 Post subject: Re: Now flying, FL410.
PostPosted: 14 May 2021, 00:05 
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Joined: 06/23/09
Posts: 2299
Post Likes: +707
Location: KIKK......Kankakee, Illinois
Aircraft: TBM 850
Anthony.......very true. Both my kids went to college on the east coast. If not for “the bird”
Momma would have never seen her babies........hard to put a price on that!


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 Post subject: Re: Now flying, FL410.
PostPosted: 14 May 2021, 01:33 
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Posts: 14128
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Location: Walnut Creek, CA (KCCR)
Aircraft: 1962 Twin Bonanza
cool deal! :thumbup:

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 Post subject: Re: Now flying, FL410.
PostPosted: 18 May 2021, 17:34 
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Joined: 11/13/20
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Nice writeup, amazing new bird. Congrats to you and your family!


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