Frankly I'm of the opinion that it makes very, very logical and economic sense to own a turbo prop or any business aircraft if you value your sanity and time.

Commercial travel is no longer cheaper than GA and it's certainly takes way more time. If you are a weather wimp (like me) you may have to wait a day, but travelling commercially is no longer cheap or worth the hassle. Now if you are transporting more than 6 people, GA is a no brainer.

I loved the demo ride of the Evolution. If I could have swung the cash, it would have been very hard to resist going that route. But at the end of the day, insurance would have cost more then my annual budget for the Cirrus I was flying, and the capital cost was extreme. Being experimental just does not save you enough money to make up for those two factors.

Since it sounds like it is just two of you, and you want a turbine for dispatch reliability, about the cheapest turboprop to own is the Meridian.

Personally, if you really want to spend some cash, I would either rebuild the A36, go the PA-46 Meridian, or jump to Cessna Mustang. Sort of a go big or go home mentality.

Tim

Good comments, thank you. As for costs, I'm willing (and able) to pay more than I am now, although not light-cigars-with-Benjamins more, and that makes priced-for-Part 135 TBM parts (and calendar time overhaul schedules) tough to swallow. But the plane needs to be reliable, ready to go without scrambling around before every trip fixing things that show up at the last minute, as I have done repeatedly in the last year. I'm willing to pay more up front, at annual and TBO to have nothing come up in between, which favors a newer plane, not something from the 80s.
I've yet to get hard numbers on insurance, we'll see what they want to light cigars with.
LOL, my wife says much the same thing, that I should be sure to get something I'll be happy with to the end of my flying days. Keeping it as long as I have my first plane would take me into my 70s.

Exhaust manifold crack that turned into a new cylinder. Twenty year old gyros and air pump died. Rough engine (twice, one was a loose hose clamp). No oil temp (sensor wire came off). I've spent more time in the last year investigating problems than I have flying trips. Part of the appeal of E-AB is that I could do the troubleshooting a lot faster if I'd built the plane.

I don't think trading for a newer plane is going to appreciably increase the reliability, unless you trade to a different class of aircraft.

The most cost effective way to get a more reliable plane would be to either explain to your shop that downtime between annuals is unacceptable and you are willing to pay what it takes to make your plane 100% reliable, or change maintenance providers to someone who understands your needs.

That said, the only real way to get something more reliable than a properly maintained Bonanza is to go with something that burns jet A like a TBM or a Pilatus and of course we all know what that means in terms of $$$$. If its just something that you want, then by all means don't justify, just buy. Hey that rhymes...it could have been a Johnny Cochran saying.

Stepping out on a the edge here BUT my 2 cents:

I went thru the same thoughts, 90% of the time, myself only in the plane,7.5% my Wife and I, and 2,5% more than 2 people. 150-950 miles per trip, generally 3-500 miles
Turbine reliability, 225 Knots GS, 20,000 Ft, 65 GPH, No Phase or Gear mandatory Inspections,
1984 Cheyenne I, not a beech but best suites my entry turbine desire very well. Parts still made and available.

Older is not necessarily less reliable.

Newer is not necessarily more reliable.

I would expect an old turboprop to be more reliable than a brand new right off the assembly line piston aircraft.

My airplane goes inspection to inspection with exceptionally few squawks. This is apparently typical of the type as other owners report the same.

I've had near 99.84% dispatch reliability over the 7 years I have owned it. Only once did the plane not go, bad squat switch and that was a non critical flight (repo back to home base empty). Fixed the next day. All other times, I went when I wanted for any reason, mechanical or weather.

My airplane is 40 years old. Maintenance per year averages $15K. I've had inspections as low as $8K and high as $23K.

I don't have cigars to light, much less Benjamins to do it with.

Mike C.

You want to actually build the Evolution?

Someone annoyed with tracking your A36 problems is not typically going to make a good airplane builder. Talk about a time investment!

Mike C.

Hey, I maintained a British sports car for a decade, that ought to count for something! Even rebuilt the engine, I know which end of a spanner (er, wrench) to hold. But yeah, I would require adult supervision.

Evolution is stunningly well built but the cabin is super cramped. Aweful to get into the copilots seat. Check out the Epic or.... Find yourself a nice used eclipse.

Mike

No, you are not nuts
My Evo is to get lancair installed de ice boots this month including windshield glycol and intake electric heater
Reliability? Talk with the PW engineer in charge of lancair field service, this airplane takes off with less power than in cruise, I use 900 pounds thrust and my temps are never over 700, engineer says engine will last forever
I burn 28 gal/hr at 28k for a range of over 1400 miles, show me anything close to that doing 270 knots, Go ahead
Plane is 4 years old,starts at minus 20 without APU burns no oil runs magnificently
There is nothing in the market that can compete with it, only shortcoming is 4 seats but 90% of my flights are solo. Garmin 900 with 750 autopilot best around
And it's not 2M as advertised, you can get one close to half of that

Experimental?
Like they say when are afraid of fear when talking of eab (10 years of IV-P flying )

I assume you actually mean 900 foot pounds of torque right?

What engine do you have installed? Is there a limiting factor that requires that you run the engine so gingerly, or do you just choose to do so because you are satisfied with the performance that you are currently getting?

Are you running away from something or running to something.....both can be admirable depending. Something seems askew here on the Bo. Yes stuff happens but much of it can be avoided by aggressively investing at each annual. This site is replete with debates on annual costs and in full disclosure I spend at the high end. I rarely see an issue with my plane between annuals. I agree with the notion of getting your Bo up to speed. You have the money if your talking turbine budget....i would get my plane into one of the top two Beech mechanics and have them go through it top to bottom. I would then get into an avionics shop that can get in and get out of in reasonable time.

If after flying that updated Bo you decide you still want turbine, you will likely move your Bo much faster given the updates.

LOL, my wife says much the same thing, that I should be sure to get something I'll be happy with to the end of my flying days. Keeping it as long as I have my first plane would take me into my 70s.

Jason, what is the coverage on your insurance? Is it USA only or does it include other parts of the globe?