Noel, I see you're retreading that paltry Navajo article again! Well, it was so nice, I had to 'like it' twice. Once again, great job and very thorough! Thanks, Mark

Thanks. I wanted to make a couple of corrections & additions, but the edit function isn't available on my original, so I copied & pasted it here with the changes. Otherwise I would have edited the original & just posted a link here.

So is there anyone near Chicago with a short body -310 I can check out?

Noel,

Great write up on the PA31 series. Any experience with the Mojave? I used to own a Chieftain back in the day. I'd like pressurization but just not sure if Piper fixed the problems of the P-Navajo when they built the Mojave.

Kirk

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Noel,

Great write up on the PA31 series. Any experience with the Mojave? I used to own a Chieftain back in the day. I'd like pressurization but just not sure if Piper fixed the problems of the P-Navajo when they built the Mojave.

Kirk

I've never flown the Mojave so I can't really help there. It doesn't have the geared engines of the P-Navajo, and couple of hundred pound increase in MTOW compared to a Chieftain (but then you can get a couple or few hundred pound MTOW increase for a Chieftain with a VG kit). I don't think it has much, if any, HP increase - unless the intercoolers add a bit. Pretty sure it has a bit more fuel capacity but not sure how much. It wouldn't surprise me if that accounts for the MTOW increase.

I'd be curious about its 1-inop performance, given the slightly increased MTOW on a PA31 wing. Maybe a wingspan increase to maintain the required 1-inop gradient?

Quite nutty that an emergency operation like OEI is limited by noise pollution rules.

OEI operation isn't limited. Normal, 2-operation is.

Will OMA be close enough? Nice stock one coming on the market early '18

George

How about Cincinnati? Not on the market yet, but you never know...
Full Panther mod.

Man, that's a good Looking Navajo.

Ok, so if I put all this into my guhzinta machine properly I come up with the following.

Baron 58
185 ish knots on 25 ish GPH lean of peak

Navajo C
190 ish knots on 30 ish GPH. Not sure if this is LOP or not.

My longest run would be Chicago Tucson but that’s a stop no matter what. The family trip would be Chicago to Orlando to hit up Disney for a few days.

The Navajo is 10 minuets faster to Orlando but uses 36 gallons more gas if I made the trip today.

Is 10 minuets worth $180 bucks in fuel?

30GPH I would think has to be LOP. I get just over 27GPH ~60-70deg LOP @ 33"/2300rpm. But I don't get 190kts. 170 +/-3 kts.

I plan 28GPH + 10gal/take-off at 11-12,000'. That's accurate to a gallon or two, flight after flight, with a slight over-estimation in total fuel burn. With full tanks that's 6hrs to dry tanks @ 170kts.

It isn't the speed IMHO, it is the room. Bigger plane that you can have pax eaisly go front to back, and have a potty (albeit a honey pot).

Eggzachery. It's not about the minor speed differences that could easily be mitigated by ATC, WX or whatever... it's about the room and capabilities. The Navajo is also actually a better short field performer than a Baron. The Baron certainly has its' place and is a fantastic airplane, but IMHO, all these folks that get mired up in aircraft selection over a couple of gallons of fuel or a few knots of speed are not looking at it with seasoning. In this league, if you're so concerned over such trivial dribble, you need to be looking at either jet equipment or Cessna 182's. Pick something that you LIKE in the "range" of aircraft you're seeking. When the bills come due, it will be much easier to stroke the check, or break your back in the shop fixing them yourself. If your two choices are parked on the ramp and your wife says... 'I like that one much better' -- pointing to the Navajo... well, you may have yourself an answer that can't be argued about later. Any cost differences could easily mitigate themselves over time. ~ ME