12 years old, but only 67 hours on the aircraft!

https://www.fsboauctions.net/product/20 ... raft-a500/

Sad
Don't think there is any support for parts, could be trouble, read $$$$, to get legal to fly and keep it legal.

Don't think it can be reasonably made legal to fly. It is not certificated nor amatuer built.

You could (maybe) make up a story that could lead to experimental R&D or Show Compliance or Exhibition, but these would be restrictive at best if even possible.







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It’s a certified plane. Price needs to be in the low $2s to make any sense

My mistake. I tried to look up the TCDS but didn't find it because it was under Triton not Adam.

My mistake. I tried to look up the TCDS but didn't find it because it was under Triton not Adam.

VFR only? Naw.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/9a2iD4W5pS8[/youtube]

No need to be certified for that cargo

Didn't the airframe have a 12 year life limit?

Not 12 years, 1200 hours.

Hey, only 400 bucks an hour and then you toss it!

Compare it to a C421 - the old Cessna will be easier to get parts for and maintain. The fuel flows and performance metrics will be pretty close.

The practical buyer doesn't want this airplane at any price comparable to a used 421 or 414; so that pushes it to the low 100's for someone who is willing to deal with the maintenance in order to have the "cool factor".

We signed up as a service center as one of our customers purchased one, worked on this aircraft as well back then. One of the most poorly executed aircraft we have dealt with.
At the time we had hope for it as it was the only new pressurized twin in production. Had some neat follow on plans, single pusher with a PT6 on the back. No useful load, two people and one bag with nowhere to put the bag. Like many early composite aircraft they had to overbuild it to satisfy the FAA to the point it got to heavy to make sense.

Like the Eclipse they opted for clean slate design when they could have used off the shelf components, hired green engineers to design systems with no real background. Everything is unique in every system. There are many unproven systems, a 100 hour requirement for intercooler blocking vane overhaul. We developed an STC for overhaul of these, sold the STC with some other tooling including rigging travel boards to an operator in the north east. Last I heard the Arizona highway patrol and the one back east were the only flying airplanes out there.

The one for sale has put a whopping 12 hours on it since we last saw it nearly thirteen years ago.

We had three in our shop at once in 2008, watching one run up at full power with the tail booms waving in the breeze and what we saw of construction discouraged any of us to want to fly in one.

A twin Raptor? Donate it to a great cause.
M