Ask the question on MMOPA. Wealth of knowledge on that forum and it'll probably stay a bit more on topic.

When I was looking at that market, JetProps always struck me as a great 1-2 person traveling machine. And supremely affordable to operate. The Meridian, which I flew, was also very affordable and was incredibly well designed. Clearly targeted at the entry-level turbine market. If you're OK with the known limitations, they're very hard to beat IMO.

I'd say my 2001 Meridian was as "simple to operate" as the C501 I fly now. An avionics upgrade with a new autopilot would push the needle decidedly into the 501 camp.

I wish there were more choices in that segment.
Things not as spendy as TBM but pressurized and big enough.

Maybe the Eclipse is a close proxy for entry SET(p).

What else is North of Bonanza but South of TBM.

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Put all that program cash into investments and you are ahead. You can't claim the lack of value drop without accounting for the cash you spent to assure it.

And the program payment don't actually assure lack of market value drop. It will drop and the higher the value, the more downside risk there is.

All those programs add up to incredible amounts of money. They are huge profit centers for the OEMs. CJP website is full of various whining about the increases the programs are undergoing. I am so happy to not be on any of them!

I'm convinced I am substantially ahead financially than if I bought a CJ2+ in late 2020. If you look at the cost of money, the programs, the higher cost of maintenance, the higher cost of avionics, higher insurance, higher taxes, and so forth, I'll be financially way ahead despite the fact I burn a bit more fuel.

I'm happy you find people with enough money to follow your advice, but there are more ways to own a jet than your way. The older jets are cheaper to own and operate, all money considered. This is why you see the number of BTers with them.

Mike C.

Put all that program cash into investments and you are ahead. You can't claim the lack of value drop without accounting for the cash you spent to assure it.

And the program payment don't actually assure lack of market value drop. It will drop and the higher the value, the more downside risk there is.

All those programs add up to incredible amounts of money. They are huge profit centers for the OEMs. CJP website is full of various whining about the increases the programs are undergoing. I am so happy to not be on any of them!

I'm convinced I am substantially ahead financially than if I bought a CJ2+ in late 2020. If you look at the cost of money, the programs, the higher cost of maintenance, the higher cost of avionics, higher insurance, higher taxes, and so forth, I'll be financially way ahead despite the fact I burn a bit more fuel.

I'm happy you find people with enough money to follow your advice, but there are more ways to own a jet than your way. The older jets are cheaper to own and operate, all money considered. This is why you see the number of BTers with them.

Mike C.

Rob yes you’re right about the ceiling of course. When I wrote FL250 I was thinking about the Mirage and mis typed.

Yeah, but you're a rich lawyer. I'm just a senior on a fixed income.

Yeah, but you're a rich lawyer. I'm just a senior on a fixed income.

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Surprised at how much relevant information you get on BT and COPA. Some smart people hanging around on these sites. PMOPA is a good group, and would agree that the content is usually very accurate. And you are speaking to a group that actually has time in the saddle. But it is a very sleepy site. When I was sniffing citations, joined CJOPA. Another sleepy site that is hard to navigate, but has accurate info.

The market pretty much has these things figured out. If airplane A costs more than airplane B, usually pretty good reasons for it. The hard part is figuring out if the reasons that the market has figured, out matter as much to you. The JP is good. The Meridian is better. The M500 is better still. The M600 is better than the M500. The M700 is probably better, but I still need to see that Unicorn in the wild to make an educated assessment. At some point, people will drop off the better vs price curve. I am near the top of mine. If I did have more money though, I would probably add airplanes, not get a different airplane. I would keep the M600 or get an M700, add an M2 to the fleet, and maybe a Kodiak, as well as a Greenbird or Extra 300. :-)

I think there is a place for SETP. Not every SETP thread needs to be about jets.

I saw a Meridian leaving St. George the other day and it was sexy as hell.

Also interesting that there was a legacy citation at the same time and when I landed in Provo there was another 501. Great to see them flying.

I went deep into the JP when considering a move up from
My Mirage to a SETP. Went thru all the accidents and wow it wasn’t good for the JP. Do yourself a favor and read all the accident for JP and Meridian. As a group the JP is bad.

In the end I could not afford a Meridian so I got a 421 then my 501. Technically today I could afford a Meridian but no way I can go back to props after flying a jet.

My thing has always been if you can afford a new SETP you can afford an older jet. Are the jets cheaper? No. But they are worth it if you have the dough. That being said I think the M600 works great for guys like Chuck.

Mike

My two cents, perhaps repeating some of the above

1) Jetprop is a very good airplane. The achilles heel is useful load. It's an open secret that lots of people fly them well over gross. I'm not aware of any significant legal or actual consequences to this. But the airplane (in most cases - varies by airframe) does have quite robust capabilities within the certified numbers.

2) Jetprop vs Meridian is basically a personality test. Think Mac vs PC or Manual Transmission BMW M3 vs Mercedes S class sedan. Fundamentally different design philosophies.

3) MMOPA Is worth the money if you're seriously considering any PA46

An older jet is dramatically cheaper than a new SETP. The cheapest one now is the M700 Fury for about $4.5M typically equipped with taxes.

The cost of money on a new $4.5M plane is enormous. Save most of that capital by buying an older jet, invest it, and you are paying for flying the jet easily. An SP500 ETF over the last 5 years has retuned 12.6% per year, that's almost $400K *per year* if you bought a $1M older jet instead.

An older SETP or a JetProp rebalances the capital cost argument if cheap enough, so they are economically attractive if the price is right.

The jet is far superior when it comes to safety, weather, comfort, speed, etc. Fly passengers in both and let them vote and it will be no contest.

The best use of an SETP is to get 500 turbine hours so you can get the SPE to fly the larger legacy Citations single pilot. Get those 500 hours and the upgrade. A better plan is to get a 501 for those 500 hours and then upgrade.

The SETP versus jet thing is all about the fact SETPs cost way too much.

Mike C.