Cessna 414

[Daga]

Hello all,

I fly for a Cirrus SR22 owner, now he is thinking about buying a Cessna 414, does anyone know anything about this plane? Is it good to buy? what are the differences with a 421?

he would like to keep both planes.

Thanks!

[what next]

Good morning!

...does anyone know anything about this plane?What exactly do you want to know? I have flown over 1000 hours on 4-series Cessnas (421,404,414A) and was never very happy with the 414. It handles nicely, but lacks performance. Legally, with full tanks you can only carry one passenger or so, and with a full load of passengers, you won't get anywhere. It really is an aeroplane for a self-flying businessman who does short trips only and never carries more than two or three persons.

Is it good to buy?Twenty five years ago maybe. Not any more. Too old, too rare. Too many ADs. No spare parts. Too much fuel consumption (AVGAS, now almost 3 Euros per litre in many places!)

what are the differences with a 421? Mainly the engines. The 421C (Golden Eagle 3) and the 414A (Chancellor) are almost identical, apart from the engines. The 414 has 310hp (IIRC), the 421 has 375. This aircraft requires 375hp to fly properly, especially in case of an engine failure. The engines of the 414 are not geared, therefore the aeroplane is louder inside and out, but on the other hand they are less delicate than the "GiTSOs" of the 421.

Overall: If you want to make a small fortune in aviation ... a C414 is a good starting point ;)

Happy landings
max

[yawningdog]

I wish I flew for a Cirrus SR22 owner!:sad:

[Marchettiman]

I spent many a happy hour flying them, single pilot, at night, out of Luton, Biggin and Gatwick on air freight and charter, to Prestwick, Dublin, Dijon and Geneva. One of my most memorable trips was Aberdeen to Scatsta at day break to pick up a 414 full of oil workers off a North Sea rig at 0700 and deliver them to Liverpool for their first drinks in three months. They even had a whip round for the "coach driver". Lovely stable aeroplane, loads of carrying capacity, solid as a rock, easy to fly in the worst IMC but who would want one now, unless you have a really big family and an oil refinery?

[Big Pistons Forever]

There are two models of 414, the 414 and the 414A. They are very different aircraft with the 414A having the long wet wing with no tip tanks, hydraulic gear, and long nose. It is a much better aircraft and was built near the end of Cessna piston twin production (1978-1985). With RAM engines and the high gross mod there is IMO nothing else that will match the comfort and operating costs of this aircraft......But and this is a big But, how the aircraft was operated and maintained has a huge impact on ownership costs. You want to buy the best one you can find as the cost to catch up on deferred/neglected maintainance can be stupendous. Don't even think about looking at one without bringing somebody who has extensive personal experience maintaining Cessna pressurized cabin class twins

[Pilot DAR]

I am not a 400 series expert (though I got fairly familiar with several 300 types). However, be very careful about the structural AD's which might be applicable. Some are very expensive to comply with. In one case one of my client maintenance shops disassembled the wing of a 4XX (don't remember which model exactly), to find that the corrosion was not bad, but Cessna had misdrilled some fastener holes, and it was major work to correct that mistake.

Become very familiar with what you're looking at before you put money down!

If you're new to multi engine aircraft, I highly recommend considering what is written in this article:

http://www.avhf.com/html/Library/Leave_Yourself_An_Out.pdf