Originally Posted by
43Inches
You are talking corporate financing here, whether you get the funding is based on your business case, security and ability to repay. The interest will be based on the risk, that is all. You can get financing for just about any crazy idea, upgrading old machinery for continued viable operation is a fairly safe bet in industry and is done all the time.
There is already a better version of the CT-7 available, just not worth the swap over fees. As with everything it's a matter of what is available, at what cost in what numbers, we are talking a large business here not retrofitting a Cessna. Anyone familiar with whats going on with Rex and Link SAABs know you can rip out whats inside and replace it, the outside is just an aluminium and composite tube with some wings attached. The original SAAB was actually designed to take either GE or PW engines, however no operators accepted the PW option as it was deemed too new and non reliability proven.
I thought that GE was building a new engine in that class, but see now that it is only 1600 h.p., so the only choice would be the upgraded CT7 if such a thing would be worthwhile from a fuel consumption point of view, or the PT-6A 68
I still think that you are underestimating the cost of an upgrade spread over a small fleet. Technically everything you write is doable, maybe without too many challenges, but even the simplest thing these days seems to cost 3x what you think it should cost in even your most fevered imagination.