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Old 12th Sep 2014, 19:32
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xsbank
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Wet Coast Canada
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The Challenger 604 is probably the cheapest, largest, best range, best avionics simplest maintenance etc etc. Lots of them traded in for the latest, the 605, which is deluxe but an incremental improvement for double the price. The 604 is the best bargain going in a large, comfortable, quiet, cheap (check the fuel burn, the reliability of the GE engines) aircraft. You can stand up in it which the Hawker, Citations etc don't offer. Big comfy cockpit. You can stand up to pee! Great galley. Easy to preflight. The only downside is you don't get to go to Montreal any more to train in it.

Plus, the 604 makes a great bush plane, just ask the Danish Air Force. You can fly it slow and toss it about if you need to and it's also a superior air ambulance, just ask Swiss Air Ambulance.

I like Falcons but they will cost you more to run and buy.

Take a look at the skin of a Challenger and compare it to a Cessna and get back to me about quality. No Bondo! Bombardier built tons of 604s, they are well understood and you will find plenty of pilots qualified to fly them [8>)] but expect to pay for crews as the jets are classed as "large" and you are buying experienced world-wide, ocean-crossing pilots.

The only plane I like more is the Global, but you can go too high and too far at one sitting and it screws crews. (I'm not current in that one any more).

Oh, 1000 hours per year will put you in the top operators, most owners who fly lots will only do around 300, but at .08 you are covering a LOT of ground. Reassess your intended use, 2000 is unrealistic and only the Quebec Government air ambulance (601) puts in anywhere near that.
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