Well, a few years have passed and now I'm selling the Aerostar, unfortunately. We flew all over, I did my IR in her and she was a great plane. I would never have sold ever if it hadn't been for this sucker:
New moneypit object of desire!
Yes, I'm moving back to Commanders! By pure chance, I should add. The ultimate goal was always a Turbo Commander and this old first generation 680V ad caught my eye. I could just about afford it on paper. So I'll be slumming it in the turboprop world - so you don't have to!
Unfortunately, can't keep both. Time to say goodbye to this great plane. Spent a lot of money on her doing the engines, so someone will get a great deal. Not a good time to sell piston twins. Will it ever be?
Here are some more pics of the new steed:
Panel from hell.
Pink leather interior from hell.
Fuel bill from hell.
Repairs from hell.
She's getting de-squawked as we speak. Only flown her about 1hr beginning of year. Probably another 2 months before I get to fly her properly and train in it. Had some pressurization problems previous owner had bizarrely neglected (like a 10000ft cabin at 13000ft ALT max diff?????) and some other smaller problems here and there. Except for pressurization, door not sealing properly and all window seals leaking, no major things...
Burns about 60-65gal/hr. But since she's faster and Jet A1 is cheaper, the price per nm is about the same as the Aerostar. Does about 240-250kts. Got good range at 1200nm. Needs none of the recurring inspections (wing spar, gear overhaul, pressure bulkhead) of the later 690 models.
Basking in the sun at Jackie Cochran airport in front of an ubiquitous American flag. They love their flag here.
So as far as turbines go, should be on the cheaper side to run, ehm…... Exciting times ahead.
