Baron 55 or Seneca 2
Good situational awareness Shrike200 ! "case closed" !
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At 50, I feel better now. I can still remember what I said and / or asked and / or did just the other day. I do forget now and again. But this one at age 26 has no hope I'm afraid 
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Thank you!!
Wow, this thread went on a lot longer than I expected and I must admit I did not check it recently. Thank you all for your great advice and insights. This definately seems to be a good little machine and I am quite excited about looking around the market for 2's and 3's.
I would dearly love to get a Caravan but as we all know the price is a little steep. Correct me if I am wrong but a good Seneca can be purchased for $150,000 or less?? However a Caravan is significantly more. Also I feel a smaller aircraft is easier to sell to small charter groups than a whole caravan. My loads would generally be 3 to 4 pax. Hopefully I could pay this initial plane off then look at the Caravan (which I have lots of hours on and love!) once I have established myself on the market.
Having said all this... does anyone know of some good seneca's on the market?? Definately looking for long range tanks and EB engines if possible on the II or the three as it comes. PM me if you have any leads.
Thanks again everyone.
I would dearly love to get a Caravan but as we all know the price is a little steep. Correct me if I am wrong but a good Seneca can be purchased for $150,000 or less?? However a Caravan is significantly more. Also I feel a smaller aircraft is easier to sell to small charter groups than a whole caravan. My loads would generally be 3 to 4 pax. Hopefully I could pay this initial plane off then look at the Caravan (which I have lots of hours on and love!) once I have established myself on the market.
Having said all this... does anyone know of some good seneca's on the market?? Definately looking for long range tanks and EB engines if possible on the II or the three as it comes. PM me if you have any leads.
Thanks again everyone.
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ok ok
I must confess to have let the other thread go and did not realise how much longer it went on. Thanks to all those who gave advice and thoughts.
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Baron
Once you have flown a baron you would not ever think of going for the piper!
May be a little cramped for the pax but great performer in the usual hot and high conditions in East Africa. We always used to say that the Be55 would get in and out of just about any strip that a C206 could with similar loads but would get you there twice as fast!
Good luck with the decision though.
May be a little cramped for the pax but great performer in the usual hot and high conditions in East Africa. We always used to say that the Be55 would get in and out of just about any strip that a C206 could with similar loads but would get you there twice as fast!
Good luck with the decision though.
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Does anyone know of a website or other source of information with regard to the costs of running a King Air 200, ie running maintenance, MPIs, times between overhaul....and the costs thereof....of major components, ie engines, props, gear etc? For instance, buying a 200 with high hours on the engines is going to leave you with fewer revenue hours left to meet the costs of engine overhauls etc.
Any information or advice greatfully received.
NP.
Any information or advice greatfully received.
NP.
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Aztec
Well since the matter has been raised. What are peoples opinions on the Aztec. Seems like a good hardy aircraft. I do have some concern with parts availability and the lack of a back door! But those who fly them reckon they are real work horses.
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Surprised nobody has said much about the Baron. I have experience flying Baron 55s in Africa on Charters, but cannot compare to the Seneca, nor can I give an owners perspective!
If you are looking at the Baron 55 you should ignore the A or B. These have 260hp IO 470s and a short nose and are really 4 seaters as it is difficult to load 6 adults and stay in CG range.
The C, D, and E 55s however are excellent 6 seaters from the pilots view. They Have 285hp IO 520s, no turbo to worry about, just raw power. Longer nose makes loading easier. I would not like to quote field length numbers but will just say that operating from typical bush runways of about 7-800m and altitudes up to 6000 I never had any problems at all. I agree with the comment that it can go anywhere a 206 will. Single engine performance is good up to about 5000 ft.
Quality? I have flown pipers and you cannot compare. Its like Merc S class versus Nissan Sunny. Expensive yes but you get what you pay for.
Now for the down side. It is not very comfy for pax. Reaching the rear seats is difficult and there is not much room. Also barons suffer a bit from damage to the flaps caused by stones on rough runways.
The 58 sorts out the comfort problem quite well but I assume it is a bit pricey for you.
Good luck!
If you are looking at the Baron 55 you should ignore the A or B. These have 260hp IO 470s and a short nose and are really 4 seaters as it is difficult to load 6 adults and stay in CG range.
The C, D, and E 55s however are excellent 6 seaters from the pilots view. They Have 285hp IO 520s, no turbo to worry about, just raw power. Longer nose makes loading easier. I would not like to quote field length numbers but will just say that operating from typical bush runways of about 7-800m and altitudes up to 6000 I never had any problems at all. I agree with the comment that it can go anywhere a 206 will. Single engine performance is good up to about 5000 ft.
Quality? I have flown pipers and you cannot compare. Its like Merc S class versus Nissan Sunny. Expensive yes but you get what you pay for.
Now for the down side. It is not very comfy for pax. Reaching the rear seats is difficult and there is not much room. Also barons suffer a bit from damage to the flaps caused by stones on rough runways.
The 58 sorts out the comfort problem quite well but I assume it is a bit pricey for you.
Good luck!
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Thanks Jumbodrv.. good info on the Baron. I was also suprised that so little has been said on it. Though surely the Merc to the Sunny is a rather harsh comparison!
The 55 just seems to have too little space in it. The 58 is an option and obviously a good on. Am just concerned that despite being an amazing machine from a pilots perspective there is very little space once again. Yes the nose is good.. but that is all you have. Also from an operators perspective, I hear that they are expensive to maintain and thirsty on the fuel. Is this true, can anyone confirm or refute this? Also I have read that anyone buying a Baron should look at models produced after 1984 as the whole cockpit layout was drastically improved. Of course this means that i am looking at a much newer machine with a corispondingly high price.
Anyone got some good advice on how to layout an operators spreadsheet? Something that will tell me how much I need to fly a month to make repayments and what I should charge my clients!?
The 55 just seems to have too little space in it. The 58 is an option and obviously a good on. Am just concerned that despite being an amazing machine from a pilots perspective there is very little space once again. Yes the nose is good.. but that is all you have. Also from an operators perspective, I hear that they are expensive to maintain and thirsty on the fuel. Is this true, can anyone confirm or refute this? Also I have read that anyone buying a Baron should look at models produced after 1984 as the whole cockpit layout was drastically improved. Of course this means that i am looking at a much newer machine with a corispondingly high price.
Anyone got some good advice on how to layout an operators spreadsheet? Something that will tell me how much I need to fly a month to make repayments and what I should charge my clients!?
