C402 and C404 Planning Info
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I said the C402 was good - but that was 30 years ago. Have an experienced LAME estimate your forward maintenance obligations and costs on a C402 - ADs, aging aircraft program etc.
If you pay $350K to $400K for a good C402C or Titan, double that and get a C208. Four times the aircraft for double the money.
If you pay $350K to $400K for a good C402C or Titan, double that and get a C208. Four times the aircraft for double the money.
Thread Starter
Yeah, I get what you mean Tail Wheel, luckily we already have our own Maintenance so things like that are a little bit less expensive for us. Plus we've got a pulse on some pretty well priced 402s and 404s which is the primary motivator and makes it well worth it.
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Having operated 402B &C,404 and 421C in a past life,I agree with most of the previous replies.However the area of operation of the charters will determine the aircraft to some extent.
IMHO , tropical and western areas really require airconditioning so most 402 C's are out unless very long legs involved. The 421C is also unsuitable for this reason.421C electric air is hopeless. Many 404s have air fitted.
The 402C with VG's will carry a bigger payload than the 404 on legs of more than 350nm. (the 404 fuel requirements kill it when you go over 350nm)
Passenger comfort is better in the 404 (10 pax config). Keep away from the utility seats if possible for pax charter.Pedestal seats in the 402C are the way to go with 6 pax seats. 8 seats are too squeezy.
Our GTSIO in the 404 was on 1800hrs with 20 min cycles. Brisbane Aero Engines rebuilds were better than factory remens.Don't discount it.
IMHO , tropical and western areas really require airconditioning so most 402 C's are out unless very long legs involved. The 421C is also unsuitable for this reason.421C electric air is hopeless. Many 404s have air fitted.
The 402C with VG's will carry a bigger payload than the 404 on legs of more than 350nm. (the 404 fuel requirements kill it when you go over 350nm)
Passenger comfort is better in the 404 (10 pax config). Keep away from the utility seats if possible for pax charter.Pedestal seats in the 402C are the way to go with 6 pax seats. 8 seats are too squeezy.
Our GTSIO in the 404 was on 1800hrs with 20 min cycles. Brisbane Aero Engines rebuilds were better than factory remens.Don't discount it.
Thread Starter
Cheers for the great info PALMIS (And everyone else if I didn't already say it!)
What do you mean by Utility seats though? Pretty sure these are the pedestal ones you mean:
Therefore are these the Utility ones? Just your stock standard Cessna type?
What do you mean by Utility seats though? Pretty sure these are the pedestal ones you mean:
Therefore are these the Utility ones? Just your stock standard Cessna type?
402C with VG's
I have seen performance charts for other aircraft with VGs fitted where the maximum temperature on the charts was 35 degrees C. Bit useless in Oz unless it is ignored.
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About VG's.
We had Microairodynamics fitted to both the 402C and 421C.
There were no temp limitations as such but if I remember correctly, no new performance charts were issued with the kit. The CEO of Micro (Charles something, it's a long time ago) when I spoke to him before we became the first operator downunder to fit them, said that with the VG's fitted, the aircraft would perform better than the Cessna book figures even though there was a MTOW increase.
We also fitted Simitar props to the 402C which gave the same MTOW increase as VG's . When combined, you only got the one increase, not both, but the performance in high western temps (40+C) was amazing.
Pedestal seats were fibreglass, utility seats were tubular steel framed.
We had Microairodynamics fitted to both the 402C and 421C.
There were no temp limitations as such but if I remember correctly, no new performance charts were issued with the kit. The CEO of Micro (Charles something, it's a long time ago) when I spoke to him before we became the first operator downunder to fit them, said that with the VG's fitted, the aircraft would perform better than the Cessna book figures even though there was a MTOW increase.
We also fitted Simitar props to the 402C which gave the same MTOW increase as VG's . When combined, you only got the one increase, not both, but the performance in high western temps (40+C) was amazing.
Pedestal seats were fibreglass, utility seats were tubular steel framed.
