new aeroplane?
 

Looking for a plane that can:

Carry 1000kgs of payload/pax, 900nm, in addition to 2 crew.

In and out of 1000m or shorter 'rough' strips.

Thoughts/dreams?!

Cheers, Sam.

The Gippsland GA-8 Airvan will almost meet those specs, and is designed for short/rough field operations. You might want to look at its larger brother, the GA-10, which is currently under development/certification.

If 1000kg _and_ 900NM: Metroliner or similar.
If 1000kg _or_ 900NM: Cessna 404. Better even a 406 if you can find one.
Or a Caravan or Pilatus PC12, but I'm not familiar with those and they are more expensive.

I test flew a Quest Kodiak and quite liked it, I expect it would do what you're looking for with ease. Amazing short field performance, and a delight to fly. It's smaller than a Caravan.

A Caravan is fine too if that's the size you're looking for. Short field performance is quite presentable. I brought one into my 2000 foot home runway with no difficulty.

Sounds like you need a Van, Sam.

What's your budget? G or N? We have a couple in stock right now!

Antonov AN2? Bonkers, but it fits the description! Otherwise a turbo-prop caravan sounds about right.

The smugglers in florida had the same, if not more demanding requirements. Big load from unprepared strips over long distances reliably. Great eBooks on Amazon about all that. Notwithstanding the illegal nature of that mission, The favoured airplanes were the C404 and the Navajo.

I think they're both cool machines.

Irish

Aircraft
 

Hi
I own an Airvan and it will not do what you want. It's max usable load is about 800 kgs so with 2 crew and fuel you will be a long way short of your 1000 kg. I would think you need a 208 Caravan. I can lease you one if you want.


Pete

It may well fit the description but it depends where to fly it.

In the US? No way. The FAA has all but banned them to the airshow circuit. Reason, they don't want $15'000 competition for their industry.

Elsewhere where fuel is cheap, if there is such a place, possibly.

The advantage is, they are cheap. Really cheap. To buy. They are rugged and very reliable. They can be flown single pilot but only certain variants, others need 2 man crew.

Payload, yea, they can carry 1000kg. But they can't carry it for 900 NM. 500 maybe, if you are economical with the fuel. The AN2 carries 1200 liters of AVGAS, good enough for about 4 hours. Yes, we are talking 200 - 300 LPH on that big radial depending on the work. TAS is around 100 kts at 200 lph, you can edge it to 130 but it will cost you. Plus a 100 l Oiltank. The picture of that GA fueller who comes up with one liter bottles is usually quite priceless when you tell him to refill 1000 liters of Avgas and, oh btw, 40 Liters of Oil.

IFR? In Russia maybe, elsewhere, plan a total refit of avionic without any STC!

I've flown the AN2 in pax, paradrop, crop spray and cargo version. A total delight to fly, wonderful handling, will land everywhere and take off again, if you can arrange it to be an airport, take the grass runway. If not, any even stretch of land of more than 600 m around will do. Sometimes less.

For the mission Sam wants it? Probably not.

I'd rephrase that to say FAA doesn't want competition to their process of certification.

Factory built non-certified aircraft manufactured by US industry don't get non-restrictive operating limits in Experimental Exhibition category either. The only exceptions regardless of where the aircraft was made are Warbirds, Turbine aircraft (meaning jets for airshow display), or Aerobatic aircraft.

Interesting info on the An 2 anyway, its a neat aircraft. With 1000 Hp being used to move it at 100 knots, I wonder if you can actually feel the air in its wake being warmed up :) ;)

Sam, have you looked at the PAC750 performance?

Hah, was just looking at a PAC750 this morning in Juba - first time I've seen one in the flesh. Actually, though, it won't quite do what I want/need.

AN2 - sorry, lovely but ridiculous, and not even close to what I need it to do.

Interested in the charter idea (not yet in the market to buy), please email me (not PM!) directly. It's to fly to the North Pole in April, with 800kgs of avgas, and me.

Cheers, Sam.

I believe Dieter Schmitt did a similar flight from Anchorage to Germany in the late 80's using a Beech Bonanza with tip tanks and internal fuel. It was an F33A but any modern Bonanza would do. You can fit Dolly Parton tip tanks holding 100 gallons each. There are dozens of pilots with extreme range experience in the Earthrounders club.

Ottawa Citizen - Google News Archive Search

Sam
 

The AN2 can be very comfy...

http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/...t/DSCI0050.jpg

Isn't that the one owned by the bloke who owns Chelsea? :)

It's LY-BIG, 'Baltic Bear'. I have no idea who the owner is/was. I took a few pics at Tatenhill in June 2006, but had seen it somewhere else around the same time, maybe Kemble and/or Hucknall.
I have a soft spot for these craft having managed a fair number of passenger flights in eastern Europe over the last 25 years whilst working there. I would take a 20 min sightseeing flight every Sunday in Poland, standing on the step into the cockpit. We often flew down a small river level with the levees on either side- I'm sure we took out a few fishing lines! Aproaching a couple of small bridges the pilot would lean forward and look left and right out of the big greenhouse windows before easing up and over the bridge. He turned to me the first time and said "Camion..." He was looking for high-sided lorries! Bliss.
I also spent many happy hours in 1989 hiding in undergrowth by a paddy field outside Chengdu, China watching the AN2s hauling paratroop training flights.
Weeds.