Family Member wants airplane buying advice, $750k budget

Erik10 said:
Oh, Boy! Do you preach what you hear / read? An MU2 is as dangerous as the next airplane. High bank angles and slow speeds with spoilerons is a bad idea. Each aircraft requires specific training to operate, and the MU2 is no exception. I'm sure you're saying it's a dangerous aircraft because of it's history, well, what do you have to say about Cirrus? Is Cirrus also a dangerous aircraft because of it's history?
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I am well aware that the moo two can be operated safely. The simple fact remains that it probably is not a good 'beginners' turboprop. If the guy who ends up running this show knows and has experience in the deuce, then by all means it is a viable contender. A king air is a comfortable transition even for someone with no turbine experience. If someone is looking for a recommendation of a jet to purchase, I would not steer them into a C-750 as a starting point. It may make sense, and if someone was willing to pay for the experience required to operate it, it too would be a contender.

My guess is, once this guy is realistic about cost, expectations and the like, he will be looking at a baron, or perhaps a partnership in a light jet or turboprop.
 
Sounds like what your principal wants is a PC-12. Granted, it's well over your guy's acquisition budget, but I'd be real interested to see the total cost of ownership of a PC-12 vs a King Air 200 over 5-10 years for the amount of flying he wants to do.
 
You know, re-reading the original post, I don't think I need to sell the Mitsi, it practically sells itself. You could get a nice Marquise for well within his range (I think, don't keep up to well anymore), whereas anything else that will do the mission will be junk at that price. Although you might want to look at an "L" model (-36) if you can find one. Same basic cabin as the Marquise, a bit slower, but cheaper to acquire and with better useful load since it's not lugging around those massive props (they didn't bother to up the gross on the Marquise, which I never understood). You do get a bit more fuel with the Marquise, but the range isn't much greater due to the thirstier engines. IMS, 1000 miles is going to be right on the edge of what it can do westbound.

As to it being difficult to fly: Frankly, poppycock. A non-idiot, properly trained, can fly it just fine. The basic rule is get to 120 as fast as you can and don't go below 120 until you're pretty close to landing. FWIW, it was my first turbine-powered aircraft and I stepped up from a Baron. Didn't crash once in ~1400 hours, and I am not, contrary to popular belief, The Greatest Pilot Anyone Has Ever Seen. Don't tell.

PS. Of course if you want a type rating and he owns an oil well (and maintenance shop), you could probably get a fairly nice old Diamond jet for that sort of money, too...
 
TallFlyer said:
Sounds like what your principal wants is a PC-12.
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BTW, I agree that a PC-12 would suit his needs perfectly. Even better than the Mitsi. But it wouldn't be half as cool and he can't afford it, so...

...and of course the real "right answer" is have him call CK or jrh (or preferably both). As others have said, there's so much that goes in to ownership that a button-mashing dunce like me doesn't have a clue about.
 
I actually saw a MU-2 in fine condition given for away for free on condition that the company giving it did all the mx. I don't know how that works legally, but I think that worked out well for all involved.
 
That doesn't totally surprise me (well, ok, maybe a little bit...$0? Even the scrap price is a LOT more than that). Mitsi owners tend to be of the breed that can't stand to put down a loyal pet, even if they can't afford to treat it anymore. But for someone who doesn't plan to fly that much...if you can find a good one and a good shop to work on it which knows mitsis...this may be one of the vanishing number of situations in which the Mitsi makes good sense. My perspective may be a bit narrow, since the company I flew for was owned by a guy who also owned what I understand to be the best MU-2 maintenance shop in the world, but with that said, ours didn't really break all THAT much, and they were all absurdly high time and beaten up by flying freight for, in most cases, decades. If it's something the principal wants to seriously consider, a good shop is a must. I would, for obvious reasons, recommend Intercontinental Jet out of Tulsa...

In any case, can't hurt to give them a call.
 
Erik10 said:
I would suggest an MU2 over any model King Air.
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Agree, you can pick up a good MU2 B60 for $350 to $500k, with new or freshly overhauled engines. I would recommend having him call Reece Howell at Howell enterprises about the MU-2. Great guy, has more time in type than any other pilot, and runs a business around the airplane.
 
The two most memorable days in airplane ownership just like boats is the day that you buy it and the day that you sell it..............o_O
 
Correct me if I am wrong but is MItsu buying back the data plates for MU-2's and trying to kill them off? I know a few freighter operators have dumped the MU-2's.

Who ever suggested contacting a management company first had a good idea. They can definitely give you some number and advise you further. They may also be able to charter it out when it isn't being used and make some extra cash off it to help offset costs.

I also like the King Air 200

you may also want to look at TMC Jets and see what that would cost for the hours he wants to fly a year.
 
Why not just charter? That kind of budget won't get you far owning, but will get you a bit of time in some very nice aircraft.
 
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