Single Engine or Twin?

PhilosopherPilot

PhilosopherPilot

Well-Known Member
Alright guys. Keeping in mind that I can't afford anything that drinks kerosene, what would you guys do for a family airplane?

I'm moving to Orlando in May, and that's going to put me out of easy weekend driving distance of the family in NC. That means I can either buy tickets to go see them, or I can buy a nice medium distance piston aircraft.

I was leaning towards Cherokee 6/Saratoga/Lance, but for similar money I can get a Seneca and burn more gas! I like the idea of having two motors if I'm going IFR with the wife and kid.

Thoughts? I'm going to keep it in Orlando, so in thinking about maybe seeing if the Orlando Flying Club might want to get involved with it.
 
Club has a Lance now (replaced the Mooney that got trashed).

Size wise OK (club seating) and decent speed, but drinks a ton a fuel compared to what it replaced.
 
Do you need something as big as a Seneca? Twin Comanche wouldn't be bad, pretty efficient
 
An acquaintance of mine, F-18 pilot, is selling his Twin Comanche. It's a real nice plane, burns down to 14 gal/hr. I flew it and it flies nice. They've taken it out to California from NC a few times. A nice twin-co is a good economical alternative to a 182...
 
The only twin I would buy is a Twin Commanche. Most efficient twin out there, 6 seats, tip tanks, great plane.

I was looking at singles and I just can't get past the low cruise speeds and higher fuel burns of the six seaters.

On a side note, I also moved past the idea of owning a plane even with a similar mission (NC to FL in my case). It's <8 hour drive, the plane might save 4 hours each way after you factor in everything, just not worth it IMO. I'd rather have a nice car to go back and forth in, vs a plane.

I can see if you were using this for business visiting different areas around the SE every week but think long and hard how much something like this will run in annual indirect costs alone. Tie-down/hanger fees, annual, IFR inspections, you're probably talking at least $5k out the door a year before you even push up the throttles.
 
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I second the twin comanche. I helped a guy make the same decision and he would of bought one instead of the 55 baron he got except for the single engine drift down and his frequent trips across some high (east coast high) peaks. You might be ok, depending on where in NC.
Check out the miller conversion, it's a hot ticket.
 
Buy a fast car.

But in all seriousness, are you looking for a reason to buy an airplane? Because any piston airplane isn't going to make that huge of a difference for a short trip like the carolinas from central Florida. Your still going to eat up time (and certainly more money) just getting to the airport and getting the plane prepped, loaded, w/b, fuel, out of the hangar etc. if you have flight bennies I would just use those.

Now if you were making frequent trips to halfway across the country, I could understand the justification a little more. Or if you wanted a little airplane for pure fun. But a family wagon sized piston on that short of a haul just doesn't really make much sense.
 
The rule of thumb for aircraft ownership is, you can afford an aircraft that is about half of your annual income. Obviously there are many variables (engine, pencil whipped annuals, major ADs, ect..). From one aircraft owner to a future buyer, I suggest you get your feet wet with something you don't have to stretch your budget to afford.

How often are you going to be making the trip?
What is the budget?
Have you looked at hangar space in FL? It's quite expensive.
How much are you looking to spend an hour on operating costs?
How large is your family?
 
ATN_Pilot said:
You guys vastly underestimate the time savings of being able to fly yourself (provided you live close to a small airport). You're so used to the hassles of commercial flying that you don't remember what it's like to not have to deal with it. I can leave my house and be airborne in under a half hour. Airplane is already fueled when I get there, so I just preflight and go. When I arrive at my destination, the FBO has the rental car pulled up next to my plane, so I step out and right into the car.

The time savings, even with a single doing only 130 knots, is astronomical.
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Aside from time, you do benefit more as a business owner given the tax writeoff potentials (Business and Doggy flights). :)
 
@ATN_Pilot is spot on. The time saving is night and day compared to airline travel. I can be door to door from Atlanta, GA to West Bloomfield, MI in 5.0 hrs in my plane. Now if I was to airline, I'd have leave my house 2 hrs before the flight, flight time is appox. 2 hours and travel from DTW to West Bloomfield, MI is appox. 1.5 hrs. And, the biggest kicker, I don't have to sit next to some slob who thinks he owns all the arm rests and takes their shoes off.
 
chrisreedrules said:
Buy a fast car.

But in all seriousness, are you looking for a reason to buy an airplane? Because any piston airplane isn't going to make that huge of a difference for a short trip like the carolinas from central Florida. Your still going to eat up time (and certainly more money) just getting to the airport and getting the plane prepped, loaded, w/b, fuel, out of the hangar etc. if you have flight bennies I would just use those.

Now if you were making frequent trips to halfway across the country, I could understand the justification a little more. Or if you wanted a little airplane for pure fun. But a family wagon sized piston on that short of a haul just doesn't really make much sense.
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I want an airplane, regardless of the travel needs. My wife can't handle the stress of non revving with the kiddo. I would rather spend money on a plane than pay to fly on a carrier then drive 2 hours from CLT to my farm in NC.

Honestly, I hate driving up 95. A Seneca can fly the flight in a little over two hours which is doable over a weekend. But driving 16 hours RT is not.

We also plan to fly up to Maryland from time to time. And as far as I can tell that is the only way to get to Ocean City.
 
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