Cessna 400
- Thread starter SeanD
- Start date
ComplexHiAv8r
Well-Known Member
Not a 400 but a 300. Look and flew one before I got the SR20. Initial cost was the biggest compared to the SR20 and fuel burn. I didnt need to go so far downrange so the SR20 was a better value for my missions. It IS a sweet ride.
meyers9163
Well-Known Member
I was in a 400 today. HOLY CRAP! Nice plane. Very sharp. Nice price tag too with well over 600k on it. But 25,000 feet and 235 kts how can you beat that. FMS and everything. I actually might start instructing while on furlough and this is one of the planes I might get to spend some time in. It rents for $385 an hour but you can get 4 mid size people in it with about 55 gallons of fuel without a problem. Very solid and nice plane.
ComplexHiAv8r
Well-Known Member
I wish they would of renumbered it. A 400 series Cessna to me is a twin engine aircraft!
meyers9163
Well-Known Member
I forgot about that. Thus why its all out west and not in good ole KA!
jynxyjoe
Queso King
SpiraMirabilis
Possible Subversive
Flying a Cessna 400 is probably like snorting cocaine off a hooker's boobies.
jynxyjoe
Queso King
And not those fakey's. The 5000 a night democrat governor kinda hookers who make you feel like they love you just enough.
ComplexHiAv8r
Well-Known Member
Then why not keep the name Columbia and treat it like a division of Cessna. Like the Chevy/Cadillac theory?
jynxyjoe
Queso King
I don't know why marketing people do what they do, but it seemed they didn't need to. First 3 or 4 posts on here were convinced it was still a Columbia 400, and you guys know more than the average doctor trying to buy something to impress his friends.
Also I don't know if the automotive theories work real well in aviation:
Beech bought plans for the MU diamond and call it the beechjet
MC buys douglas the DC-10 becomes the MD-11
Boeing buys MD and the MD-92 becomes the 717
Raytheon bought the plans for the hawker and its the 800 now
Columbia was also failing and some of the previous customers were very upset at the lack of support towards the end on a plane that costs as much as the 350 and 400 did. When Cessna stepped in, a good name, it probably settled some of the owners. That last statement was also just a guess.
CoffeeIcePapers
Well-Hung Member
And then afterwards, lighting your cigar with a $100 bill.
CoffeeIcePapers
Well-Hung Member
I would hope so, for that price.
roundout
Bus Driver
Beat the Mooney at what?
jynxyjoe
Queso King
... I guess I'm probably the only one still obsessing over single engine recips on this forum so i'll explain.
Mooney was going to be beat soundly by the 400 as the fastest airplane. Mooney came up with the acclaim 3 to counter the 400. Ended up being knots of difference between the two in cruise but the final product but both claim the "worlds fastest certified single engine recip on the planet, period".
Mooney's marketing was always, "this is the fastest certified single engine recip on the planet". Cirrus tried to beat it and failed; they are 3rd rate at best, in this competition. The Columbia rounded beat Mooney in ever sense of the word and Mooney had to come up with the Acclaim 3 to beat the Columbia. Side by side tests in real world airplanes show the 400 is faster but there was going to be a big "fly off" by both manufacturers to settle the issue once and for all (i don't know what ever happened to it, to my knowledge it didn't happen). POH data says Mooney is faster and some have shown their Mooney's to be faster than the 400 with data from the Garmin 1000. Mooney did have a fly off back in April that Columbia did not attend and won the race against everything, including the home builts. I'm a Mooney fan (obviously) but the 400 is giving the Mooney a run for it's money, and in some races won.
I'm rambling and my geek is showing so I'm gonna stop and shutup. Anyway, that's why the 400 beat the Mooney.
v1valarob
Well-Known Member
Aviation adventures?
I agree with the ground school since you are dealing with O2 and a bunch of other stuff most planes dont have. But 10 hours in the plane? I mean damn, it took me less time to get my private multi add-on.
But people are paying it and renting it. One of the first guys to rent it took it down to Florida and made it from Northern VA to Florida in just over 3 hours, and flew in the flight levels using the O2. It would be pretty awesome to get checked out in it when I can afford it, which wont be for years.
RWH1986
Some Guy
Yes...I am from Manassas and started on my private there. I would love to fly it in the future though.
roundout
Bus Driver
First, there is no such thing as an Acclaim 3. Second, yes, the 400 would have whooped any offering from Mooney before the Acclaim because all the other airframes they make are normally-aspirated where the 400 is turbocharged. That's comparing apples to oranges. Fact is the Mooney airframe is faster and more efficient than the Columbia airframe. The Ovation 2 and Ovation 3 are faster than the 350 and the Acclaim is faster and uses less fuel than the 400. Period. Columbia fought for the title of "fastest piston single" with the straight Acclaim. When Mooney introduced the Acclaim Type S this year, it picked up about 6 knots and Columbia's claims ceased at that point. The Acclaim Type S is about 10 knots faster at all altitudes and does it on less horsepower.