Muhahahah ... I get to talk about the Apache!
First off, anyone who tells you an Apache is dangerous is full of sh*t.
Facts about an Apache:
1) It's not fast. (We generally indicate 130mph (trues at 150mph) at 65% power)
2) It's ugly as hell. (It grows on you though)
3) It's built like a tank. (I'll get into this a little further down the post)
4) It's incredibly docile. (It has the J3 Cub airfoil!)
5) Probably the lowest fuel burn of any production twin out there. (we generally get 17gph at 65%)
6) It has plenty of redundancy. (Especially if you can find a "Super Custom" model)
7) It's a very stable aircraft and a great IFR platform.
8) It's roomy as hell. (The cabin is close to five feet wide)
9) Aside from an Aztec, you'll be hard pressed to find another twin with a useful load as high as an Apache.
10) It's landing roll is 750ft. and takeoff roll over a 50ft obstacle is 1200 ft - you can really get into some short feilds with it.
General impressions/experience:
The Apache is a very stable, docile twin. But it is a twin - and if you're not on top of it you can Vmc. In otherwords while it is a twin and has some of the unfavorable charateristics of asymmetrical thurst you have to do something really dumb to get yourself killed.
It's not fast but if you're building time that doesn't matter. With the aux tanks we can carry 108 gallons of fuel or at 65% of power we can get just about 6 hours of flight time and the VFR reserve. Empty weight (on our 160, its lower on the 150s) is 2460lbs. Gross weight is 3800lbs. After full fuel we still have about 700lbs. of useful load left! If you fly it "light" (dont fill the Aux) you still have about 3.5 hours w/VFR reserve out of the mains.
It's probably one of the only light, piston, production twins that has a landing roll of under 1,000 feet so you can get into and out of a lot of very short strips. (My dad flew his first Apache (150) off his 1/2 mile
grass strip with 50 ft. trees at one end.)
Now, the matter of safety. Many people have only seen run-down Apaches. And thus some folks believe them to be unsafe. The only thing that makes an Apache unsafe (and this applies to
all aircraft) is poor maintenance. Ours had only 2,600 hours TT on the airframe and half time engines when we bought it. We've put a lot into maintenance but that's because we like things to be "right," not just safe - and it sat for a long period of time.
As far as built in safety mesaures the Apache is built like a tank. The main spar carries through the aircraft (the pilot seats actually rest on it), the gear are designed to remain partially exposed when retracted and can support the weight of the aircraft in that position and roll (in otherwords a gear up landing results in litte structural damage). There is a hand pump to manually pump the gear (and flaps) down as well as a C02 system to blow the gear down incase of a total hydraulic failure. The "Super Custom" versions came with dual vac (wet) pumps and dual generators (ours was a Super Custom). The only single pump on the aircraft is the hydraulic pump. Both the Vac and Electrical system are automatic. Meaning if one item, within the respective system, fails the other carries the load with no need for manual switching from the pilot.
The fuel system is simple but effective. You can move fuel from any tank to any engine (via a pressure crossfedd).
In terms of operating costs we purchased the aircraft for around $42k adding in maintenance we've performed, insurance, tie down fees, fuel, oil, etc. our hourly costs comes to about $140/hr. Our direct hourly costs (fuel/oil) is about $45/hr. We've put nearly 400 hours on it in the almost two years we've owned it.
The single engine ceiling on the 160 is 5,500ft. (a new seminole ranges from 3,300 - 4,000 ft.) - the SEC on the 150 is 7,500 ft - but so long as you're not heavy or it's not too hot out we can easily get a 400-500fpm climb on one engine. And, yes the 150 has a higher SEC than the 160 - it's beacue HP only increased by 20hp but gross weight went up 300lbs.
The aircraft trims well and can esaily be flown hands off in smooth air which translates well to IFR operations. I can slow flight the thing at 65mph - show me anyother twin that can do that!
The book recomends flying final at 90mph. But, with a Vso of 56mph you can easily fly final at 80mph and really put it on short.
Overall I love it. You can do alot with the airframe and as long as you realise it's shortcomings you can't get into much trouble. But that holds true with any aircraft.
I'm not saying it's the best twin out there but I'll argue it's probably one of the best training/general use twins out there.
If you want more technical data just ask and I'll spew it out!