VLJ v. Turboprop - Private Air

We had a 210 in for repair at my school/FBO and one of the other students was able to fly it for about 10 minutes while the boss was doing a check flight in it. He said it was really easy to get behind the airplane, and got a little dose of reality as far as his plans for buying a high performance plane right away.
 
Doug Taylor said:
They're very capable aircraft with a lot of neat systems and nice displays, but high-altitude, high-speed, swept wing flight is no place for a rookie.

Especially not a schwarm of thousands.
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Hmmm... has anyone at ALPA, ATA or the other all mighty unions ever thought about telling the regionals the same thing ?
 
The ATA is the "Airline Transport Association" more or less the Lex Luthor to organized labor at the airlines.
 
OldTownPilot said:
I think I'll take the freight. I know I am in the minority however.
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Yeah, you're in the minority who will have a lot of PIC time, and better experience than the 10,000 twenty-somethings with assloads of RJ SIC time.

You won't regret it.
 
NJA_Capt said:
The VLJs are going to be for day trips with a few people and very few, if any baggage. That being said, the Eclipse is going to priced very close to that of a new Baron.
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That's why I said VLJs will cover a niche market. Comparing an Eclipse to a BE-90 is comparing apples to oranges. They are built for different missions. I realize the A700 is targeted more at the King Air market, but most VLJs are not that big. VLJs may be as cheap to buy as a new Baron, but which do you think is cheaper to operate?
 
Doug Taylor said:
I think the whol VLJ hype is a lot like "It".

"It" was going to revolutionize human transport.

Cities were going to redesign themselves around people using "It".

"It" was going to make the world safer, more efficient and cleaner.

When "It" finally debuted, it was a $3,000 scooter.
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Yes, almost exactly like "It". Remember how the "It" developers put the specs out on the web with lots of pictures and diagrams. Then they took advance orders, requiring up-front money, because the demand was so strong. Neither do I.

Eclipse Aviation today revealed that the order book for the revolutionary Eclipse 500 very light jet (VLJ) now tops 2,350 aircraft. Eclipse"s order book includes 1,592 firm orders with 765 options. All 2,357 aircraft are secured with non-refundable deposits. This figure includes two recent Eclipse 500 fleet orders, specifically 30 aircraft by Massachusetts air-taxi operator Linear Air and 50 aircraft by UK Company, JetSet Air Ltd.

One reason that the VLJs are probably so intensely disliked is that even though they represent a significant breakthrough on cost for jet ownership and operation, most of us still can't afford one.

It's like why we hate doctor/pilots so much. They can make a fortune, do open heart surgery AND fly an airplane. While we can.......fly airplanes.
 
EatSleepFly said:
Yeah, you're in the minority who will have a lot of PIC time, and better experience than the 10,000 twenty-somethings with assloads of RJ SIC time.

You won't regret it.
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Learning to fly in Maine shows you the weather issues...We get everything. If it exists I've seen it. Clouds, rain, snow and turbulence don't really bother me too much. There are a couple of other pilots at the station, they both have their blinders on towards the small jet operators. I will tell them to look at other oppurtunities in flying. They will scoff and go all SJS on me. Its no use. In the far future I would love to fly for FedEx or UPS, but I have a very good in at a legacy pax airline that is currenly hiring, so I will most likely end up there once I get 1000 PIC in a B-99, or Bandit, or Metro etc.

After reading the You Might be a Freight dog if .... theread over at the "other" site I realized this is definately my calling.
 
OldTownPilot said:
Learning to fly in Maine shows you the weather issues...We get everything. If it exists I've seen it. Clouds, rain, snow and turbulence don't really bother me too much. There are a couple of other pilots at the station, they both have their blinders on towards the small jet operators.
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Few Pilots have seen Clouds AND rain, that my friend is what will set you apart.
 
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