What kinda airplane would you buy?

Cessna 182. It's fairly rugged. Gets in and out of short fields. It's reliable.

If money permitted, a Piper Meridian. Fast. Easy on fuel (respectively). Reliable turbine engine.
 
I'd also say that the Meridian is a great option.

I voted for a twin, mostly because I don't trust TIO-540's. I don't like having two on my aircraft, and I sure as heck wouldn't want to trust my life to just one. A piston engine that big is a bit of a fire breathing dragon and if you don't treat it VERY well it will bite you. Now you've got to realize that the variant that I'm used to dealing with is one with 350HP, so it's got a HUGE turbo on it and I'm not sure if that makes the engine any more hard to deal with than a IO-540.

But with TIO-540's if you don't have the mixtures placed perfectly all the time the engines try to do. Any time you move the throttle you have to move the props and the mixtures. It makes a really busy engine on our installs.

I'd quite honestly rather have one PT6 over two TIO-540's. I know that stastically I'm safter in the Chieftain, but I'd rather be in a Caravan. High pressure fuel pumps don't crap out too often, and I'll take that over dealing with TIO-540's.
 
jtrain609 said:
I'd also say that the Meridian is a great option.

I voted for a twin, mostly because I don't trust TIO-540's. I don't like having two on my aircraft, and I sure as heck wouldn't want to trust my life to just one. A piston engine that big is a bit of a fire breathing dragon and if you don't treat it VERY well it will bite you. Now you've got to realize that the variant that I'm used to dealing with is one with 350HP, so it's got a HUGE turbo on it and I'm not sure if that makes the engine any more hard to deal with than a IO-540.

But with TIO-540's if you don't have the mixtures placed perfectly all the time the engines try to do. Any time you move the throttle you have to move the props and the mixtures. It makes a really busy engine on our installs.

I'd quite honestly rather have one PT6 over two TIO-540's. I know that stastically I'm safter in the Chieftain, but I'd rather be in a Caravan. High pressure fuel pumps don't crap out too often, and I'll take that over dealing with TIO-540's.
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I agree with you J. The T-182 has the TIO-540. However, it is tuned down to only produce 235 HP at 2400 RPM whereas the 206 has something like 310 HP. I'd rather have a big engine tuned down to produce less HP than a small engine geared up to pack a big punch.

This was Pilatus's philosophy when cchosing a turbine for the PC12. The PT-6 in the PC-12 is a 1600 SHP engine geared down to only produce 1200 SHP. They [Pilatus] talked extensively about this when they introduced the aircraft and its effect on engine wear and tear.

The Meridian is a pricey airplane. I am thinking more along the lines of SR22 and C182.
 
The main fact is this, It all comes down to $$$$$. You buy what you can afford. However everyone has their wishes, but I agree with doug. Flyin in Hard IMC with iceing sounds like too much hard work to me. I barly get paid enough at work to do that stuff. I look at owning my own plane for the pleasure of aviation. Two words "Blue Skys".
 
meritflyer said:
I agree with you J. The T-182 has the TIO-540. However, it is tuned down to only produce 235 HP at 2400 RPM whereas the 206 has something like 310 HP. I'd rather have a big engine tuned down to produce less HP than a small engine geared up to pack a big punch.

This was Pilatus's philosophy when cchosing a turbine for the PC12. The PT-6 in the PC-12 is a 1600 SHP engine geared down to only produce 1200 SHP. They [Pilatus] talked extensively about this when they introduced the aircraft and its effect on engine wear and tear.

The Meridian is a pricey airplane. I am thinking more along the lines of SR22 and C182.
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Funny thing about turbine engines. They'll produce A LOT more power than they're rated for. Like a PT6A-36 engine, which is rated at 715 HP, could actually produce more like 2000 HP at sea level on a standard day. But as soon as the temp goes up or the altitude goes up that comes down, so they always make turbine engines bigger than they need to be so they can produce their rated power at high altitudes.

So for them to say that is a little count intuitive, 'cause EVERY turbine aircraft is designed that way :)
 
I didnt mind flyin a 210 with a TIO-520 as long as you operate it within its limits. Its just as easy to melt a turbine as it is to blow a jug on a turbo piston. However I never had much luck getting a big turbo piston started hot. PT-6 easy, spin, fuel, fire and you away.
 
I think you need one more option on your poll...

SE Turbo w/ Chute and Avidyne Entegra

The above is the new Turbonormalized Cirrus. It is a GREAT plane.

It is the easiest plane to fly. You just go full power and set the mixture. At 18k, you set rpm to 2500 and fuel flow to 17.5gph which puts you LOP. TAS come in around 200kts at 18k with the 17.5gph. Some people prefer the other engine, I understand but the chute does add safety also. But if you haven't read about the new Cirrus, I highly recommend it. It really is awesome!
 
DMBinHBurg said:
I think you need one more option on your poll...

SE Turbo w/ Chute and Avidyne Entegra

The above is the new Turbonormalized Cirrus. It is a GREAT plane.

It is the easiest plane to fly. You just go full power and set the mixture. At 18k, you set rpm to 2500 and fuel flow to 17.5gph which puts you LOP. TAS come in around 200kts at 18k with the 17.5gph. Some people prefer the other engine, I understand but the chute does add safety also. But if you haven't read about the new Cirrus, I highly recommend it. It really is awesome!
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Thinking about upgrading????
 
Would love too! Just don't need the turbo right now for my "fun flying". The G3 though comes out this week at Sun N Fun and I"ve seen the pics and read what changes were made. It looks great and they have made some great upgrades. I wouldn't mind getting an SR22 G3. Of course THE JET will be incredible when it comes out in 2010! Just wait... everyone will be able to see it on June 28th.
 
meritflyer said:
If you were looking for an airplane to purchase for family/business use doing alot of IFR cross countries and alot of night flying which would you choose?

Consider mx, safety, speed, weather capabilites, and comfort.

See poll.

Any thoughts welcome.
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Honda Pilot.
 
For what was listed as the "requirements" I think the twin is the better fit. If you are looking for the IFR cross country machine, I think the added performance and safety of 2 engines would outweigh the "niceness" and ease of the glass cockpit, assuming that both planes are about the same price.

For me personally, my dream plane would have to sit at least 2, be fully aerobatic, and fully IFR. Something like an RV-6 that could be cert'ed IFR would be perfect.
 
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