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"Excalibur" turboprop Cessna 421C coming

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"Excalibur" turboprop Cessna 421C coming

Old 01-25-2013, 11:56 AM
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Default "Excalibur" turboprop Cessna 421C coming

I wonder what this means about demand for cabin class pistons and light turboprops in the US? Everybody got out of the business in the '80s due to lawsuits when the middle segment died out, leaving Seminoles at the bottom and King Airs at the top. Mid- level cabin class twins are still very much in use among private and Part 135 firms, so it is nice to see a comeback if there is one. Personally I think the name is kind of blah, should have been The New Turbo 421C, or something more descriptive. It is also nice to see Mr. Pelton rebounding from his Cessna layoff of a couple years ago.
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New Aircraft Remanufacturing Firm Formed

(1/25/13, C. Trautvetter, AINOnline) Former Cessna chairman and CEO Jack Pelton is among a half-dozen veteran business and military aviation executives who have joined forces to offer remanufactured turbine-powered aircraft to the aviation and defense industries. The newly formed company, The Aviation Alliance, also announced its first business aviation offering yesterday: the Excalibur 421. The remanufactured Cessna 421C will feature Pratt & Whitney PT6A-135A turboprop engines, Garmin G600 avionics, winglets, new tires and brakes, and new cabin, de-icing, hydraulic and electrical systems. Including airframe, the aircraft will retail for $2.5 million, complete with a new-aircraft warranty. Preliminary specifications include a 327-knot top speed and 1,420-nm range. A prototype Excalibur 421 is now flying, and FAA STC approval and deliveries are expected by year-end. In addition, a similar program is in the works for the Cessna 414...

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Old 01-25-2013, 05:08 PM
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Eclipse 550 is 2.5 million, and new. I can't believe I'm saying this, since they didn't do so well the last time around, but it seems they are better sorted out now. Anyways, performance seems TBM700ish. That has one less engine to overhaul.
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Old 01-25-2013, 06:24 PM
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Good point JNB, and TBM 700s are indeed a bit faster & cheaper with the same useful load. But there are some arguments for cabin class twins-

> the extra engine equates to a perceived boost in safety in off shore operations and airline flying. Some airlines have used them quite a bit (Skywest, Cape Air).
> the extra engine drives down insurance and makes Part 135 cheaper.

I agree though, the extra engine is a pretty costly thing to have running out there when a larger PT6A on the nose will do just as well, and may even have the same reliability as a twin that gets rolled due to poor SE pilot skills. Piper had a study stapled to their website when they were working on the PiperJet that made a pretty good case for not having a second engine.

As for the new redesigned Eclipse. No doubt it is a good airplane especially now they have worked out the bugs, but AviationWeek had a long article on the 550 last year and said it still has some design troubles.
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Old 01-25-2013, 06:58 PM
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Sure will make it easier to start the old gals when it's hot.
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Old 01-25-2013, 07:11 PM
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This.....




Originally Posted by Flying Magazine
To say that owners love this airplane is a huge understatement.





Just flew one today, in fact. A sweet, sweet ride.


used airplanes are typically going for 100 percent of their original price.
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Old 01-26-2013, 05:54 PM
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Originally Posted by UnderOveur View Post
This.....






Just flew one today, in fact. A sweet, sweet ride.
Agreed 100%. Have about 1000 hours in the Legacy and NG versions. If only I had a few million to spend on an airplane I'd have my own..... luckily someone else did and I was lucky enough to be their pilot .

A go anywhere, carry pretty much anything, airplane.
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Old 01-26-2013, 07:03 PM
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Looks cool, but why not just buy a Conquest for less and be done with it? The performance is pretty similar if I'm not mistaken. What's the advantage of converting a 421 to do the same thing?
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Old 01-27-2013, 08:20 PM
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How much fuel does a 421C carry?

BTW, isn't that first pic of an R/C?
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Old 01-28-2013, 08:35 AM
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Originally Posted by deadstick35 View Post
...BTW, isn't that first pic of an R/C?
Yeah it probably is, I was thinking the same thing. There aren't any pictures of the Excal prototype on the net, it will almost certainly resemble a Conquest.
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Old 01-28-2013, 09:23 AM
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I've heard in the past that CE-421 turbine-conversion STC's had troubles with cracks in the tail....? CE-425 Corsair/Conquest I had different horizontal stab...
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