Single Pilot Options?
 

Alright, I'm looking for some opinions (preferebly backed up w/ facts) on Jets or fast turboprops that can be operated single pilot. One of the guys I use to work for has several BE-90's and he wants to go a little faster than 220 - 230 KTAS. These small props are slow but only burning about 350 - 400 lbs. hr in cruise. The a/c needs to have room for 4 - 5 pax and likely 100 - 200 lbs bags at least with no more than 4000' T/O STD conditions. Thanks for the thoughts.

P.S. Links to company sites I might not have thought of will help also. :D
XtremeF150

King Air 200/B200
King Air 300
Piper Chyenne III and 400LS
Cessna Conquest II--especially with the Dash-10 conversion
Cessna Citation II--CE551 or CE550 with single pilot waiver. This requires some more training, and may limit gross wt. depending on the aircraft.
Cessna Citation V--with single pilot waiver. Again this requires more training.
I only know of one Citation V flown single pilot. You have to have certian equipment installed also. The insurance co. may not go for it very well.

King Air 200/B200---260-270 KTAS
King Air 300--300 KTAS or better*
Piper Chyenne III--I think 270 KTAS, 400LS--well over 300 KTAS*
Cessna Conquest II Dash 10--Over 300 KTAS*
Cessna Citation II--380 KTAS*
Cessna Citation V--410-420 KTAS

Aircraft with an * I have never flown, and speeds are based on pilot lounge BS sessions with other pilots.

The CE560 (encore) can also be granted single pilot waivers (you have to take the initial checkride in the actual aircraft). There's an owner/operator here in ROA that has the waiver for one of it's pilots. 4000' might be a bit tight though for some of the Citation 500 series.

Cessna 525

Cessna 525A - TAS 400 Cruise Burn approx. 900 lb/hr

Cessna 525B - TAS 415 Cruise Burn approx. 900 lb/hr

Thanks guys. After looking through many of the new VLJ's I am finding many of there speeds to actually be very similiar to many faster turboprops or in some cases slower (Avanti). Although they post true airspeeds in the 340 range, I hear they are extremely effecient. I was wondering if any one knows someone who has taken delivery on one of these new small jets and has any good or bad posts about them.

I really hadn't thought about the older cheyne's but how economic are they as far as fuel burn and maintenance?

If posting opinions try and give me some where I can verifiy the info thanks for the help guys.

XtremeF150

Mu-2, 305-315 Tas.

Merlin 2b with -10 conversions

I flew the Piper Cheyenne 400LS.
350 KTAS
FL410 (best speeds around FL300)
Cooling looking.

I hear the King Air 350 is similair.

I will really have to look into that one then isnt that a turboprop...that flies at 410 or 350 KTAS thats really good. I already know the 350 KA is a good craft although sometimes sort of expensive in comparison. A continued thanks

XtremeF150

Otto is right.....the 400ls is a hoss!! The down side is they didnt make that many and its kind of a hanger queen. kind of pricey to operate due to maint and parts being hard to find

You might want to look at a king air f90. It will have the same pax configuration as what you are currently in. You can find a good one for 1.1 mil and they cruise at 255-260kts. The fuel burn will be similar to that of a B200. -135 engines

AC-90 Turbo Commander 690A or B models with the Garrett TPE-331-10T engines

T.A.S. 290 to 300 Knots

At FL 260 and FL 270 you will see F.F. of 480 to 500 lbs total

No STC for RVSM so limited to FL 280.

How can everyone forget the PC12?
Just as fast as a KingAir 200 (260kts) just as big (actually bigger by like an inch) with half the fuel burn! Plus, forward airstair and cavernous cargo/baggage door. 1600nm range (those are real numbers, the 'book' range says 2200 miles but thats economy cruise and VFR reserves) I've personally done two flights of over 1200nm nonstop, normal winds.

Commander
 

This guy has a commander that he bought recently and is overhauling the interior and installing the glass cockpit offered by meggit. Don't know much about it but I think this aircraft might be to replace one of the 90's. I think it has -10's on it. Any thoughts on this plane?

XtremeF150

Pilot's Airplane
 

I have never heard a pilot diss a Turbo Commander. The dash tens should be great.

The Commanders are great airplanes. I have over 1500hrs in them. The -10T is hard to beat! 5400hr TBO, no phase inspections, and they sip fuel (250 lbs/hr aside at 270). The -10s allow you to hold your HP to a higher altitude than the -5s did. It is not uncommon to hold a 2000ft/min climb up to FL220 (in the summer), after that it drops to about 1500. OUTSTANDING single engine performance too! With full fuel, and a pilot you can still load close to 1000lbs. 290-300TAS is common.
The Meggit system is nice, expensive but nice. The good thing about it is that it is RVSM comp. The plane also has excellent short field performance.
The only bad thing about the plane I can think of is the fuel system (on the 690 series). The fuel tanks are all interlocking so it does take awhile to fuel. And the rubber fuel bladders are a drag when maint. has to be done in the wings.
If I had the money that is the one I would buy!

We just purchased a new King Air C90GT. It does an honest 270 ktas at FL280, burning 440 lbs/hr. That's not a LOT faster, but it meets the other criteria...

What's the story on the Citation 501?

What about the Beech Premiers'? Never flown one, so I don't know their runway performance, but I do know they can be flown single-pilot, and it's supposed to be 450KIAS(not sure fuel burn).

TBM850 would be a great pick if it wasn't for the greater than 4 pax load. I fly these planes and love them, but the plane only has 6 seats total, and if you're talking heavy baggage then you're going to run out of room. 2-3 pax in back with bags is very easy, plus you're going 305-310KTAS(book says 320, my number are real-world) on 400lbs/hr.

If the budget allows look into the KingAir B200GT. B200 with different/new engine and is supposed to true around 300 kts.

I currently operate a 350 and do 295-300 kts. I'm sure you have also heard that the 350 can be loaded up and still do this. Dont think this is so with the others. Guess it will depend on how many and how far you anticipate on avarage.

FBP

Thread from the Dead
 

This thread started in July of 2006.

4000 feet of runway with a load on a regular basis is a tight for a premier.

Fuel Flow--1200 first hour, 1000 next hour. (Some plan 900 the third hour).

12500 MGTOW
10000 Max Zero Fuel
Typical empty weight of 8400 lbs.

Runway example. 1000 ft. elevation 12,500 lbs. 30 Celcius

Flaps 10--5,138 feet
Flaps 20--5,186 feet

Landing Distance, same conditions, 11000lbs. Dry Runway.
3,303 feet

SOURCE OF INFO---Premier Pilot's Checklist

Did anyone say 'Piaggio'? The best bang for the buck all around. 375TAS ACTUAL figures, 1300-1400nm range and a quiet, large cabin. 20kts faster then a Citation II on 50% of the fuel. Good runway numbers and excellent DOCs (somewhere around what a King Air 300 costs.) It's a great bird with lots of ramp appeal. It's single pilot and really a sweet ride all around. Best of all, it's not 30 years old.

We should put that on the 'reply' checklist. I never thought to look. *** brought it back? I put about 45 seconds of thought into it...it made me work. :eek:

DOC's are great until you start paying for Mx, guy in the next office to mine flies one for a local company, and I know how much it's in the shop getting some expensive parts replaced.

Not saying it isn't a thoroughbred, but there are some tradeoff's. I've ridden in it once and was blown away by it's performance, but as I mentioned Mx could eat you.

Pay4 driver
 

PAY4 340-350 tas at fl280-310...lowest fuel burn i have seen is 77gph total at fl390 and 285 tas there...

Cheyenne 2 is a good bird that is faster than a king air 90 but smaller inside.

I see controller has a 400ls for sale for 659k and needs props...but if you are part 91...tbo is only a suggestion...the problem is dowty props have a year limit.

I don't know from experience, but I've heard that the Piaggio sets off the noise abatement sensors at the departure end of airports like Santa Monica regardless of pilot technique. They don't seem that loud to me though. Perhaps whoever told me that was full of it...

I live under the approach to HOU (about 4 miles outside ROYCE). The only aircraft I ever take notice of are the lifeguard helos at or below 500 feet and the Piaggios at or above 2000.

Question for those in the know:
- You are flying in a CJ3, or other turbine, that may be flown single-pilot.
- you are single-pilot rated in it.
- so is the other pilot with you.

Can both of you log the time? Does one person log Second Pilot?

Does your operator have a flight manual signed off by a POI? Is the flight your conducting require an SIC? If your company requires it or your insurance requires it, i'd say you're fine!

Only under 135 or if there is inop equipment which disqualifies single pilot operation.

http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/...rpretation.pdf

The above and current LOI should answer all of your questions.

TBM 850
265 KTAS
Reliable with seats for 5 and plenty of baggage.

TBM850 goes A LOT faster then 265 knots.

You are correct. I had to go look it up.
320 KTS Max Cruise
260 KTS Long Range.

Been a few years since I have flown it. Lots of fun.

Thanks for the answers.
BTW, Part 91, owner flown for personal use.

The new TBM 900 is advertising 340 KTAS. Got to fly a 700 last year. Enjoyable.

But at $3.7M new, you can acquire a very nice used Citation Mustang for just under $2M. I believe even a new Mustang is less than a TBM 900.

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the citation mustang fairly useless in terms of carrying a load? I don't know numbers but one pilot who was operating one out of PDX mentioned that they could only carry full fuel plus a duffle bag... That full tank of gas gets you maybe 900-1000 miles???

Personally, I'm NOT a fan of single pilot jets. Especially owner operated. I'm sure there are plenty of owner/operators out there who do their due diligence but for too many it is an extension of their ego. The accident rate in this sector is proof of that fact.

A guy that I used to fly for (an owner) said that the savings in his insurance premiums by having a second pilot justified the second salary. Think of all those benefits you get from a second pair of eyes in the cockpit... When things are fine and dandy chances are single pilot guys will do just fine (I say this as a former piston twin single pilot Cargo dude, I've been there) but when things get really busy and you approach task saturation of your working memory things can get ugly with only 1 person at the controls.

Go spend the money on a PC12 and pay a guy a contract rate to sit in the right seat. The rest of the aviation community will appreciate your due diligence.

Mustang: I've flown it a few times, but am not rated. I know a bunch of owners, and they love(d) it. Many of them moved up to the M2 or CJ3, but still speak highly of the Mustang.

Having flown primarily single-pilot, except for a year in a King Air 350, and 2 years in the airlines, I disagree with your assessment. I don't want to type a novel, but single-pilot is not inherently less safe.

As for owner operators, I know a ton of them. And the ones I know are very passionate about it and work hard at it. I also know some that are single-pilot rated, but will hire an IP to fly with them when their proficiency is down, or going to a challenging location. These owners didn't get to the point of owning a jet because they are stupid and lazy. They make very smart decisions.

And you are mentioned the accident rate of single pilot jets: it is very, very low. The Citation fleet is probably the bulk of that category, along with Phenoms and Eclipses.

Although you specified jets, if you consider single-pilot turbines, like the TBM and Meridians, the accident rate for them appears to be much higher. But this is apples and oranges as compared to the jet fleet.

For the record, I am a HUGE fan of single-pilot jets.

A single pilot jet isn't inherently unsafe, it's the untrained or unqualified gent in the front makes it that way.

Those same gents can find themselves in the two-man required jets too.

I've flown both the Mustang and CJ4 and in my opinion an experienced pilot would have no problem flying the Mustang as SP. IMO, the Mustang is actually easier to fly than most turbo twins and even easier than the TBM850. The only bad things (again, IMO) are the avionics (the G1000 was a POS) and the trash bag "lav."