mswmsw

And if you are looking for lots of interior space, you might even want to look at an older King Air 350. A little more $$$$ for purchase price, but similar operating costs to a B200, more interior volume, and better range/payload numbers.

Scooter74

Thank you for the reply.

Can anyone supply some real world numbers for these planes? (Speed/Range/Fuel burn/Avg hr op cost/useful load)

thanks.

I do like the King Airs but the descent one seem to be priced higher than the preliminary budget (~650K)

SonnyD

What were the problem areas in the airframes you managed?

trafly

Uh, really? Fairchild/Swearingen doesn't exist any more. The last Merlin was made in 1987 and the last Metro in 1998.

M7 Aerospace might sell you enough parts to build one yourself, but they damn sure aren't "in production".

Airhoss

Nose wheel steering was a huge issue. It was ALWAYS broken, the next most troublesome area were the air cycle machines, then tons of little nit noid electrical stuff. It also seemed that the SAS system was in need of constant tweaking and repair. Over all the Merlin was very much more maintenance intensive than the King Air's tended to be. There is ALWAYS something that needs attention on a Merlin.

Another big issue was parts. We bumped a horizontal stab end cap into a hangar stanchion one day denting it pretty good. We couldn't find another one anywhere. We finally found one on a wreck at a salvage yard.

Then of course you've got the engines which are much more finicky than a PT-6.

IdahoFlyer

I have flown all of the aircraft in question, but have the most experience with Cheyennes. I'd try to stay away from the Merlin and Cheyennes mostly because of maintenance. There's a reason there aren't many of those planes flying and it's because upkeep can be pricey. But here are the numbers for the Cheyennes:

Cheyenne II:
Fuel Burn - 600 pph first hour, 500 pph every hour after that for conservative flight planning.
Speed - 230 kts true @ FL250
Range - 900 nm with reserves (but no one wants to sit in a Cheyenne that long)
You can almost take 6 pax plus pilot with topped tanks in the Cheyenne II. Baggage area is pretty tight with a compartment in the nose and one in the aft cabin.

Cheyenne III:

Fuel Burn - 750 first hour, 600 every hour after that for conservative flight planning.
Speed - 250 kts true @ FL250
Range - 1300 nm with reserves (I've non stopped BOI to HOU with favorable winds) One you get more than 4-5 people on board range decreases rapidly. I've hauled 9 pax plus pilot 500 nm with reserves. With 10 people on board the aft baggage area (which is pretty big) becomes mostly unusable. Nose baggage is pretty small (maybe enough room for two carry-on sized bags).

Between the two airplanes I enjoy the III the most. Cheyennes do have maybe 5-10 kts on the King Air, but I'd still go with the KA for its size and serviceability. $650K can get you into a late 70's early 80's BE200.
Feel free to PM if you need anymore Cheyenne info. I currently fly both airframes, so I can get you just about anything you need.

Scooter74

thanks, that is what I was looking for.

What are the TBO's on the Cheyenne III's engines?

Do you have any numbers or knowledge on the 400LS?

Thanks Again!

biigD

That's one monster of a turboprop, but I'm not sure if the initial price will fit your stated budget. I haven't flown one myself, but I found this site that has some info on it:

http://www.mullers.net/mike/cheyenne/

It's a dated site, and I wouldn't trust any of the dollar figures, but there might be something useful there nonetheless.

IdahoFlyer

We actually did just pick up a 400LS, but i haven't flown it (nor do I wish to). The guy who flies it also regularly flies a citation mustang and he said the 400LS goes faster, burns a little less fuel and hauls a lot more. That being said I would shy away from the 400 more so than the II or III. There where very few built and there are very few in service. The one we got is a big old turd with a nice paint job. There aren't very many shops who can maintain it properly. And, as was said, the 400LS is probably going to take you over your 650K budget. If you did happen to pick one up for that little then good luck getting it/ keeping it running. There's a big difference between having enough money to buy the plane and having enough money to operate the plane.

IdahoFlyer

Oh, and most PT6s are 3600 hour engines.