Chip, you've done it now! Mike is gonna go medieval on you a**!

Back on topic: I think the -5's are very good value these days if you don't mind them being slightly slower and having an extra HSI. -5's are plentiful and the market values them much lower (as everyone is obsessed with -10's), so you get pretty good bang for your buck. I wouldn't discard them as an alternative.

You're in 'rare form' tonight...and about to be decimated.
As someone looking towards the next 'step', I appreciate your insight.

Wow, pretty strong opinion of which you are certainly entitled.

But as a former owner and having been around a lot of aviation people, the ONLY people that I have heard speak ill of the MU2 hadn't had any significant experience with them, as a pilot or as an owner. And those who did have a personal history with the MU2, universally loved it.

And since most mechanics that work on MU2s specialize in them, I'm pretty confident that a large percentage of them enjoy working on them.

The Commander is a fine plane and I don't have anything negative to comment about it. We'll be sure and put you down as the Commander Fanboy.

Jay

You got apples to apples observations?

Mike C.

You're in 'rare form' tonight...and about to be decimated.
As someone looking towards the next 'step', I appreciate your insight.[/quote]

My wife doesn't let me argue politics on Facebook... so I come here and tease my Mits loving friends![/quote]

Chip, refresh my memory on what ratings you have again?

No but I haven't heard about the long body MU2 busting 300knots consistently unless really light or winter. The -10 Commanders make 300knots or better from what I've read. Is this inaccurate?

As Patrick (an owner) said above, Commanders have a poor use of space problem. I would advise anyone looking to buy to sit up front for 4-5 hours and see if you can stomach it. I can't. The pax seats are smallish too unless you have one with the couch in the rear but most of us sit up front.

Commanders are performers though and have decent margins.

The Marquise is kind of big for a personal plane.

So is the PC12


That makes it a short body competitor. The MU2 short body will go faster than the Commander.

Can't say as I flew the -5 but I'd be the -10 would be very close.


With a price tag to match, over $1M.

Yes expensive to get away from the ADs. I wish I had more time in the short Mitz. The Marquise was fun to fly, but the Commander was much better. If I needed seats, the Marquise would be great, but I don't, so my choice would clearly be the Commander. Even the -5 is a great plane.

Mike C.

Anthony, I do not have a single type rating. I look at aircraft for what they are, I have no bias based on my own personal feelings or experience.

For many aviation is a job... for some it is a passion. For me it is a career. I am not a professional pilot, I realized a long time ago that I could not be both a pilot and a professional salesperson. I will be the first to admit that if your career is selling piston aircraft you need to be a pilot. But, in the words of a great aviation icon, Johnny Gantt, "if you are selling turbines, it's a full time job, you have to choose one or the other"

Having said that, I have some friends that do both well.. they work a lot of hours.

I personally ascribe to the adage of "do one thing and do it very well"

I could not be the best pilot and be the best salesperson... maybe someone else could, but I could not... so I chose.

All these years later I'm no longer on the sales side... I'm a buyer's rep. I can tell you for an absolute fact that I could not do both! When my clients call, they expect to talk to me... saying I was on a trip won't work.

So, I don't have any type ratings. I don't need any. It's not what I do.

I do help people make good decisions when it comes to buying airplanes... depending on your needs... a Mits can be a great decision... but it comes with a lot of disclaimers.

The Turbo Commander is an NO excuses AWESOME airplane!!!!

Mostly in San Angelo, TX.

Mike C.

Anthony, I do not have a single type rating. I look at aircraft for what they are, I have no bias based on my own personal feelings or experience.

For many aviation is a job... for some it is a passion. For me it is a career. I am not a professional pilot, I realized a long time ago that I could not be both a pilot and a professional salesperson. I will be the first to admit that if your career is selling piston aircraft you need to be a pilot. But, in the words of a great aviation icon, Johnny Gantt, "if you are selling turbines, it's a full time job, you have to choose one or the other"

Having said that, I have some friends that do both well.. they work a lot of hours.

I personally ascribe to the adage of "do one thing and do it very well"

I could not be the best pilot and be the best salesperson... maybe someone else could, but I could not... so I chose.

All these years later I'm no longer on the sales side... I'm a buyer's rep. I can tell you for an absolute fact that I could not do both! When my clients call, they expect to talk to me... saying I was on a trip won't work.

So, I don't have any type ratings. I don't need any. It's not what I do.

I do help people make good decisions when it comes to buying airplanes... depending on your needs... a Mits can be a great decision... but it comes with a lot of disclaimers.

The Turbo Commander is an NO excuses AWESOME airplane!!!!

The Mooney part of the plan didn't last very long, only a few years. Mitsubishi then built them themselves starting in 1970 forming a new corporation based in Texas.

The only thing that came from Japan were aluminum structures, most of the value was with US provided and installed systems and parts, like the engines and avionics.

(Note that some "made in the USA" airplanes have imported structures, for example, wings on Eclipse were made by Fuji).


That's what you get when you only ask King Air mechanics, or you don't really mind spreading ignorance.

The MU2 is quite easy to work on, robust systems, connectors and disconnects in the right places, etc. For example, engine off the airframe takes less than an hour, back on in another hour.

Mike C.

Long body airplanes will top out around 300 knots.

Short bodies can be noticeably faster. The fastest I've done in level flight is 318 KTAS.

Cabin size, the long body MU2 is way more than a Commander, which seems to have a very large ratio of airplane size to usable cabin size.


My assessment is the -10 Commanders also top out around 300 knots, similar to the long body MU2s. It would be neck and neck.

Meanwhile, the short body MU2 pulls away from both of them.

Mike C.

IMO, You're mistaken. Mechanics don't want to work on the Mits because they don't know the Mits. Pull up to a Beechcraft mechanic with a Malibu, and he'll tell you the same thing .. don't want to work on it, no manuals, etc.