Me too And a great guy he is! Well qualified to have that opinion as well with tons of experience in both the PC12 AND CJ3.

If you golf have him tell you the story of his round at Augusta a couple of year's ago (including how he got to Augusta and back to PDK)

I should have been more specific in my original post. I already have a couple hundred complex hours (RG & constant speed prop), but your point is made. I only have a dozen or so multi hours.

I should have been more specific in my original post. I already have a couple hundred complex hours (RG & constant speed prop), but your point is made. I only have a dozen or so multi hours.

With all due respect it isn't just how many hours are in a log book in different kinds of planes. It's about when those hours were flown, over what period of time and in what conditions. There is a lady that Eclipse touts who got her PPL and MEI (I think) in an Eclipse and her type in about 400 hours of flying time. It's doable. But those hours weren't strung out over 30 years and her husband, who flies with her is also a type rated Eclipse pilot and presumably she had the experience of flying with him in addition to her own left seat time.

I'm curious how many of the three hundred hours the OP has are in the last couple of years. If most of them that's different than if he has recently returned to flying with most of them in the past. Flying is a very perishable skill. I laid off for over 20 years and consider the time in my logbook from the 80's as nothing more than an interesting artifact. Knowing more about someone's aeronautical experience would certainly impact many of the suggestions on airplanes made here I believe.

Flying complex twins, pressurized anything, turbine anything requires - to do it safely - more than piloting the plane. That's the easy part. Only the OP knows whether he has the requisite relevant and current experience to do it safely. But without knowing that I just don't understand recommending an easy to fly, really fast, high altitude, complex aircraft to anyone who isn't ready, by reason of aeronautical experience, to handle the weather, airspace and other demands at turbine, and especially jet, speeds.

At the end of the day a personal, private conversation with one of the knowledgeable brokers here about the cost, availability and baby sitting time required for each airplane under consideration, or even discussion, in this thread ought to be very educational about the relative risk. Not to mention expense. With a big enough checkbook you can buy practically anything including insurance. But only time in the left seat, counted in a reasonable time frame, flying across the country as opposed to shorter hops, can buy the experience necessary to reduce the risk.

From an ownership standpoint, as long as you can swing the acquisition price, you cannot beat the PC-12. Especially considering 100 hours a year. The airplane retains value at a rate that is really unprecedented in today's aviation market. If you decide to sell it, you can... quickly and easily.

It is very economical to operate and will tolerate low utilization better than most aircraft. With a reasonable amount of time you should be flying it solo with no issues.

There are a few downsides when compared to a King Air (nothing else comes close comparison wise)

The maintenance cost is a little higher than I like, especially when compared to a King Air, but the efficiency of a single engine easily offsets the maintenance.

Many of the parts are single vendor and there's not a lot of used / ARA parts available. Flap actuators cost over $10k a piece and there's four of them... stuff like that.

Refurbishment cost are high. Paint and interior... think jet prices.

Avionics upgrades are limited and expensive. $150k to add Dual G600's and no G1000 option.

It's the SUV of aircraft. Truly the ideal owner / operator, low utilization turboprop.

How much was insurance the first couple of years and how much mentor time did they require?

You could buy a really nice Turbo Commander for 600-700k. Enough engine time to never think about it again. Bring an experienced pilot with you for 50 hours and you'll be good to go. 300knots, AC, flight levels, easy to fly even on one engine, long range, terrific climb performance, etc., etc. You won't want another plane for a long time would be my guess.

The Pilatus is NOT the "single engine version of the KA" the way a Bonanza is a single engine version of a Baron. Just compare horsepower and you see it's a whole different animal. Pilatus has more HP in 1 engine than KA has in 2.

The Pilatus is NOT the "single engine version of the KA" the way a Bonanza is a single engine version of a Baron. Just compare horsepower and you see it's a whole different animal. Pilatus has more HP in 1 engine than KA has in 2.

If that's the case....... Mustang

I haven't seen a price point stated in this thread.

Mustang is great, but it would be even more time with a mentor pilot and it doesn't do everything he would like to do.

A sub $1m CJ would be an interesting option along the lines of what you're thinking and in keeping with six digits instead of seven.

Mustang is great, but it would be even more time with a mentor pilot and it doesn't do everything he would like to do.

Please, please, anybody considering buying an airplane of this class get a good professional pilot to fly right seat for a long time so there isn't another of these articles.

http://www.kansas.com/news/state/article4172553.html

Aviation is unkind to the inexperienced, especially in fast airplanes, we need not prove it again.

Jeff

+1

A second airmen qualified in the airplane is the best safety component money can buy. There is a reason ALL airlines have two pilots. When we start talking about a guy who is successful enough to buy a fast airplane, he is probably running a business... it's hard to be both a focused pilot and a focused businessman.

Many years ago the VP of the company I worked for at the time and myself sat down with our President / CEO, the subject... we wanted him to stop piloting his own airplane. In the previous week another successful entrepreneur had killed himself in a plane crash, to his credit he saw the wisdom and hired a pilot. That allowed him to move past the Baron, into a Citation... a few airplanes later he owns a CJ4. Could he fly it? You bet, the guy is a natural pilot... does he? No. He rides in the back and has two pro pilots up front.

Each individual in this situation has to make there own decision, but if there's a question... get a pilot to fly with you.