All turbines.....

I've owned my PC12 since January 2013. There are MX issues that come up that add up. Dumb stuff. A/C freon pump craps out... $10K.

I think it's possible anyone claiming $500 an hour to run a turbine hasn't owned it long enough. No, I do not believe a Meridien costs half what a PC12 costs to run.

My take on it, if you have a jet mission which is 500-1000 nm between city pairs, then the Eclipse has the edge. If you find most of your travel less than 500 nm the Meridian is more practical. Not sure what part of the country you fly in, but sounds like you fly into a lot of fields and a lot of weather. With that if you fly into hot/high/short fields or contaminated runways, the Meridian is going to be way safer. I landed Bellingham WA one day in some pretty crazy blowing rain. I got a little skid on the Meridian and it started tracking sideways. I went into reverse and it was like putting track spikes on tires. The plane immediately dug in, I was up against the shoulder harness, and was at a crawl in about 800 feet, actually just went from reverse to BETA around 40 knots then normal once I was slow enough that I was not concerned about hydroplaning and getting blown over. Same kind of thing on snow and ice. No need to touch the brakes if the runway is contaminated until you are slow enough that it is safe to do so.

My prediction is that you would be happy with either one, and wonder why you didn't do it sooner. They are both great planes. The Meridian is like a Cirrus on steroids, the Eclipse like a baby Mustang. For business travel, they are both going to serve you well.

There is one other thing that is kind of cool about both of these planes. If you find that you really like the P46T or Eclipse airframe, but find the typical mission creep has you limited. They both offer true 1400+ nm upgrades, the M600 from Piper and the 700 from One. As long as the 700 comes to certification.

Pc12 bigger = bigger hangar bills
Pc12 more fuel burn, similar speed = bigger fuel bills
Pc12 3-4x hull value = bigger insurance bills

Same reason a 206 costs more than a 172

Do yo visit many runways less than 4000 feet? I believe the Meridian will squeeze into shorter fields.

My number is half that of Crandall's........maybe I'm just lucky but I don't believe so, had my AC replaced, replaced my inertial separator motor.........if you fly more than 300hrs a year the PC12 will run you less than $700 an hr on operating cost. I also fly long legs, visit cheap fuel stops and am a do it yourself owner......

I have chosen the meridian as I am based at a 3000ft field, wanted beta, fiki, pressurization, and turbine. Most of my flights are <500nm and I normally fly 4 or less. This fits the meridian perfectly.

As you know, the best way to decide is to do you spread sheet and then fly them.

I was sold on the TBM until I realized that they have scheduled annuals that are occasionally 60amus. I could not pay that and fly the aircraft regularly.

This is as much of a feeling choice as a reason one.

Good luck, whatever you decide, it will be right.

Pc12 bigger = bigger hangar bills
Pc12 more fuel burn, similar speed = bigger fuel bills
Pc12 3-4x hull value = bigger insurance bills

Same reason a 206 costs more than a 172

Did someone use the qualifier "ALL"?

Thread drift

Thanks for the perspective Jason:
Quote: Flying late in the day after working is WORK. Flying early in the morning is fun.

Helped me make a good decision to postpone trip from Charlotte to NY from Friday pm to Sat am.

Don,
Me tinks there is an Avidyn Meridian with your name on it soon!

Love my A* so far. We shall see how dispatch reliability goes in the next few years.

A* finest quality so far is speed and burning avgas

Your hot section was $5000! - nobody else gets those kind of deals. Now I'm too embarrassed to talk about my costs.

The Meridian is a hell of a value and underrated as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure the Eclipse is more money to operate but the much bigger risk is losing support.

Did someone use the qualifier "ALL"?

http://www.castleair.com/castle-1st-class/

Last time I spoke to them (about a year ago) the rate was $800/hr with pilot.

http://visionairllc.com/services/dry-le ... an-n573ms/

These guys are dry leasing a Meridian, based in Castle Rock, CO. Not sure what the rate is.

I've seen recent rates on online air charter services where Meridians are in the $800-850 / hr range.

If these are leasing for $800 / hr, it's easy to see how actual costs are in the sub $500 / hr range.

Lame

Yeah, go fly your crop duster. You win. lol

These arguments about turbine cost are silly. In the first place they ignore the two biggest costs in flying (excepting my final point below) one of these birds: depreciation and capital cost. Secondly, no one has defined what goes into the costs (for example are we including OH or engine programs?). Thirdly, there is no standard for how many hours a year, or miles flown, so it's impossible to make a reasonable comparison.

Lastly, the value of the owner's time is not considered. At the hourly income rate someone must earn to fly any of these planes (or wealth required) the value of that owner's time is substantial. on the one hand the jet is faster (and computed cost must decline). On the other the huge overhead of time for training - while not inconsequential for a turboprop - really has to be considered with a jet. Many want to minimize these (as they want to minimize the other costs) but that is just wishful or ignorant thinking. The time I spent in initial training for a turbo prop dwarfs all other cost considerations in year one and it was an expensive maintenance year. The costs for jet trading would have exceeded the cost of my first airplane.

$500, $750, $1,000 an hour? If you look at the whole picture it's way more than that and $250/hr one way or the other just isn't that big a deal.

Oh, completely forgot taxes which can distort everything further.

Everyone tries to justify what they fly. It's ridiculous. Fly what you want and can write the check for but please don't try to suck the rest of us into your own cost fantasy.