There seems to be a lot of jet fever on the forum. Mark H. is everywhere in a Citation. My friend Robert is wondering about skipping the turboprop step and going from his 421 straight into a jet. And it sounds like Jay is considering upgrading from his MU-2.

I've been angling to get myself into the turboprop world, but this jet fever caused me to open the BlueBook, just for grins, to check on Citation Ultras. Why an Ultra? No valid reason - it is just what I happened to fly when I was at NetJets 15-20 years ago. I can't say that I was smitten with the Ultras, but it is classic Cessna: easy to fly, low V speeds, forgiving, relatively simple, great runway performance.

According to the Bluebook, a 1996 Ultra retails for $1.35M; a 1996 King Air B200 retails for about $1.2M. An extra $135k in capital outlay buys a lot more speed and range.

I realize that for older jets, acquisition cost is inversely related to operating cost, i.e. the higher the operating cost, the lower the price to buy one.

My rough assumption is that engine costs/reserves for the Ultra are pretty close to the King Air (figured on a per mile basis rather than a per hour basis). I ballpark fuel costs about 60-70% higher per mile for the Ultra, but short trips down low could make that much worse.

I presume the big difference is maintenance cost. I don't know anything about the Ultra inspection schedule, nor about what gremlins routinely lurk. Can anyone weigh in with the maintenance spread? Does the Ultra have calendar items that will whack an operator flying 100 hrs/yr?

In terms of avionics, putting a G1000 in the King Air keeps it current for the foreseeable future, especially with the Nxi upgrade. A google search revealed that JetTech has STCs for the Ultra for the G600 and GTN750. Assuming the Ultra autopilot is not an abyss, the G600/750 should be a great solution.

So, give me the reality check I am looking for. What costs will bury the naive, low-utilization Ultra owner?

Are you currently flying a PC12NG?

Chuckle... I'm definitely not shopping (I'm realistic enough with my finances to know I don't want to spend jet money right now), but I am looking a couple of years down the road.

For now I'll just enjoy reading this thread and gaining intelligence!

Robert

Twice as fast, twice as high, jet fuel is pretty cheap.
Insurance cost basically the same.
Maintenance both gonna be spendy, depends on how quickly you can find the right provider and get over the hump of initial issues.
You'll thank yourself for getting the jet on your first trip.

Depends on what the mission is! 400 miles or less the King Air will be cheaper. More than that the jet will be NICE.

Jason,

Yes, currently flying an NG.

Curious as to why you would take a 200 over the NG?

Is the Ultra single pilot? Waiver? The one I saw in our airport was always flown 2 pilot.

Curious as to why you would take a 200 over the NG?

STC (exemption 9917), allows FAA approved Single Pilot (SP) operation of a Citation 500 series aircraft with any wing, and any serial number without limitations of weight or territory.

The models included in this exemption are:
CE-500 – Citation 500 / CE-550 – Citation II / CS550 – Citation SII / CE-550 Bravo
CE-560 – Citation V / CE-560 Ultra / CE-560 Encore / Citation 552 (Military version)

Pilot Requirements:

1st or 2nd class Medical
Have ATP or Commercial certificate
CE-500 Type Rating
At least 1000 hours total time
50 hours of night flight
75 hours instrument (40 actual)
500 hours as PIC or SIC in turbine powered airplanes

Aircraft requirements:

Autopilot with approach coupling
Flight director system
Boom microphone
Transponder “ident” button on pilots control wheel.
The airplane converted by this STC may increase the number of passengers to the maximum limit without installing a cockpit recorder.

Curious as to why you would take a 200 over the NG?

Attached is a page from the 2013 Sierra Industries catalog http://www.sijet.com/download/SIJET_Catalog_2013-14_ALL.pdf that gives you an idea of the 560 phase inspections. All the calendar times will hit before hours at 100 hours a year.

Note that the prices are 4 years old and are for inspections only with no repairs.

Allen,

Thanks for the link.

Looks like the primary phases are 1-4, with phase 5 being a complete 1-4.

Is there a requirement that 2 phases be done per year?

I was surprised by phase 6: airframe exterior every 14 days.

Also was surprised by phase 53: copilot side window every 50 landings.

Best,

Dan

Phase 5 is different then Phases 1-4. Phase 5 is like an annual, open everything up and inspect. You can do phase 5 alone or phase 1-5 all together and be good for 24 months.

I don't know of any requirement for 2 phases a year.

Every Citation seems to have a 14 day check. On some it is called Aircraft Exterior and others Coroosion Inspection.

Yeah, co-pilot side window must have been found to have some issues.

I think you need to have a local A&P available to mind those old birds. Hard to get all the inspections to line up and you have items like battery capacity checks that occur. You can take it some place for the scheduled major inspections but handy to have a local A&P for other stuff.