Reach out to Chris DiPaola here on BT. He went from P Baron to Cheyenne.

I had a 340 RAM VI for about 4-5 years and 450 hours. I loved it, but I will echo what others are saying; lots of little maint items. Although I stayed on top of the repairs (I fixed all the small things myself), there was a never-ending gripe list of small things.

It was $518 per hour over the time I owned it. I was careful with maintenance (we never replaced parts in order to "try" to fix things- every maintenance action was deliberate).

Loved it- but at this point in my life my "hobby" airplane is the L39. If you are traveling, especially with family, you need a turbine.

I made the transition from a Piper Turbo Lance to a Mitsubishi MU2 N back in 1998 with about 400TT, an IR but no multi. SEL to MEL turbine isn't particularly risky or unusual. It isn't even particularly expensive compared to making lots of little step up transitions. There are a lot of single engine piston to jet transitions happening in Cirrus'

I obtained my Private certificate in the average time (I think 60hrs) so I wasn't particularly gifted. A few weeks before my check ride, I purchased a Turbo Lance and started transitioning to that from the rental 172. After receiving my Private was the first time I noticed that it was always overcast until noon (Santa Monica, CA)) so I started working on the instrument rating. After receiving in IR, I moved to Minden NV with the idea that I would be flying in the Turbo Lance to visit companies (mostly in CA...across the Sierra)

That winter (1997-98) was a huge winter in the Sierra (66' of snow fell on Tahoe) and I was regularly stuck on the West side of the mountains trying to return home. I bought a MU2 over the phone out of Tradeaplane from a motel in Sacramento where I was stuck waiting for the weather to improve.

Simulator training for the MU2 was at Flight Safety at that time. They would train me but I had to have a multi rating, so I got one in three flights in a beat up Aztec in Carson City, NV. I studied up on the systems by reading the flight manual and booked an airline ticket to meet my new plane. The broker, who was a MU2 guy, flew with me for a couple days (including to Airventure). We finished up in Houston where Flight Safety had their MU2 simulator. I successfully completed the Initial course in the normal amount of time. I paid for a Flight Safety instructor to fly home with me. We did actual single engine landings, all the flight tests that might be required post maitenance etc. Then I was on my own. At first it was intimidating but I tried to fly the MU2 at least three times a week, so it got comfortable fairly quickly.

Others may disagree but I think it is faster, cheaper and safer to transition to whatever plane you are eventually going to have in as few steps as possible.

Just make sure you can afford to fly whatever aircraft you buy. If economy is going to limit how much and how often you fly, you will never be proficient.

Why go 230KTAS when you can go 20-30KTAS faster on the same fuel?? Not knocking the Cheyenne, but an MU2 is a much more fuel efficient plane. For that matter so are Turbo Commanders. Hangar size might be an issue with those though. Just askin....

I went from a T210M to Ram VII 340 and then to a MU2 Marquise. If you can afford it, skip the piston twin stage. The maintenance cost of the 340, in money, was about the same as the MU2, but the time involved going to and from shops to have stuff fixed, was much more in the 340. I was based in a rural area and had to fly out for almost all maintenance. If you have a good shop on your field, then maintaining a piston twin might be a little more tolerable.

The 340 was a great plane and I liked flying it very much, but maintaining two big bore piston engines was a pain.

Go turbine now. Go Garrett, IMHO. They are significantly more efficient than Pratts and cost less to maintain over the life of the engine.

The MU2 also provides a much better ride than a Cheyenne or any other twin piston. I got 260kts TAS on just under 60gph in my F model. Very comfortable and highly capable plane. No comparison to anything else in my opinion.

The MU2 sounds pretty awesome - never been on one. Unfortunately, it will not fit in my hangar (I don't think). I am waiting on a POH for the piper Cheyenne I to arrive (today) to verify the dimensions. Not 100% that the wing and engines have enough clearance.

T Hangar:
W-47.5'
H-14'
Depth-39'
Wing Depth-21'

I appreciate the advice on going straight to twin turboprop. The idea of taking a piston twin to the shop on a regular basis for tweaking is not appealing to me. I had to do that with my previous Cirrus TN as the engine was aging.

I have contacted a friend/instructor/DPE about getting my multi. He is pretty busy, so I might go the 5 day route.

Next step is insurance.

Thanks for the help.

If the height dimension on your hangar is the clear height with the door open a MU2 will fit

Happy to talk through my experience - I went from a 58P to a Cheyenne I and have been extremely happy with the move. I see 240kts between 17-21k feet on ~450lbs per hour. In the winter it’s a little closer to 250kts. The speed falls off higher but no reason why you can’t take it to FL250 or 270 to catch a tailwind. It’s a 230kts airplane up there on <400pph. My flying is primarily with my family (wife + 4 kids) and it’s the perfect airplane for that mission.

I agree the MU2 is a compelling combo of speed and efficiency but I disagree that it’s a better ride vs the Cheyenne. The MU2 is a pilots airplane - You get in and strap it on and fly (fast!). The Cheyenne is more like getting in your family SUV. Not as exciting but she gets the job done.

Maintenance is straight forward - Event 1/2 every 100 hours. If you fly <150 hours/year these are done concurrently. If you fly more than you can split it up. Parts have not been an issue. The one weak spot for me has been the environmental systems - AC belts breaking and she still has the janitrol in the nose which requires some attention.

Training consists of annual recurrent - Executive Flight Training in Beaufort SC is well liked by the insurance companies and has several good Cheyenne instructors (flying is done in a generic King Air sim but classroom is great).

Let me know if I can answer any other questions.

Why I love jets in one picture.

Crossed line at FL410. IMC. Smooth. Little stress. Going this way added 10 minutes to my trip. My ground speed was 390kts@65gph cruise

I recognize that line, Mark. Yesterday’s cold front? We’re enroute to Chicago from NYC, glad it petered out, can’t pull your move in a P Baron.

Great post Chris.

yep.

If the 11th Commandment is thou shalt not covet another man's fuel burn....I'm in trouble.

yep.

The line that came through here a few days ago had tops near 70,000 MSL. Even Mark would probably have needed to go around that one.