Craig wrote:
One other thing is the AC is probably the biggest pussycat in the
world to fly on one engine. Lose an engine and it's a pretty ho-hum
thing...dial in a little trim, cage the bad one and plow on. No
critical engine, V speeds are reasonable and it won't work you to
death if you do lose one. Remember Bob Hoover flew a great show in an
AC for 20+ years and will attest to it's handling characteristics.

Craig - First off, thank you for the informative and AWESOME note back!
Actually, that is *exactly* why I am interested in twin engine. Safety
when I have my family with me. With regard to lbs. - I am about 6'6"
and 270, wife is about 175, and the kids range from age 10 to 16 so I
figure I should count on 150 for each kid even though they are not there
yet. Add in 400 lbs of luggage and I get a total of 1,595.


Cost shoudln't be that big of a thing. Consider what your expenses are
going to be if you do by the Seneca and end up outgrowing it within a
couple of years, vs spending a bit more upfront. Good AC's can be
found within your price range with a little paitents and putting the
word out with the right people.

I am a complete neophyte. I fly every week for work, and do so on Delta
exclusively. My enjoyment of flying each week is what motivates me to get
my own. I have found a local flight school, and my wife is also going to
take the classes. I used to be an aircraft and avionics tech in the ANG,
and I have flown an F4E flight simulator a few times. I enjoyed it each
time. I am stuck on the price though - I am selling my extra car, and
will use that money to get financing for a plane. Since my car payment was
$845, I figure $800 times 10 year financing should allow me to buy about an
$70K to $90K plane. Give or take.


BTW, I do know of a AC 680E that is coming out of a long term overhaul
that will be as good or better than it was new, and the owner's price
isn't way out of the figures you are looking at.

Can you help me with links to where planes are offered on the internet so I
can get familiar with the cost of some of these aircraft? I have found the
following so far:
www.aviatorsale.com
www.globalair.com/classifieds
www.aso.com
www.globalplanesearch.com
www.controller.com


What ever aircraft you narrow your focus down to, be sure and lay out
a side by side comparison of all the specs. Take a realistic look at
the family now and what it will look like over the next 5 years. Do a
practice trip and see where you really come out on the scales and then
do a weight and balance for each of the aircraft. Do a flight plan far
enough to figure all the stops necessary for the average trip you will
be making. Then once you settle on paper what aircraft you want, find
some way to fly one and see how you like it.

Having never flown a Seneca, Aero Twin Commander, or any other aircraft;
and I going to be able to compare them, or am I just going to be
overwhelmed by how much fun they all are? With regard to distance, I am
close to Atlanta, and feel I would like to be able to go about 700 NM.
This gets me to the Bahamas, Bermuda, Grand Cayman, and up the coast to
Nova Scotia (with 1 stop). It also gets me all over USA on about 2 or 3
stops.

An aside here....the Twin Commander type club is having their annual
meeting and conference in September in Kansas City . Bob Hoover is
supposed to be there as well as all the AC gurus. It might be worth
the trip if you are not in a hurry to make a decision on what to buy.

I can fly there via Delta if you think that is worth the trip. What do I
do once I get to KC?

--
____________________________
Ah, Young Grasshopper.
Sometimes it is eyes that blind a man.