On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 18:44:33 -0400, "Morgans"
wrote:


"Roger (K8RI)" wrote

I can understand the jet (high due to being a jet and the number of
seats) and the Caravan on floats, but on wheels that is almost twice
what they quoted me for a TBM 700 with the Caravan costing less and
being considerably slower.

Can your justify a jet turbine costing more than a turbo prop? Are not jet
turbine aircraft much more safe, mile per mile?
I'll try:-))

The engines (when treated right) are far more reliable than piston
engines.

The cost comes basically due to the pilot they expect and the
environment in which he/she will be flying. Add to that the type of
recurrency training available and the equipment to be used in that
training.

First you start out with the 150 to 200 MPH mind in a 500 MPH airplane
which is no trivial matter. Any one moving up from say a 172 or
Cherokee to a Bonanza or Mooney (simple to high
performance/complex/retract) will have had a small dose of that.
Typically I fly at 7, or 8 thousand. That means planning ahead by
about 40 miles, or 12 to 13 minutes for descents into approaches. The
jet not only flies faster but higher which means thinking and planning
much farther ahead. Instead of starting my descent from 7 thousand 40
miles out, I'd be starting from the flight levels several hundred
miles out. Staying proficient is also much more involved and
requires flying more. In the TBM 700 I would have been spending at
least as much on recurrency training as I would have on insurance
which was a requirement to maintain the insurance.

A jet also requires much more detailed flight planning based on fuel
burn.

BTW; I've known experienced pilots who had as much or more difficulty
with the take off than the landing in a jet. The jet has a much
greater surplus of power than a piston engine, so making the take off
roll and initial climb at full power while reducing power so you do
not exceed the proper speed for the airport area or blast through your
initial altitude assignment can be quite a challenge.

These were a few of the things I could think of.