Tailhook wrote:
I'm an retired Navy pilot with lots of time (6000)--but nothing in the
past 15 years--but my children are now moving all over the country and
I'd like to get back into the air to visit them. I know little about
the general aviation market or products but I'm partial to twin engines
if only because they gives you an option when the weather deteriorates
and so does one engine. I'm looking for the following:

reliable and affordable--under $200K
4-passenger capability (real passengers--none of my kids are under 6')

Not doubting that you need this, but I think many buyers overestimate the need
for weight capacity, unless they have some experience in the GA environment and
know what their mission profile is. Many people find they make many trips by
themselves or with a single passenger. Just think critically about this
requirement, is all I'm saying.

twin preferred--or logic why a single engine is not really an
emergency

Look around on avweb.com and aopa.org and other places for statistics on
relative accident rates twins vs. singles. You might decide the difference is
not worth the huge bump in operating costs. There are times and places, of
course, where a twin has an obvious safety advantage.

range: 1000 NM

I think it will open up the range of options consdirably if you are willing to
make two 500 nm hops.

speed: 160 KIAS +
pressurized cabin (a preference but not a requirement)

Given pressurized, I think any pressurized aircraft will meet the speed
requirement handily. As soon as you say 'pressurized', you are going way up the
scale toward the high-end, at least from my lowly point of view.

reasonable IFR package--but state of the art not needed
Some idea of annual maintenance costs I need to be planning on

$100-$200/hr overall operating costs (incl fuel) for a typical piston single,
probably toward the higher end since you have a large weight capacity
requirement, which drives you toward larger airplanes and bigger engines.

There's a lot of variability in operating costs from individual to individual,
and airplane to airplane, and year to year. Hard to predict. You need a flexible
budget. Multi-hundred dollar surprises are common, and multi-thousand dollar
surprises are not uncommon.

The above is for non-pressurized, pressurized is going to bump that even higher.
Don't have any experience with twins, but it will be still more, of course.


What aircraft would you recommend I be looking into?

Thanks from general aviation rookie with less than 50 hours of Cesnna
150 time from the 1960s.

Good luck with your search, and keep us in the loop!

Dave