The desire to own your own
aircraft, a NEW one at that, is compelling. There’d be nothing like walking out
onto the ramp towards your shiny new bird. Problem is, new aircraft are not
cheap and they are not getting cheaper. Yes, there are partnerships, but some
people just don’t want to deal with partners and they also can’t afford a
factory brand-new aircraft.
The next best thing? Having
enough money or resources to make an older aircraft new again and I don’t mean
a new paint job. I mean stripping it down and ALL NEW EVERYTHING. The beauty?
The beauty is a virtually new aircraft for the fraction of a new one.
OK, we know the title work will
say 1977, etc... Don’t let a little thing like what some numbers say on the
airworthy certificate get you down. There are so many great candidates out
there, opportunity abounds.
A new aircraft will set you back
over $400,000 right out of the gate. For a fraction of that say $150,000 all
in, you could buy a used Cessna 182, Piper Lance, Saratoga, Mooney 201. All of
these aircraft have respectable performance and range. With a price point
between 50-100k and with 50k budget you could have a really nice used aircraft.
If you are willing to spend 100k in refurbishment and the work is done right,
yes, it would be like a brand-new aircraft.
What to do next?
- Determine your mission. Long
distance, interstate flights, etc...
- Set a budget and add 20% to it,
seriously.
- Scope out who can handle a
strip down and rebuild, keep in mind you’ll most likely have to ferry between
vendors to complete the job.
Remember the General Aviation
Revitalization Act of 1994? It put new airplanes back into the system and those
planes are great candidates for refurbishment. Even today, new aircraft are
getting older by the day and being traded in and up for newer versions. That
just means more opportunity for buyers!
FIRST IN A SERIES: AIRCRAFT WAY AHEAD OF
THEIR TIME
The Mitsubishi MU-2
Prestart checklist complete, BATTERY SELECT SWITCH- as required, SRL switches-on, both run/crank switches-RUN, EGT-check, FEATHER VALVE CHECK - accomplish, Power levers-half inch forward of flight idle, Condition levers-taxi, START SELECTOR SWITCH-as required, PROPS- clear and on locks, ENGINE START-ACCOMPLISH. With that, the 776HP Garrett’s come to life on one of the most interesting turboprops to ever come to market.
How it got started
This amazing underrated Japanese twin-engine turbo-prop took its first flight in the early fall of 1963. Produced by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in partnership with Mooney Aircraft of Texas until 1986 with just a little over 700 aircraft completed.
The main idea for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was to take the twin-engine turbo-prop to the next level, as in making Jet-like type of performance for urbo-prop prices. Retaining good low-speed handling and approach speeds was crucial. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries did this by utilizing full-span, double-slotted flaps. Knowing this set up would take up space on the trailing edge of the wing, Mitsubishi designed spoilers into the wing, giving the MU-2 no real adverse yaw since there are no ailerons to create it.
No comments:
Post a Comment