This is my first post here so I first wanted to introduce myself and explain a bit about my Mission.
I am a business owner based out of the mid-west (Kansas primarily) that owns and visits business in Kansas as well as surrounding states. I am in the process of expansion and am working on growing to a few additional locations in 2024 that will also be mostly Mid-West and Central USA based. A friend of mine in the same industry has been telling me for the last few years that I am crazy to drive around from location to location and I need to just buy a plane and get my PPL. I finally broke down this year and decided he was right, especially with the imminent expansions plans. So I reached out to another buddy that runs the FBO at my local airport (also an A&P mechanic with Inspection Authorization) and had him connect me with the local CFI to get my PPL. At this point, I am working on completing my PPL and will immediately move to IFR, Complex and High HP certifications. One of the benefits of owning the business is that I have the flexibility and resources to dedicate the amount of time necessary to complete these goals in a reasonable period of time.
Now to my mission. I will be flying 2-3 round trip flights on most weeks. Most of my flying will be around 400 nautical miles or less, but I like the idea of being able to go a bit further if need be. 80% of the time I will be flying solo, with the other 10% being with one other adult and the final 10% being with my wife and 2 small (both under 5yo) children. Useful load is not of major importance to me as aside from fuel (and other obvious weight factors), I will generally only be flying with a suitcase of clothing.
Now to aircraft criteria. I don`t care about high wing or low wing. I am 90% decided on a 4 seater plane as I think I will get more bang for my buck than buying a 6 seater for the once in a blue moon it might be nice to have a bit of extra space. As I am flying often, speed is one of the biggest criteria for me (right after safety and airworthiness) followed by avionics as such, I am looking at aircraft with 200HP as a minimum (in all honesty, the only one that is not exactly 200hp on my list is the Commanche 250 (yes, I know I just said I wanted a 4 seater, but I have heard many positive things about them). IFR capable is a must have for me. I would like to have decent avionics, but don't need all top of the line. However, again, it has to be something I can use for IFR (so not the no longer supported Garmin 430 and 530 etc.) I don`t really care about fixed gear vs retractable with the exception that I believe most 200hp aircraft are retractable due to better aerodynamics. However, from an experience or insurance standpoint, it doesn't make a difference to me. Generally I am looking for something with a burn rate of 11-14gph but I also have some flexibility there as necessary. Generally I have been looking at aircraft that have 5000hrs TT or less and around 1000hrs SMOH or less, again there is some flexibility with this as well, especially based upon avionics.
Ideally I would like to spend under $120k for the aircraft, but I do have some flexibility in that number as necessary. I have no issues with insurance or hanger space or that kind of thing. As mentioned, a good friend of mine runs my local FBO, so many of the reoccurring costs aspects are handled.
Now this is the slightly different aspect for me. I am buying this aircraft knowing that I will only be owning it for 3-5 years with the most likely scenario being around 3 years but building in some "just in case" time into that. The reason for this is that business has been expanding rapidly and I expect to buy a faster 6 seater plane at that time as I will have more people traveling with me on a regular basis at that point as well as need to travel to more locations faster and more likely than not, further. That is the primary reason for me setting my budget where it is, I dont need nor plan to buy a $250k + aircraft to then have to try and sell it in a few years in a much softer market than our current market conditions. This is also the reason I am looking for an aircraft with decent avionics already, it doesnt make sense for me to make the investment in them to sell it shortly after. I need something that fits my mission criteria well for now, knowing those criteria will be changing in a few years and my aircraft along with it.
I had mostly narrowed down my search list to the Piper Arrow II or III. The Piper Archer was going to be my backup. I like the Cirrus SR20, but generally they are not in the price range I am looking at that meet my criteria. Similar with a Cessna 182, probably outside of my price range. However, my CFI as well as A&P Mechanic brought up the idea of the Cherokee 250 as an option. My reading on this forum brought me to think about including the Mooney M20 (they appear to have a cult following!).
So I figured instead of simply lurking and reading posts, I would sign up and ask for input and advice from much more experienced people than myself. Based upon my mission, goals, and timeframe to keep the aircraft, what would you recommend? As mentioned, ideally $120k or less, 200hp minimum, decent avionics, IFR capable, with decent hours knowing I am going to upgrade in a few years.
I appreciate the insight and please ask any questions as necessary!
I am a business owner based out of the mid-west (Kansas primarily) that owns and visits business in Kansas as well as surrounding states. I am in the process of expansion and am working on growing to a few additional locations in 2024 that will also be mostly Mid-West and Central USA based. A friend of mine in the same industry has been telling me for the last few years that I am crazy to drive around from location to location and I need to just buy a plane and get my PPL. I finally broke down this year and decided he was right, especially with the imminent expansions plans. So I reached out to another buddy that runs the FBO at my local airport (also an A&P mechanic with Inspection Authorization) and had him connect me with the local CFI to get my PPL. At this point, I am working on completing my PPL and will immediately move to IFR, Complex and High HP certifications. One of the benefits of owning the business is that I have the flexibility and resources to dedicate the amount of time necessary to complete these goals in a reasonable period of time.
Now to my mission. I will be flying 2-3 round trip flights on most weeks. Most of my flying will be around 400 nautical miles or less, but I like the idea of being able to go a bit further if need be. 80% of the time I will be flying solo, with the other 10% being with one other adult and the final 10% being with my wife and 2 small (both under 5yo) children. Useful load is not of major importance to me as aside from fuel (and other obvious weight factors), I will generally only be flying with a suitcase of clothing.
Now to aircraft criteria. I don`t care about high wing or low wing. I am 90% decided on a 4 seater plane as I think I will get more bang for my buck than buying a 6 seater for the once in a blue moon it might be nice to have a bit of extra space. As I am flying often, speed is one of the biggest criteria for me (right after safety and airworthiness) followed by avionics as such, I am looking at aircraft with 200HP as a minimum (in all honesty, the only one that is not exactly 200hp on my list is the Commanche 250 (yes, I know I just said I wanted a 4 seater, but I have heard many positive things about them). IFR capable is a must have for me. I would like to have decent avionics, but don't need all top of the line. However, again, it has to be something I can use for IFR (so not the no longer supported Garmin 430 and 530 etc.) I don`t really care about fixed gear vs retractable with the exception that I believe most 200hp aircraft are retractable due to better aerodynamics. However, from an experience or insurance standpoint, it doesn't make a difference to me. Generally I am looking for something with a burn rate of 11-14gph but I also have some flexibility there as necessary. Generally I have been looking at aircraft that have 5000hrs TT or less and around 1000hrs SMOH or less, again there is some flexibility with this as well, especially based upon avionics.
Ideally I would like to spend under $120k for the aircraft, but I do have some flexibility in that number as necessary. I have no issues with insurance or hanger space or that kind of thing. As mentioned, a good friend of mine runs my local FBO, so many of the reoccurring costs aspects are handled.
Now this is the slightly different aspect for me. I am buying this aircraft knowing that I will only be owning it for 3-5 years with the most likely scenario being around 3 years but building in some "just in case" time into that. The reason for this is that business has been expanding rapidly and I expect to buy a faster 6 seater plane at that time as I will have more people traveling with me on a regular basis at that point as well as need to travel to more locations faster and more likely than not, further. That is the primary reason for me setting my budget where it is, I dont need nor plan to buy a $250k + aircraft to then have to try and sell it in a few years in a much softer market than our current market conditions. This is also the reason I am looking for an aircraft with decent avionics already, it doesnt make sense for me to make the investment in them to sell it shortly after. I need something that fits my mission criteria well for now, knowing those criteria will be changing in a few years and my aircraft along with it.
I had mostly narrowed down my search list to the Piper Arrow II or III. The Piper Archer was going to be my backup. I like the Cirrus SR20, but generally they are not in the price range I am looking at that meet my criteria. Similar with a Cessna 182, probably outside of my price range. However, my CFI as well as A&P Mechanic brought up the idea of the Cherokee 250 as an option. My reading on this forum brought me to think about including the Mooney M20 (they appear to have a cult following!).
So I figured instead of simply lurking and reading posts, I would sign up and ask for input and advice from much more experienced people than myself. Based upon my mission, goals, and timeframe to keep the aircraft, what would you recommend? As mentioned, ideally $120k or less, 200hp minimum, decent avionics, IFR capable, with decent hours knowing I am going to upgrade in a few years.
I appreciate the insight and please ask any questions as necessary!