Dave Siciliano
Final Approach
Wayne: it seems doable to me if slightly larger than the Baron, but not the size of a KA which the TBM seems to be. The Rocket Baron conversion holds 232 last I heard and has about a 1,000 mile range if one can climb up quickly. That's not quite what I need. I really need 1,100 to 1,200 with IFR minimums at destination. I can see a lot of application for this. If one is in the middle of the country, making either coast makes sense. If on one coast going to the other, a one stopper should be out there.
I did say with a cabin slightly larger than the Baron which the TBM now has. The 58P cabins is tight; the 58P wasn't initially designed to be pressurized and when they pressurized it, the cabin sides came in a bit. It's tight with two up front.
Still, I don't need a KA sized plane.
Going to a single engine jet is an entirely different consideration. Some of us want redundancy, even with a jet.
If the Eclipse would have done what it initially promised, it would have come very close to fulfilling my mission in several regards. It fits in the same hanger as my 58P. The range and payload were very comparable.
OTOH, the integrated avionics and all the upgrades needed out there to bring existing planes up to par are issues. Still don't know what type of support will be out there in the future and I don't want to bet over $2,000,000 that it's be there.
The KA is a proven plane with excellent support but it's just BIG!
Best,
Dave
I did say with a cabin slightly larger than the Baron which the TBM now has. The 58P cabins is tight; the 58P wasn't initially designed to be pressurized and when they pressurized it, the cabin sides came in a bit. It's tight with two up front.
Still, I don't need a KA sized plane.
Going to a single engine jet is an entirely different consideration. Some of us want redundancy, even with a jet.
If the Eclipse would have done what it initially promised, it would have come very close to fulfilling my mission in several regards. It fits in the same hanger as my 58P. The range and payload were very comparable.
OTOH, the integrated avionics and all the upgrades needed out there to bring existing planes up to par are issues. Still don't know what type of support will be out there in the future and I don't want to bet over $2,000,000 that it's be there.
The KA is a proven plane with excellent support but it's just BIG!
Best,
Dave