Would you buy a Cessna 350/400?

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Artimas

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Artimas
These certainly are nice planes, but now that they have been orphaned by Cessna, would that fact dissuade you from buying one?
 
As these derived from the Lancair, I'd tend to lean toward buying an ES or Mako.
The benefits of being experimental are so great, I can't imagine why I'd want to limit myself to a certified plane, especially one that's been abandoned.
 
Adam Weiss said:
As these derived from the Lancair, I'd tend to lean toward buying an ES or Mako.
The benefits of being experimental are so great, I can't imagine why I'd want to limit myself to a certified plane, especially one that's been abandoned.
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Lol, since the majority of the piston-SE GA fleet is "abandoned" models, I'm not sure why the 350/400 is any different. They don't make C175/177, Piper Comanche/Aztecs, Beech 33/35, etc. anymore but people still buy them. I get the certified vs experimental comment, but I wouldn't think abandonment of a model is the best reason for dropping consideration.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Lol, since the majority of the piston-SE GA fleet is "abandoned" models, I'm not sure why the 350/400 is any different. They don't make C175/177, Piper Comanche/Aztecs, Beech 33/35, etc. anymore but people still buy them. I get the certified vs experimental comment, but I wouldn't think abandonment of a model is the best reason for dropping consideration.
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I get what you're saying.
I guess I was trying to say an ES or Mako is the same family/heritage as a 350/400.
Why go that way when there are more flexible options for the "same" plane?
 
I don't know why, but for some reason I'm more comfortable owning and "abandoned" plane that is made out of aluminum than one that is made out of carbon fiber / fiberglass. Maybe I am misunderstanding what really goes into maintaining or repairing glass - I'm far from an expert - but...
 
Flew in one once and was mightily impressed. Had I the money I'd purchase another without hesitation. The factory that made my aircraft still exists, but it can no longer make many the parts of my airplane. I'm just as orphaned, though there were far more airframes manufactured, so there are more wrecks off of which one cannot parts.
 
Cessna committed to parts for the foreseeable future. The high wear parts like engine & prop, and components that suffer obsolescence like avionics are all from non-Cessna suppliers.

I bet most people who have a half million to buy one, will fly it until unpractical and then buy another plane of some type.
 
The bigger concern about a discontinued aircraft, is the current fleet size. I couldn't find a firm number easily, but I would guess there are less than 500 airframes built. Support and expertise is going to be limited going forward. At least for a lot of the early models like the Comanche, Bonanza, etc., you are talking about a fleet size in the thousands. That leads to a more robust aftermarket for these aircraft and their parts.

SoonerAviator said:
Lol, since the majority of the piston-SE GA fleet is "abandoned" models, I'm not sure why the 350/400 is any different. They don't make C175/177, Piper Comanche/Aztecs, Beech 33/35, etc. anymore but people still buy them. I get the certified vs experimental comment, but I wouldn't think abandonment of a model is the best reason for dropping consideration.
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I second the comment above about going experimental. But I would go with the Columbia with the avidyne screens if you wanted to stay with certified and get a lower acquisition cost
 
midwestpa24 said:
The bigger concern about a discontinued aircraft, is the current fleet size. I couldn't find a firm number easily, but I would guess there are less than 500 airframes built. Support and expertise is going to be limited going forward. At least for a lot of the early models like the Comanche, Bonanza, etc., you are talking about a fleet size in the thousands. That leads to a more robust aftermarket for these aircraft and their parts.
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There are only 210 currently in the registry (note that you must search without the manufacturer's name (to capture all airframes from both manufacturers), and the actual type model number is LC41.
 
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