Best aircraft to fly 4 up with baggage to Bermuda

Wayne877

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Wayne
Hi there, I have business in Bermuda and need to go a few times a year. I can do this and combine vacation time with the family. I just don't want to have to rely on scheduled flights.

Can anyone recommend a GA aircraft that will cruise 150+kts for 900nm (Daytona - Bermuda) with reserves carrying 4 with baggage?

Many thanks
 
Just to confirm I have upto $150,000 to spend
 
Are you Multi-IR? I would never travel such a distance over water in a single.
 
what's your monthly budget?.....that drives ownership more than purchasing power.

There are many aircraft you could get into for that price range.....that would send your eyes bugging and bleed you dry.
 
Horses for courses!

take the immersion kit and thats a gamble which is IMO worth considering
It wouldn't be for me, but each to their own. Good luck!
 
what's your monthly budget?.....that drives ownership more than purchasing power.

There are many aircraft you could get into for that price range.....that would send your eyes bugging and bleed you dry.

Not really an issue, business expenses can cover most of that
 
It should do 850 mi plus reserves.....
could be cutting it a bit tight though, payload may be compromised.

thanks for the rec though, I appreciate it. I'd not even heard of the queen air before now.
 
At 150k per year you'll be able to do this.
 
Huh? Mine will easily carry the OP required 4 plus bags over 900nm at 175+kts and if I lose an engine it will maintain 7000.

Will it maintain that 7000 for 450nm on a single engine? That's something I never researched. I know the plane is going to be a lot more draggy on one, how badly does it hit your range?
 
So what's the OP going to do when he gets to Bermuda and finds out they don't have 100LL? It's not typically available so the OP must rely on shipping barrels ahead of time, or finding a plane that can burn mo gas, and figure out a way to get it to the airport. Otherwise his option is only Jet A.

What about an alternate if the airport shuts down as you arrive? Will you have the range to make it back to the US mainland?

Honestly, what the OP proposes is not realistically possible for the budget he proposes.
 
Isn't fuel an issue at Bermuda? https://skyvector.com/airport/TXKF/L-F-Wade-International-Airport

Going to need a turboprop or a diesel.

edit - did not realize the starting point was Daytona.

Flying commercial looks to be the most practical way once you start researching aircraft, training and the realities of this kind of travel. This is a professional flight.
 
Bermuda in a piston single or light twins is one of those things guys do for the challenge of it. It doesn't make for a realistic mode of transportation. You don't need 900nm range You need 900nm+ diversion around storm + 30min runway closure to locate llost luggage level of range.

If you ditch on the way to the Bahamas, the coast guard comes and picks you up. To Bermuda you have to hope for a merchant vessel to divert and find you.

Mu2
Commander 690
Citation II
PC12
KA200
TBM700/850

So, you can do this for 100-150k. But that is per year all-in cost.
 
Hi there, I have business in Bermuda and need to go a few times a year. I can do this and combine vacation time with the family. I just don't want to have to rely on scheduled flights.

Can anyone recommend a GA aircraft that will cruise 150+kts for 900nm (Daytona - Bermuda) with reserves carrying 4 with baggage?

Many thanks
PA23's seem to have good range. BE55, throttle back to the 150 knots you need and you'd probably have all the range you need. Probably other planes out there that would fill the bill if you fly it economicaly.

EDIT: disregard, just read about there ain't no gas there to get ya back home.
 
I do not understand the business case that justifies saying that operating costs are not a concern but purchase price is, and a purchase price of $150,000 at that. If that really is the case, why not get an older Learjet? Here's one for $150,000:
https://www.controller.com/listings/aircraft/for-sale/17487141/1974-learjet-24d

The point is that chartering makes a lot more sense for this mission. Any plane that a sane man would trust his family aboard for that trip will either cost more than $150,000 to buy (and you really should, as a business user, be thinking of the cost of the purchase money rather than the amount of it) or cost a lot more than $150,000 per year to operate.

But if your business case really does mean that operating costs are not a concern, just put your $150,000 down on a PC-12 or King Air and borrow the rest. The depreciation on the plane and interest on the loan will work themselves out as business expenses.
 
......................................What about an alternate if the airport shuts down as you arrive? Will you have the range to make it back to the US mainland?.................
They got more golf courses there than Palm Springs
 
Will it maintain that 7000 for 450nm on a single engine? That's something I never researched. I know the plane is going to be a lot more draggy on one, how badly does it hit your range?
Obviously I would hope to not be in that position. I have flow a C-401 around the Bahamas, Turks and Puerto Rico from Georgia so I have planned for this possibility before.

If I were to take my 310 on this mission, which I wouldn't to Bermuda but would the rest of the Caribbean, I have the following reference your question.

My range at 10,000 and 177KTAS is 1263nm to flame out. If at the half way point of 900nm I lost an engine after that fuel burn my single engine ceiling is a little above 8000. I would cruise the remainder of the flight at 7000. I would then be down to around 110KTAS conservatively burning around 20gph worse case.

Start with 163 gallons. By the 450 point I would have burned 65 gallons. The remaining 450 on single engine would burn 80 gallons. This would give an uncomfortable but make-able 18 gallons in the tank. These are conservative worse case numbers I feel.

If you encountered worse winds etc that would obviously quickly eat in reserves then from 10,000 I'd have 18 miles to glide after dual flame-out.

At that point with all that air in the tanks I should float for a bit while leisurely getting the raft and beer out for my time waiting on rescue. ;)

Again, not a position I'd ever want to be in. PROVIDENCIALES to SAN JUAN is a much more comfortable 406nm and that's the farthest open water I've done flying a piston twin. FPR to Provo is 560nm with lots of divert spots on the way.
 
That's a long way over water and at 150kts that's about 6hrs (no wind). Not sure I would want to subject the family to that. Charter or go first class...
 
Looks like it's not an issue now for him because of the gas thing but what is your range at 150 knots?
About 1364nm at 152KTAS. It has 163 gallon tanks with the aux tanks. I would never want to be in the sky that long! They offer optional wing locker tanks that would give my bird 1699nm at that speed/alt. I have more than enough gas now for my mission (family travel).
 
About 1364nm at 152KTAS. It has 163 gallon tanks with the aux tanks. I would never want to be in the sky that long! They offer optional wing locker tanks that would give my bird 1699nm at that speed/alt. I have more than enough gas now for my mission (family travel).
what version 310 do you have?
 
They got more golf courses there than Palm Springs

True, but they're short and hilly. Without a lot of range, a closed airport, or unforecast fog could mean trashing your plane or killing yourself. Not ideal.
 
Normally aspirated Q model.
sounds interesting!
have to admit i'd not cottoned on to the availability (or lack of it) of 100ll in Bermuda so this somewhat limits my choices/ambitions
 
True, but they're short and hilly. Without a lot of range, a closed airport, or unforecast fog could mean trashing your plane or killing yourself. Not ideal.
Yeah. It was just a punchline. I wasn't thinking of "flight planing" based on longest fairway.
 
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