onwards
Pattern Altitude
So...
I am looking for a 6-seat platform.
Obviously there are only few choices if I don't have six figures to spend:
Fixed gear - Cessna 206, Piper Cherokee Six
Retracts - Cessna 210, Piper Lance... and Bonanza A36
Turbos are available on all these, of course.
I have been focusing mostly on the Pipers because they seem to be a good price/performance option. Cessnas are regularly priced 20% higher than Pipers, for no good reason that I can discern (I don't have a high/low wing preference, have flown both platforms, and feel they are comparable).
But my agent found what appears to be a really nice A36 that I can have... for essentially a Cessna price. He suggested that for an A36, it is worth the premium.
Is it? why? is it worth busting my budget and essentially taking money aimed at the retirement fund to make it happen? (I don't want to take a loan to buy a plane. Even though it will be used a lot for business, I still think of it as a luxury item). Are A36's really that different than the Pipers?
(I am getting a sense as I write this that this must be a question that had been asked before, and might trigger a holy war. If so, apologies in advance... I just hope folks here can give me some clues. And yes, I'll go ask uncle Google too).
I am looking for a 6-seat platform.
Obviously there are only few choices if I don't have six figures to spend:
Fixed gear - Cessna 206, Piper Cherokee Six
Retracts - Cessna 210, Piper Lance... and Bonanza A36
Turbos are available on all these, of course.
I have been focusing mostly on the Pipers because they seem to be a good price/performance option. Cessnas are regularly priced 20% higher than Pipers, for no good reason that I can discern (I don't have a high/low wing preference, have flown both platforms, and feel they are comparable).
But my agent found what appears to be a really nice A36 that I can have... for essentially a Cessna price. He suggested that for an A36, it is worth the premium.
Is it? why? is it worth busting my budget and essentially taking money aimed at the retirement fund to make it happen? (I don't want to take a loan to buy a plane. Even though it will be used a lot for business, I still think of it as a luxury item). Are A36's really that different than the Pipers?
(I am getting a sense as I write this that this must be a question that had been asked before, and might trigger a holy war. If so, apologies in advance... I just hope folks here can give me some clues. And yes, I'll go ask uncle Google too).