ragedracer1977

Well, it looks like I'm in the market for a 310. We found the the airplanes we were interested in at the field. A Seneca, a Baron, and a 310. My wife likes the 310. The Baron is nice, but very narrow in the cabin. You can see in first pic just how narrow compared to the 310 or the Seneca. She didn't like the Seneca. It looks big in pictures, but when you get up close and look, the backseat passengers with club seating would be playing footsie the whole flight. From my perspective, the nacelles are MASSIVE and look very disproportionate and I can see there being some serious visibility problems. She's actually been in a 310 before and liked sitting in the middle row. We'd likely pull the back seats anyway and just have 4. Leaving oodles of room for just about anything. Her final decision was 310. And if the worst thing in my day is that my wife wants to buy me an airplane, well, things aren't too bad. Pic 1 - Baron Pic 2 - Seneca Pic 3 - 310

I haven't seen an Aztec, but I did go look at a Seneca today. There's a 310 and a Seneca right next to each other on the field. The Seneca looks like a toy. The nacelles are massive looking on the Seneca. It looks really not the same in person as I thought it would.

True, but would you believe the wingspan on my C with J wingtips is only 6" less than the 310....

At this point, it's not really even about the speed or money. I mean, money always matters, but if I can't get the family in the plane, it has no utility at all. We all fit in the C, but it's 10lbs of s*it in a 5 lb bag

It looks like a Q will. This is to scale. Not a lot of room to spare, but it fits

I'd have to actually check it, but on paper a Q will, an R won't, 32" longer nose

@N201MKTurbo said he couldn't be my friend anymore if I bought a Seneca. I think he actually crossed himself when I suggested it. He's got me really looking at 310's. With my Hangar, it would have to be a Q or older. The longer nose of the R won't fit. They're well within my budget, seem to do most of what I want to do. I think I might be sold

Fortunately for me, my wife buys into the costs. I've spent well into the 5 figures in upgrades to my C. Dual G5s, electronic ignition, CIES senders, EDM900, new interior, etc etc etc. She never balks. I also do my own maintenance. As much as I fly, I have to.

The more I look and run numbers (distance, weight, weather) the more I'm thinking i might actually want a twin.

I hit a good one 2 weeks ago. Here's the graphs. Speed went from just over 100 kts to over 170kts. While I was pitching down, power at idle, and climbing. It was a good ride for a few minutes.

Fair points, but the Mooney falls short. Same price, slower in the end, and less capable. With full fuel, I could only bring my wife. With reduced fuel, I'd have to make at least one stop. Making the Bonanza at least 30 minutes faster on an 800 nm leg. No matter how little fuel I take, I can never carry 6 passengers.

I've looked at Saratogas and they're definitely enticing. Convince me I should or shouldn't buy this one. https://www.trade-a-plane.com/search?category_level1=Single+Engine+Piston&make=PIPER&model=SARATOGA+SP&listing_id=2379919&s-type=aircraft

A Gulfstream G5 is a whole other class of comfort for the passengers, since were comparing apples to filet mignon

That sounds suspiciously similar to everything I was told about the Mooney I was about to buy.

Maybe you missed my first post. We. Do. It. All. The. Time. I've flown a Mooney more in the past 3 years than probably 99% of the people on this board. I love my Mooney. But not one of them has 6 seats, barn doors to get in, and don't require the backseat passengers to climb over the front seats to get in.

Yes. I fly my friends 250 from time to time. Doesn't offer much that the Mooney doesn't have. It's a little bigger. Marginally faster. But it's still a one door airplane. My family really wants something that doesn't require climbing over seats. Comfort has value.

I love my Mooney, but the speed per dollar doesn't out weigh comfort. No matter what Mooney I buy, it will be the same for me. Having a plane with a door for passengers instead of contorting over seats will go a long way with flying my wife and family around.

4. At least 800nm

Up to about $200. Maybe a little more. I haven't looked at financing yet, but I could probably get quite a bit more. I'm probably looking at putting $100k down and financing the rest. This is still in thought exercise territory. I'm probably 3-6 months from actually pulling the trigger

Agreed. It seems really low. I kinda think that's been sold already anyway. It says based in Illinois but it's been flying out of Sedona quite a bit recently

I'm over on BT asking the same questions. I'm looking specifically at A36TC with tip tanks. They seem to be in the under $200 range. This one for instance. https://www.controller.com/listings/aircraft/for-sale/32589069/1980-beechcraft-a36tc-bonanza

That's all true, but you can't put 4 in an acclaim, with full tanks. It seems the A36 with tip tanks let's you carry about the same amount of fuel, and load the cabin. At about half the cost

I've flown an S35. I haven't flown in an A36. Sat in the front on the ground, but that's about it. If I could bring my wife down there to poke around and maybe go for a flight in the A36 that would be awesome!

My C has been a great plane, but as my family grows and as we travel more (and probably even more in a personal aircraft as travel requirements become increasingly draconian) we're ready for something bigger. I fly an average of 250 hours a year. Doing rough napkin math, that's 40,000 miles I've flown in the past 12 months. I USE my plane. I don't do $100 hamburger runs. I've been to California, Utah, New Mexico, and Texas twice in the last month. I've flown to Oregon, Louisiana, Florida, and Wisconsin in the past year. Looking at everything available on the market right now, I can't find anything on paper that beats an A36TC Bonanza in my price range. I even looked at twins, but the maintenance and operating costs for what amounts to similar range and payload don't make a lot of financial sense. I wish Mooney made a six place airplane with the ability to fill the seats and still bring luggage... So, talk me into or out of a Bonanza. I feel like I know Mooney's really well as far as maintenance and ADs and what not go, but I don't know much about Bonanzas....

Even if it didn't, he had to know it was there. We all do, and he flew over it all the time. I suspect he didn't think the issue was that serious at the beginning. By the time it got very serious, it was too late.