Willie

I need to keep my points and companion pass on SWA so my wife and I can leave the kids with grandma and drink Margs in Cabo.

I’m glad you dove into the numbers. I wasn’t sure I had good numbers out of foreflight. I think both my J and K numbers were too optimistic. There are some great prices on lower engine time K’s. I’m just not sure how scared I should be of Mx Thanks for your detailed reply!

Thanks for your reply. SWA is certainly a lot cheaper. That’s part of the decision to fly commercial half and fly myself half. I’m just trying to find the best airplane for me for the times I do fly myself.

Not really. I need to get above LAX Bravo and some mountains are almost unavoidable. It’s possible to do but not a great plan. I lived in Florida for a year so I know that highest natural terrain of 700’ must be pretty comfortable for you. I envy you for that and no state income tax! Thanks for your reply

Thank you for sharing your experience Don. There is a Bravo listed at American Aircraft for $119,000 but the rest are out of my price range. The one listed looks nice but not sure what I should be looking for on a Bravo in terms of engine time etc? Regarding winter ops, my work is slow between Thanksgiving and mid January so I don’t go to Oakland as often and my plan was to really only fly myself in good weather and take SWA any other time. A 60 Kt headwind would also be an example of me going on the airline. My friend does a similar commute in a B-55 from KCRQ to KSJC and he goes up over LAX VTU and then up over Santa Maria and up the valley avoiding Lake Hughes Gorman area. He admits ATC will try to get you to go over Lake Hughs but he’s generally able to get his routing. Ive never spent much time with a tube in my nose. I do remember it drying me out a bit. Maybe that’s something I just need to become accustomed to?? Thank you for your insight. I will study up on Bravos and see what I can learn. Cool photo! I like that racing green color.

Hello, I’m a new member but I’ve been reading the great info on MooneySpace for a while and I’m looking for advice on my first airplane purchase. I‘m a corporate pilot based in Oakland but I live in Carlsbad (actually Encinitas) and I’m looking for a good commute plane that I can also use for a few family getaways each year. I would say 80% of my flight time will be solo, 20% with my family of four. ( me, wife , two young lightweight kids) Total weight currently 430lb. Kids will eventually grow heavier but not for a while. 9 and 7 yrs old. Based on preliminary research, the J and K seem to be the best models in my price range but I know the Mx costs are different. The J seems like a much simpler 4 cylinder with more proven history of making TBO while the K (with the LB engine, intercooler, Merlin) could prove to be a sweet deal on performance as long as nothing goes too terribly wrong with Mx costs. The trip to and from Carlsbad to Oakland is 377 miles on an IFR route. I used ForeFlight and selected what I think are the correct models and performance profiles and the J will do the round trip in 4hr51min burning 58.1 gallons and the K will do it in 4hrs even burning 51.5 gallons. This is using 12,000’ going up and 11,000’ coming home. I currently make this commute on SWA on average 40 times a year. My plan is fly myself 20 times a year and take SWA 20 times a year based mostly off of weather. This is 80- 100 hrs a year depending on J or K model just on commute. I anticipate another 30-40 hours of other flying. A couple other notes: I can park in my work hangar in Oakland but would be paying for a tie down in Carlsbad do to high hangar rent. Fuel $5 gallon self serve in Carlsbad but $6.50 gallon in OAK so would try to tanker fuel. There are a couple airports such as French Valley and Bakersfield that are on the way for $3.50. If I get good at this route I could fly it more and take SWA less. My total travel time Door to door regardless of SWA or me flying about the same. I guess my questions are. 1. do these foreflight numbers seem correct? 2. Should I fly the K higher for better performance and go on O2? 3. Are there models with longer range tanks that could get me round trip with reserves so I could avoid gas in Oakland? 4. What are cost differences on annuals and routine Mx ? 5. does anyone make it to TBO on a K? 6. What else am I missing? 7. Has anyone done this or similar commute and can share some insight? 8. I am open to other models as well. I mention J and K because those seem most prevalent and in the budget. Budget for purchase is $125,000 Thanks for reading! And appreciate any knowledge you can share. Will