Best Twin for ME instruction?

[BLing]

Beech Travelair (BE-95) Hands down no questions asked the best trainer and not a bad little twin to get around in...

 

[flyin'gator]

$300 an hr dual?

OMG.

yep. $235 plus 7% plus $55.00 for the instructor comes out to $306.45 per hobbs hour. the plane is a dog, and my butt hurts even thinking about it.

 

[NuGuy]

Heyas,

BE-76 - Nice to fly. VERY Docile, and a GREAT panel layout for steam gauges. Electric flaps. Doors on both sides, if that matters to you (no crawling over the seats). Unfeathering accumulators.

They are getting hard to find on the rental line, and most have wound up as private birds.

PA-44 (pre-90) - I actually preferred the way -44s handle over the Duchess, and they are stone simple. Manual flaps, but none of the pre-90 versions have accumulators. Panel layout is ok, but nowhere near as good as the Duchess. Gonna be hit or miss on the avionics some had HSIs, some didn't, some had APs, some didn't.

This era Seminole has a turbo version, if you are doing training at a high DA. I think they built 80 or so turbos.

Most from this time (78-81)have been rode hard and put away wet. They were THE training airplane until Piper started to ramp up PA-44 production again with the new metal panels and/or glass layouts. Heck, I flew a '81 model in '91 that had 10k hours THEN.

PA-44 (post-90s) - Good airplanes. Accumulators and modern avionics. $$$

PA -34 Seneca - Depends. More expensive than -44 or a BE76 due to the turbo. IIs had manual wastegates, which were an unnecessary distraction for the newbie. IIIs and later had auto wastegates. Insurance is high, but probably not has high as others.

310s - Complicated fuel system. Rs were bad-a$$, but a handful for for the newb. SPENDY for gas.

Grumman Cougar - IF, and that's a big IF... you can find one to rent. VERY docile. Cheaper than a -44 or BE76 because it used O-320s vs -360s, but had the same performace. Think of it as a totally nerfed Comanche...same economy, but MUCH simpler and easier to handle. Rare even when they were made, I can't imagine there are any to rent.

Aztecs/Apaches/BE95s. All will likely have a hodge podge panel. Apaches have sometimes goofy systems (Hyd gear and flaps, but only one engine has a pump) and performance is very meh. Expensive upkeep.

Nu

 

[Princedietrich]

Grumman Cougar - IF, and that's a big IF... you can find one to rent. VERY docile. Cheaper than a -44 or BE76 because it used O-320s vs -360s, but had the same performace. Think of it as a totally nerfed Comanche...same economy, but MUCH simpler and easier to handle. Rare even when they were made, I can't imagine there are any to rent.

We actually have one of those available for rent in the Cincy/Dayton area. One catch tho: you have to be a member of the aero club at WPAFB and to do that you kinda have to be active or retired military.

 

[NuGuy]

We actually have one of those available for rent in the Cincy/Dayton area. One catch tho: you have to be a member of the aero club at WPAFB and to do that you kinda have to be active or retired military.

Heyas,

If you are in the market for a personal twin, and don't want to spend a pile of cash on upkeep or operating expenses, it is the way to go for sure.

They are RARE, though. Most have wound up as personal airplanes, and the parts situation probably isn't the best. When I looked at them, there was some issue about the aluminum bonding that was used in the whole GA line (Tigers, Cheetas), and the Type Certificate/PMA had been sold to the folks in France that made the Trinidad/Tobago line, so there weren't going to be anymore parts from local sources.

There was also life limit on the spar, but I think that a PA-44 has one, too (14k hours???).

But for a cheap (er, relatively, that is) & simple twin, you couldn't beat it. But like a 210R, 152 Aerobat and the Beech Skipper, rarity has driven the prices up past the point of reasonable return.

Nu

 

[say again]

BE-55/58 Baron. Great performance and handling capabilities.

 

[NuGuy]

BE-55/58 Baron. Great performance and handling capabilities.

While I agree that Barons are nice airplanes, good training airplanes they are not.

Expenses will eat you up in one.

Nu