Boss wants to upgrade... ideas?

[CDogg]

Currently, he has a fleet of Lears. 2 35's, 2 25's and a 24. The 20's are all going away as buyers are found. He wants to keep atleast 1 of the 35's for the time being and upgrade to a stand up cabin. Now, usually, the missions are quite short, 2 hours in the Lear is a longer trip, however, they do occassionaly want to go from the FL Panhandle to Vegas, SFO, Seattle, Costa Rica, trips that are probably going to be in the 5-6 hour range. For the most part, it's usually 2-4 people, however, loading up 6-7 people with full baggage is not uncommon, which is a real PITA in the Lear. Average flight time a year is about 250-300 hours. The big cheese was looking at the Citation XLS, however, I don't see it fitting the range and pax/luggage requirements. For the cost of the XLS he was looking at, he could have something that matches his needs a little bit better, and for a few million less.. must be rough! I was liking the idea of a Falcon 50, but i'm up for suggestions from anyone who's been in the same boat!

 

[falconpilot]

Im in agreement with you that the Falcon 50 could fit your mission profile... Its a great airplane... And now with the market the way it is, you could pick one up anywhere from 8 to 12 mil depending on serial number and hours on the aircraft.. We fly our 50 all over the world... You cannot overload the airplane.. You can put 10 pax in ours (with one in the jump seat) fill the baggage and full fuel and still not be over weight... You will have the range and the comfort in the 50... Operating cost is not that bad either... If you need more details let me know... We are trying to upgrade to a 900B or 900EX.. We would sell ours for the right price and its immaculate..

 

[sleepy]

I saw an ad for the DA-50 Clear View upgrade. That looks like a pretty nice avionics package, better than what we have in the 50EX.

I agree though, you can"t go wrong with the Falcon 50 or 50EX.

The Citation Sovereign might work as well. If you are interested you can PM me and I will tell you where to find one that will be on the market very soon.

 

[TXGold]

The Citation Sovereign might work as well. If you are interested you can PM me and I will tell you where to find one that will be on the market very soon.

Please tell me its in Texas

 

[sleepy]

Please tell me its in Texas

LOL, I feel your pain brother!

 

[JmsAv8r]

The XLS has alot better fuel burn than the 50.

 

[psysicx]

How much is a 601?

 

[Silver Wings]

Different tack

Not sure if you would absolutely say upgrade, but range and most pax requirements you might want to take a look at the new Swearingen SJ30.

It has 2,500nm with 3-4 aboard and at least 1,800 with 7 aboard. It is single pilot certified, and from the Lear he will maybe be OK with the cabin. If he is looking for a bigger cabin then the F50 is a great bird, or even a re-engined F20.

The SJ30 is an absolute bargain when you consider the range and speed it offers.....new at under $6.5million.

 

[hammer2]

LR 45 4.3 hr range. Nice airplane.

 

[CDogg]

A re-engined FA20 may be a good choice as mentioned above, was thinking about that. The XLS may burn less fuel, but just doesn't quite have the range with 6-7 people with a bunch of baggage. Good call on the 601, forgot about that, that may be something to look into as well... the Lear 45 is just a 35 with a plug put in it, new wing/avionics not much difference than the current situation.

Thanks for the thoughts!