Flex 45 drivers?

[Capthuff]

Question for 45 drivers.
We are looking at getting a 45 and I was wondering what recurring issues you find with them.
We only plan to fly about 300 hrs/year.
You folks really run them out and are there any parts that just don't hold up?

anything special to look for in a visual inspection?

Any questions to ask the current operator?

We are going to do a prebuy @ BAS-BDL and depending on the plane probably do an A, B, C, or D Phase as well, if any of them are nearing the due time.

How reliable is the APU and it's accessories?

How about cabin stuff - like seat operation/oven/mapco/entertainment?

And the big one -- the Lav... any real problems with it? is it externally serviced?

Do you get 4 hours of range? and what do you use for reserves?

Thanks for all your help.

 

[AZ Typed]

I'm not a Flex guy, but we have a 40 and had a 45. We LOVE the airplane and have put over 800 hours on our 40 in 1.5 years (purchased new). The recurring problems we have are: aux hydraulic brushes wear, you have to replace the aux hyd. pump about every 350 hours. The headliner stains (I think their is a mod out for this). Like all electric airplanes, it has an occasional gremlin - a control/alt/delete takes care of it. We get these gremlins about every 20 flights or so. Support from Bombardier is weak at best I'm told. I think the support is alright. But the other guys in the hanger who have flown other "brands" say Bombardiers support stinks. I'd be sure to get some kind of warrenty (smart parts?) etc. I'm not an A&P so I'm not sure of the terminology here. We had an oil seal go bad that required a loaner engine for 2 months. What could've been a disaster didn't cost us a dime due to the warranty. Our entertainment system is very difficult to use - PAX can never figure it out. Some FOOL designed it. The Honeywell avionics are nice, but have a few "gotch-yas" that can really get you. With time you adapt.

What's good? You can load that thing up with people, fuel, and bags (and LOTS of bags) and actually go somewhere at 41,000 or higher. The BR mod is a must (engine software mod I believe). We don't have any LAV problems and we (PAX) use it often. It never even smells. Brakes are awesome, TRs work great. Overall ti's a great airplane. If I was in the market to buy a light/medium jet, I wouldn't even hesitate to pick up a 40 or 45. If you have any further questions feel free to shoot me a PM and I'll give you my e-mail / phone number.

Our 40 is for sale. Serial #11 and in excellent shape for 800 hours (we really baby it). No APU, 5300# of fuel (3.5 hours), and 2 less seats...but you save a few $$$ MILLION $$$ for those sacrafices.

Good Luck!

 

[Capthuff]

Thanks