I want some opinions, cuz I don't know!

[FlyingSkip]

I'll start with a thanks to anyone who can help. We're operating a 135 helo op but both my boss and I have airplane experience. We're looking at a customer who wants us to operate a plane for him and another guy in his business---we seem to be coming down to putting it on the 135 and opening it up to some other folks as well. With me so far? Probably, it's not real complicated.

The question seems to be what kind of airplane we should use. My boss has experience with the Navajo and so we're leaning that direction, but... Do we want an older, cheaper one cuz of the initial purchase price lower, a Panther or c/r cuz of the higher speed, or even something like a Cheyenne cuz all our mechs have more turbine experience? I've never really been in this position of suggesting/selling a particular airplane before and I'm a little confused on what we need to say to close the deal that this is THE best airplane for his needs, and what other business we could drum up.

Oh yeah---most trips 200 miles, usually only a couple people but sometimes as many as 6 pax, max load/fuel load for long trips not such a consideration. Both of the committed customers have PPLs and would like to sit up front once in a while but not usually.

Alright, fire away with your opinions/ideas, especially if you have experience with the differences between these things.

 

[Goose Egg]

I've never really been in this position of suggesting/selling a particular airplane before and I'm a little confused on what we need to say to close the deal that this is THE best airplane for his needs, and what other business we could drum up.

Oh yeah---most trips 200 miles, usually only a couple people but sometimes as many as 6 pax, max load/fuel load for long trips not such a consideration. Both of the committed customers have PPLs and would like to sit up front once in a while but not usually.

Understand that is coming from a guy with a 1/4 completed MBA, but I'm not sure that brining an airplane online for one customer and "whatever other business [you] could drum up" is such a wise idea. Sure, it may be good to add an airplane to your service capabilities, but only after some market research and some business planning. I mean, sure, those guys could be great customers, but what if they bail on you?

Just my thoughts.

-Goose

 

[FlyingSkip]

I probably over-simplified the original premise to try to save time and my poor typing skills. First, we could use the airplane for some company business on a regular basis. Second, this guy is pretty reliable, used to own his own King Air etc and now that he's little older and has other commitments (ie grandkids, etc) he wants to be able to go on his terms. Third, there is other committed biz that we just can't totally quantify in terms of hrs/yr so I left them out for the sake of simplicity but we would DEFINITELY do some hours in that way. We hold the only 135 cert around here, so we'd actually ill a niche that right now is totally underserved.

Yeah, the main guys could always bail, but this is something that's been in the works for a couple years by my boss even before these guys made it more feasible. We WILL have an airplane, it's just a matter of which one---hence my previous question!

Thanks for making me flesh out my explanation a bit more so it makes a little more sense.

 

[FN FAL]

Understand that is coming from a guy with a 1/4 completed MBA, but I'm not sure that brining an airplane online for one customer and "whatever other business [you] could drum up" is such a wise idea. Sure, it may be good to add an airplane to your service capabilities, but only after some market research and some business planning. I mean, sure, those guys could be great customers, but what if they bail on you?

Just my thoughts.

-Goose

when you get 1/2 done or 3/8 done with your MBA, you'll recongnize why FBO's like leasebacks.

 

[Piper877]

No MBA here but I can tell you that a Navajo is an old airplane no matter what type you get. The panther conversion is especially notorious for being a maintenance hog what with the tubos and such.
Why not look at a decent single like a PC12 or Meridian or something along those lines? Fuel costs are much cheaper and maintenance should be much lower than on a 30 year old airplane like a Chieftain/Navajo.

 

[FN FAL]

We WILL have an airplane, it's just a matter of which one---hence my previous question!

try this guide, I owned a piston twin with turbocharged engines and this guide was right on the money.

http://www.aviationconsumer.com/products/books/81-1.html


If you're considering several different airplanes, this guide will give you figures and other information to consider...rather than anonymous posters telling you subjective accounts of which plane they liked or didn't like.

 

[FlyingSkip]

Thanks FN FAL

Nice---thanks. You're probably right about the subjective nature of any advice I'd receive on here, but I thought the expertise of people who had flown the different models and could point out a "good vs. not-so-good" comparison might be helpful. Silly me---there I go again thinking FI could actually be a helpful resource and not just a place for frustrated people to unleash their pet peeves. Oh well....

 

[FN FAL]

Nice---thanks. You're probably right about the subjective nature of any advice I'd receive on here, but I thought the expertise of people who had flown the different models and could point out a "good vs. not-so-good" comparison might be helpful. Silly me---there I go again thinking FI could actually be a helpful resource and not just a place for frustrated people to unleash their pet peeves. Oh well....

Oh well...I guess 29.00 bucks and a some reading was a little too much effort to put into the project.

I'd say, buy a Duke. It's better looking than most piston twins.

 

[Tonala2k]

I know a guy who operates a couple Polatus (Polati hehehe). He keeps himself real competetive against a few King Airs and CJ's on the fiield

$0.02

 

[FlyingSkip]

No FN you completely misunderstood---the link was exactly what I was looking for! I appreciated it and have already ordered---I was just laughing at the rest of your message about the subjective nature of any other advice I might receive on here. I'm my own kind of smarta**, but when somebody gives me some serious help I say thank you---so thank you!

As far as the big single turbines---I'd rather have one any day, I think a Pilatus would be SHWEET, but the buy in prices are MUCH more than we're willing to spend at this point! Neither of us is afraid of the single engine thing, heck read my posts on the Cirrus to tell you what I think of a good single, but them Swissies charge lots for their airplanes---as do the TBM700 sellers, etc.