PilotEdge Forums

Ok so we had a pretty good consensus with what should be the first plane you buy in FSE...what is the best next step?

I know the King Air is a good option but for a little more the 1900D is there with room for many more PAX and little increase in flight expenses. Also can you fly the 1900D as a cargo option with the 1900C?

Thoughts as to the set up option for FSE?

Years ago, when I was moving up in the airframe world, I used this spreadsheet (well, the current one at the time) to decide what to buy next. Naturally, I ignored what it was telling me and bought a JS32. Then I got a friend hooked on the JS32. Then he bought me one as thanks. So, now I own two. The B1900C is probably a better earner, based on the operating costs. Back when cargo runs were a thing, I had a Falcon 7X that was unbeatable for operating cost/earning potential. How I miss those days.

EDIT: I should probably add that I'm looking for an 'investment vehicle' for some surplus v$. Based on the locations and distances between my FBOs and their size (two 1-lotters, one 2-lot; so job generation is a factor), something with 5-6 seats would be practical. A parallel consideration was something non-complex and capable of slow flight so I can do the V1-3 certifications here on PE. I was debating today between the C337, C210 and BE36 (the A36 variant Bonanza). I had narrowed it down to the C337 (I already own the Carenado model) and the C210. Looking at that spreadsheet, something I didn't do until you started this thread, the A36 and the 210 are comparable, with the 337 being more expensive to operate (per 100nm/wet).

I'm not sure that I fully understand your question.

We all started as renters. Once you have an FSE account, use the airports search function to find a rent-able aircraft of the type that you want to fly. Then look for jobs where the rent-able aircraft are. And then fly the jobs. Try before you buy. And try some more.

NOTE, everybody wants to own their own aircraft. However, it really doesn't save as much v$'s as you might think. So before you invest your hard earned v$'s, make sure that the airplane you are considering buying is really what you want. To me that biggest benefit of owning is it removed the urge to cut corners to save Hobbs meter (no taxi, fly direct routes, unloading PAX on the run way).

If you are asking HOW to go about buying your first airplane, in my case, I just kept checking the "for sale" list and the FSE Forums until I found the aircraft that I wanted for what seemed like a fair price. My thoughts. It's like buying a car. Best to accept that you are going to pay too much and move on. Unlike a car, an FSE Aircraft can be used to 'earn" back it's purchase price. How long it takes depends upon how much you fly and how expensive your aircraft is.

Be careful about chasing the v$'s too hard. If you are flying an airplane that you like, the v$'s will come on their own.

In my own case, I started flying the JS41. At 29 PAX it was a HUGE v$ maker. However it was serious flight planning work to create a route to keep that big an airplane full. Taking multi-hop "runs" of 4-6 stops to fill the plane. Burn out was the result. I'm having sooooooo much more fun the 2nd time around with a smaller 5 PAX airplane. In just a few minutes of searching, I can fly out with a full PAX load.

To be clear I currently have a Baron and love it....

The thing is I would like to one day get another plane in my hanger for larger jobs. I currently rent a 1900D for those flights, sometimes a King Air and was wondering if the 1900D is worth the extra v$ when it comes time for purchasing.

I likely wont have the funds until later this year but the other thread on "what is the best plane if you only have one" triggered this question I have.

If going by the spreadsheet and using he Cost per 100nm per 100kg carried as the measure of "better" gives the following:

1900D 0.20
King Air 0.12

So if going by that "yard stick", the King Air is better. Not to mention that the King Air is cheaper to purchase with a faster cruise speed. So the decision is easy right? <pushes the easy button>

But if going by the spreadsheet, we should all be flying the Lockheed Constellation at 0.03.

Everything that follows is IMO; Assuming that both planes could be filled each flight, then hands down the plane with the larger capacity apparently wins. Why? Because the operating cost are always a percentage of the revenue stream. The difference in purchase price is relatively small (about 16%) so as to come out in the wash.

But.......There's no mention of how much more of your time is spent creating a flight load for one plane verses the other.

I just recently purchased a Pilatus PC-12 (N128CM) and in the process of flying jobs from the East coast towards the PE coverage area. Making good v$'s along the way. Per the spreadsheet, the cost of PC-12 operation is 0.07 per 100nm/100kg. So by that measure, the PC-12 is better than either of your two choices.

To me the problem with the analysis is that it does not include the value of your time. To illustrate a point, I took all of my FSE log data from Jan 1st 2015 and parsed into a spreadsheet (simple copy/paste from web page). Sorting by aircraft type, I came up with a figure of how many v$'s per hour I made in each airplane type.

>>wmburns log data from 01-01-15 through 06-03-15
Aircraft - total v$ - hrs - v$/hr
BAe Jetstream 41 Total $62,869.80 - 7.20 - $8,731.92
Beechcraft Baron 58 Total $235,822.05 - 78.53 - $3,002.83
Beechcraft King Air C90 Total $4,338.70 - 0.57 - $7,656.53
Cessna 208 Caravan Total $10,699.29 - 2.18 - $4,900.44
Pilatus PC-12 Total $67,465.03 - 13.37 - $5,047.26
Grand Total $381,194.87 - 101.85 - $3,742.71


Some interesting things emerge. The PC-12 carries twice as many PAX (10) as the the BE58 (5) and cost less to operate but why doesn't it make twice as much per hour? My theory is some of the "other" fees such as booking and ground crew fees.

Bottom line. I still stand by my original recommendation. The FIRST choice should be which plane do like to fly best. As this will be the plane that gets used more. The v$'s will work themselves out.

Then if you still can't make up your mind, then why not do an exercise like above? IE figure out which plane gives YOU the most v$'s per hour spent flying. After all, isn't your time really the most viable asset of all?

I get it....

Every time I try to go and get some v$ I start to "videogame" it, when I fly my own Baron in the PE area (admittedly not all on network) I fly real world like...even bring the PAX right to the gate

I think my step up will be a King Air...really like to fly that one. In the meantime there are some fields I haven't been to that would be well suited for my Baron.

The Carenado B200 model is fantastic. Just be sure to watch the torque, its insanely easy to let it get away from you and blow both your engines out. 13 pax isn't that hard to fill either, especially with routes like LAX-VCV, SNA-CRQ, etc... Highly recommended.

Nelson L. wrote:The Carenado B200 model is fantastic. Just be sure to watch the torque.

That is the one I have...also the 1900D, both planes are great but the B200 is more fun to fly.

Both will blow if too high on the torque...of that I can assure you

If you're looking at the King Air make sure you take a look at the Flight1. I have both and won't reinstall the Carenado. It has a realistic G1000 and flies great!!!

John

BonanzaDude wrote:If you're looking at the King Air make sure you take a look at the Flight1. I have both and won't reinstall the Carenado. It has a realistic G1000 and flies great!!!

John

That's a coincidence...I wont reinstall FSX j/k

Thanks for the heads up though....