What if I told you you could get a jet with longer range than most jets costing 10 times more? What if I told you it has no calendar items, you just do phase inspections? What if I told you it has one of the most fuel efficient and proven fanjets in the form of the TFE731? What if I told you it’s built like a brick outhouse and has almost no AD’s or SB’s to comply with? What if I told you it’s RSVM? And what if I told you can buy it for $200K?
I present to you, the Jew Canoe, the IAI Westwind II. 150gal/hr burn, goes to FL450 and does mach 0.85. Can stretch to almost 3000nm range, if pulled back. 150gal/hr is of course a bit more than the 50-60gal/hr I burn now, but it’s actually cheap for this size jet. A Lear of similar vintage will gulp 300gal/hr. Reports I have from some who flew and operated them is that it’s a rock solid machine that never breaks down. Simple systems. No calendar items, all on condition. The reason they’re so cheap is that people think they’re ugly and they’re slightly slower than the other jets in this size.
I’m half tempted to deputize the wife and get her her PPL and multi rating so we can get one of these down the line. If it’s just on condition and phase inspections, the darn thing will cost almost nothing to keep. Let’s say you fly 25hrs a year in it and it needs a phase inspection every 100hrs, you’re looking at an annual every 4 years. 
Here’s what a Westwind salesman said about the breed:
The Westwind even costs much less than comparable vintage aircraft such as the Learjet 55 and Cessna Citation III-both of which fly a few knots faster but can cost nearly $1 million more and have nowhere near the Westwind’s range. And its cabin is more spacious because of its ovoid, as opposed to oval, fuselage shape. “There’s more head-and-shoulder room than in a Citation or a Learjet,” said Paul Thomas, one of the country’s leading Westwind brokers.
Thomas added that the Westwind has other advantages, including a baggage compartment that can hold nearly 1,000 pounds, good short-field landing capability, sprightly time-to-climb and a maintenance schedule that is based on how many hours you actually fly the airplane rather than on calendar intervals. Those who fly less than 400 hours a year find this last attribute particularly attractive, Thomas said.
Hail to the Westwind – the diamond in the rough! 
Let’s say you fly 25hrs a year in it and it needs a phase inspection every 100hrs, you’re looking at an annual every 4 years.
? Buy such a plane for 25 hrs/year? How safe can that be, and does that make sense at all? You better rent one, no?
I am waiting for the Jet or Turboprop Twin you present that comes with 25 million dollars in the bagage compartment ;-)
PS: It looks GREAT!
Flyer, it’s so fast that flying it 25hrs/ year is like flying a Cirrus SR22 for 150hrs!!
But then you will want to fly all the time, and not less. At least that’s what would happen to me ;-) Give me a ride when you buy it!
How many of those exist?
Adam, beautiful aircraft, but I feel your Commander fetish is taking you to the next level, at least as fetishes go I can’t argue with the aesthetics.
I really knew next to nothing, had to read the Wikipedia article. 442 built in Israel!. Strange that i never saw one. There’s also many of them on Controller.com. From $ 200 K to 500 K.
People think it’s ugly as hell, but I actually like its low slung appearance. It’s like one of those custom lead sled low slung cars you used to see in the 50’s. And yes, it’s got that Commander DNA as you pointed out, Robert! But the way it looks is what keeps the prices low. Aircraft operators are vain.
But what prompted it was a business trip to Buenos Aires from Los Angeles last month. What happened was I got another job right after it and they wanted me back in LA as soon as possible. Mad scramble to try to get a flight back in time – and expensive. I risked losing the whole job if I couldn’t swing it. Yes, it’s a luxury problem, but it’s still a problem.
So, I thought; with an old Westwind II I could deputize the wife, make her get her PPL ME IR and we’d be able to not only get back in time, but with time to spare. Much quicker than doing it by airlines. It’ll do about 2500nm non stop, which means 2-3 stops from Buenos Aires to LA (which is about 5300nm). Long range cruise of 420kt and it would take 13hrs, roughly. 150gal/hr and we’re burning 1950gal for the whole trip. At the US low price of $2.99/gal these days, that would be a fuel cost of $5800. That’s just slightly above what a business class ticket would cost. And I get to bring my wife for free.
Told you it was a silly daydream.
I don’t think it’s ugly! I love the wings and the tip tanks. It’s really a lot of airplane for that money.
AdamFrisch wrote:
The reason they’re so cheap is that people think they’re ugly
Hmmm, at first I thought you had Photoshopped a couple of turbines on a Commander there ;-))
Seriously – don’t think it’s ugly at all, definitely not in the blue livery! 200K? Go for it, Adam, I’ll come for a ride!
I have been in one of these. I will dig my harddrive for pics and come back!
Seriously, did you punch all the numbers yet – how much is one going to cost you all in?
