Out of interest which airfields would you like to reach?
My experience when using GA for serious travel is those small soft field airports are of limited use. Hard to get in with faster planes. If you can make it you need a fuel stop right after departure to go the distance as you can not take the weight out of the small field. Often difficult ground transport and opening times situation at the small fields. If the weather if anything than perfect the heavy plane might already sink in on the parking spot or hard surface runways can be difficult when braking.
Obviously there are exceptions but with the PA46 you can get to many places in Europe efficiently. In some situations you might have to land a few miles further away but then you travel there at 260kt and the bigger airport might have car rental/car sharing, an IFR approach, customs if required etc.
Sebastian_G wrote:
Often difficult ground transport and opening times situation at the small fields.
Exactly, totally agree. Many of these little fields are of very limited practical use.This is even the case here in the US, where the ground service infrastructure is vastly better than in Europe. More often than not you end up going into a nearby ‘big’ (relatively speaking) airport where you get fuel, rental cars, etc.
Other than that, have to agree with @Bosco – what you’re looking for is the airplane we all dream of. I think in Bavaria they call that an Eierlegende Wollmilchsau 
Where it gets especially challenging is the pressurization requirement. As @lionel says, the P210 is very much entry level pressurization. Having flown my friend’s piston P210 I find it a great traveling machine and didn’t experience any of the pressurization issues lionel describes, but then we operated it in the mid teens where it seems to be happiest. And yes, this one also has the left middle seat removed, makes it much easier to get in and out and allows the pax in the third row to stretch out.
172driver wrote:
Eierlegende Wollmilchsau
Probably such a plane could even be built. Like a baby PC12 or a PA46 with new landing gear and bigger flaps.
Lionel, thanks for giving some color on the pressurization system – that is quite a bummer.
Other than that, I think it would be the ideal plane for me. I even figured out that maintenance in Europe should be not that big of a deal.
Sebastian_G: Here are some example airfields which I would like to frequent but couldn’t so far: LSPV Wangen Lachen (would love to home base there, but no hangar space. but would still visit regularly), EDMT Tannheim, EDRS Bad Sobernheim, EDMG Günzburg, EDHG Lueneburg
But yes, I see your points re logistics. One time I flew to EDRS and even though they told me on the phone they were open, no one answered on the radio and I had to divert to Mainz Finthen.
Re Eierlegende Wollmilchsau: I think a Lancair evolution would more or less fit the bill, but it is experimental so that doesn’t work in Europe ☹
Another one I came across today is the Cessna P337. Dual piston turbo, pressurized, very reasonably priced. There are STOL mods. More than 2000 kg though. Would fulfil almost all my requirements on paper.
HBadger wrote:
Another one I came across today is the Cessna P337. Dual piston turbo, pressurized, very reasonably priced. There are STOL mods. More than 2000 kg though. Would fulfil almost all my requirements on paper.
Yes – but. These things are LOUD! Given the German noise abatement regulations I’d look very carefully if you can actually operate into the fields you want to go to.
I know a jet prop owner who had a P337 beforehand. He said the P337 was a brilliant aeroplane, they used to fly from Switzerland to the UK for maintenance as there was a 337 guru there. I think the P337 vs P210 debate has been had many times on the CPA forums with lots of guys going between the two. It’s the kind of aeroplane you might get a good deal on in Europe as the uptake would be slow. There was a lovely one in the UK, a Riley one that was sold quite cheaply a few years back.
HBadger wrote:
LSPV Wangen Lachen
EDMT Tannheim
EDRS Bad Sobernheim
EDMG Günzburg
EDHG Lueneburg
I had a quick look at the charts and those are the MTOW limitations. So to get into all those airfields, 2t MTOW max. It is often possible to land with more weight. I know a PC12 got into a 2t airfield I used to fly to. But it would require paperwork with the authorities which can be quite some work.
LSPV 5,7t
EDMT 2t, 3t PPR
EDRS 2t, 3t PPR
EDMG 2,5t
EDHG 2t
HBadger wrote:
Another one I came across today is the Cessna P337. Dual piston turbo, pressurized, very reasonably priced. There are STOL mods. More than 2000 kg though.
I believe they are 1996 kg MTOW.
172driver wrote:
These things are LOUD!
And slow 
Yes, indeed. When you start going over 2 tons, and look at small airfields, this becomes a limitation. Interestingly, these only apply to certificated airfields (Germany, where all airfields are certificated). It’s not an issue for uncertificated airfields, such many of those in the UK or in Italy (aviosuperfici), where merely the owner/operator has to be OK with it.
In Germany especially, there is quite a hard dividing line at the 2-ton point. Anything below is mostly considered leisure aviation and anything above is considered serious business. And most of the Sonderlandeplätze are considered leisure-aviation facilities, have grass runways, and thus mostly are limited to 2 tons.
There is one more reason to look for a sub-2-ton aircraft.
An impression on the Silver Eagle.
I wonder whether these pressurisation issues are generally a problem with the Silver Eagle, if so, then something is really wrong with that design. I remember having such ear troubles on a jet for a while until we really worked on the outflow valves (e.g. cleaned them massively) thereafter things went a lot better. @lionel, do you have comparison to another Silver Eagle and is it the same?
As for payload, almost all those planes are a problem. The Jet Prop is also a single seater fully fuelled most of the times, I think I saw a 59 kg payload on one of them. The Silver Eagle is a great performer and would definitly tick your boxes. Incidently, the one in the video is for sale but it is not FIKI; which I would absolutely want for a plane like this.
The question of course is, where do you compromise. If you want short field capability, the Silver Eagle will do that, but it has some drawbacks on speed and can’t fly that high. Speed newer model and avionics would probably point towards a Jet Prop while giving up on the small airfields.
What I’d suggest @HBadger is to test fly both and see how you like them. Also look carefully at the specific airplanes re WnB e.t.c. they can be quite different. Then start doing sample plannings. For your profile, I don’t see too much of a WnB issue, 500 NM is really about half range for either the Silver Eagle or the Jet Prop.
Personally I like the Silver Eagle a lot, for the fact that it is quite roomy and has a economical Allison turboengine. For what you can get, I suppose you could also upgrade the avionics to your liking. I am a bit more sceptical about the PA46 in general, as for my liking, too many of those have had inflight breakups. If that was me, I’d consider the Silver Eagle before a Piston P210, or possibly a 337, but be aware that you will have problems in Germany with those, possibly also in Switzerland due to noise.
If you wanna go PA46, then I agree I’d go for the Jetprop rather than the Piper factory turboprops.
If you are thinking 337P, then maybe have a look at a Cessna 414 or even a Golden Eagle. Much nicer airplane, much nicer cabin, faster and not so noisy. Yes, above 2 tons and not veryshort field, but quite capable.
