Achima and What Next: Although the 303 is a very nice aircraft it is not the best unpressurized twin ever made. That of course is the Beechcraft Baron. 
The reason for so few here in Europe is the enroute charges.
Regarding the Seneca, I don't share your view of it as junk. The sales figures speak otherwise. However, personally, I don't like it much. I do not have a lot of hours in them but the few I have were enough stay clear of them. A lot of space but very poor visibility and like the P2006, somewhat poor handling (or should I say unharmonized controls).
I don't share your view of it as junk.
I never said junk! The figures are not that bad, it flies not too bad (I even had an engine failure once in one that was almost a non-event!). But it is so very unpleasant to operate that I will rather not fly at all then fly a Seneca again.
The P2006 has poor handling? Wow, we don't come from the same planet... Can't help but feel that you guys are over exaggerating the poor qualities of the PA34.
This proves one thing only. That we as pilots have different subjective feelings about the aircraft we fly or have flown. They're all crap really, in somebody's opinion...
Krister L: I have a few hours in the P2006. In my opinion, when comparing it to my own twin airplane, the handling is simply poor. That is just how I feel.
Also, the P2006 has other shortcomings that I did not mention. Like a very low gear extent ion speed (93KCAS), more than half a minute to extend the gear vs. 5 secs for any Beech piston twin (maybe with the exception for the Duchess which I don't know). A heater which doesn't provide any heat and doesn’t even keep the windows clean.
When you say that the Seneca and P2006 have good handling, what are you comparing with?
I didn't say the seneca has good handling, it's a real dog, but with the P2006 I definitely don't agree with you. I've flown 3 different Tecnams, P92, P2002 and P2006 and uniformly they have very pleasant characteristics in all modes of flight. Light and harmonized controls in my opinion. I've pushed them to the limits because we used them for training and they're not as forgiving as a Piper/Cessna but very responsive.
What am I comparing to? Pipers, Cessnas, Diamonds. Haven't flown a Beech yet but I can't help but think you're comparing apples to pears. A Beech Baron with 300+ hp engines and MTOM over 2 tons (?) is a very different animal to a Tecnam or DA42 or even Seneca. I might as well compare these planes to the Citation I fly but that really defies the point.
Have you flown a P2006 into a 500m grass field, and back out again? I'm sure you wouldn't do that with your Baron. The P2006 is in a category of its own. There are Light Twins and then there's the Very Light Tecnam Twin. All aircraft are compromises and I think we tend to like the ones that met our expectations and reasoning. It's all subjective.
Would I select the P2006 if I wanted a serious IFR tourer? No. Would I choose a Baron if I wanted to cruise the country side and drop in on short fields? No.
I don't like Senecas either. But let's not mention the Duchess.
With so many claiming they dislike the Seneca, why are there so many built? Lack of competition?
This is a small sample size. But a high quality one!
With so many claiming they dislike the Seneca, why are there so many built? Lack of competition?
I would say it was mainly due to the price. It simply was cheaper then the rest. According to Wikipedia, around 5000 Senecas were built. Of it's original competitor, the Cessna 310, 6321 were made (and later another 315 Cessna 303s). Plus a similar number of Barons. Which shows to me, that price alone does not sell :-)
Have you flown a P2006 into a 500m grass field, and back out again? I'm sure you wouldn't do that with your Baron.
Krister:
I agree with you that the P2006 is a good airplane for training, and also to build twin time. As a privately owned plane, I would rather buy something else.
As for usability, I've actually landed and departed my Beechcraft E95A on a 500m rwy with obstacles at threshold. That gave me 350 meters of ground roll(everything was inside the airplane’s envelope). I've included the youtube video of the landing.
I've also taken my plane to small grass fields like Vellinge (ESTT). The only thing I don't like with grass fields is that bumps that may beof no significance to slower UL airplanes can be nasty when you land at higher speeds.
PS! I didn't find the P2006 controls very harmonized. A Beechcraft Baron 55 or Travelair can do 45 degree steep turns without any altitude change using only your finger tips on the yoke.
This was before the refurbishing process started.
