Flyer59 wrote:
I know there’s FIKI planes, but the C210 was not on the OP’s list
The TB20/1 was on the list… I seen to recall from other discussions that “FIKI” has a specific meaning under US regulation, so let’s not squabble about terms.
The important thing is weather the aircraft is certified to fly in icing conditions and (at least some) TKS-equipped TB20/1’s are. I have flown one of them myself and it was very clear from the POH that flight in icing conditions was approved.
blueline wrote:
This C303 looks great.
You can actually see the famous ‘flight into known icing prohibited’ placard which gave Pilot_DAR a fright many years ago.
This was also the case before the last crash, where in the years 2002-2006, airplane values would increase year by year giving an artificial high
How very true! It enabled Socata to increase prices to silly levels, before they finally admitted (in 2005) they stopped making the TBs in 2002 
I would like to see what sort of % despatch rate is required in this case.
A SEP with full TKS will give you maybe 90%. The remaining 10% will translate to anything from nothing of consequence to some massive hassle.
You can actually see the famous ‘flight into known icing prohibited’ placard which gave Pilot_DAR a fright many years ago
I would have expected all Crusaders to have been modified after the mentioned incident?
How about a Seneca 2-200 Turbo. Can be found online for less than 100K US$. Is FIKI approved, Turbo performance and a ceiling of FL250. I have been flying the SR22 Turbo which is FIKI approved, but doesn’t come cheap. The Seneca 2 is an alternative that is cheaper to buy, but you will need a Twin rating (IR) and it consumes around 20-22 USG of AVGAS p/hour.
I tend to agree. A Seneca II (with 1999kg
STC) combines Turbo, De-Ice, Radar, no airway fees and low aquisition cost. Only downsides are: it is an old animal, has high running costs and is an ugly piece of airplane. If you are looking at sheer mission capability, then it might be the way to go.
I would take a close look at the P210. I parted one out and they are an amazing piece of kit. If you got a one that is “fully sorted” then you could have a quite reliable aircraft. There is a P210 guru mechanic in Europe and he works on 5 aircraft, if you got someone like that to do a pre buy you’d be onto a sure thing. If you want the Cessna 210 Buyers guide ebook then send me a pm.
PS
I’d love at the end of one of these “what airplane should I buy” threads if the OP came back and posted details of what they bought in the finish up.
IMO this mission cries for a twin with turbos and boots. The TKS, afaik, even if it’s FIKI approved, will only give you a limited amount of time until you have to get out. So, a twin Cessna or Piper with a pressure cabin, or i.e. a P58 Baron, or such something. Single engine, a P210 – I have recently seen one with a turbine – and there are also some six seater Bonanzas (the 36’s) out there with turbo, and boots, and prop de-ice, with oxygen canulas. They’re the most robust for such kind of weather. But better climb over the ice instead of remaining within, my 2 cents.
Hi guys again…
You give me quite some thoughts … A lot more than I actually had initially…
I agree with all of you that a twin all weather plane is quite cheap to acquire at the moment. Despite the fact that the plane is really useful, it just drains down a sh""t load of money to come from a to b. And if 90% is bought by a good SEP the last 5-9% is bought by some 180-200€ more per hrs.
To make it more bookkeeper like :-)
If you fly 150-200hrs a year…max 180 can be flown with a SEP and only 20 you need a MEP. So 16k€ a year you spend more because you fly a twin instead a SEP.
I think I go for a fast and sleek SEP which offers some kind of icing managing capability and rent a all weather plane once I have to leave the SEP behind (usually an A320 or B737 as a passenger ;-) )
For the difference in operations costs I will build up quite a fund which offers business class trips all around the year;-)))
I think a reliable SEP can be operated for around 3-5k euros fixed costs plus annual and 14usgal avgas per hrs. The overhaul sniffs up,to 50k every 2000hrs in case of a high performance engine.
For me that sounds good. So these are the numbers where is start my search from.
I also clustered the planes in diffrent performance groups
Like:
1) c172, pa28, oldm20, da40
2)minimum aged mooneys, bonanza, tb20/1, p210 ect
3)cirrus, acclaim, ttx
4)twin aircrafts like da42, or Senecas
5)turboprop
Unfortunately the entry and operating costs together double each time once you go down these number. E.g, entry price / operating price is low/low for the first type of planes, low / High for the second , high / high for the third, ect.
Of course frame age place are role here, but the older the frame the more itches during the annuals.
I was flying and do fly a da40 the most. If have some flight hrs logged on pipers, cessnas and bonanzas. I like the idea of a more complex plane which gives more handles to take during operation.
So I just want to upgrade one level at the moment. And this comes down to the medium aged airframes with a proven solid platform for a single pilot operating IR (light) in Europe. And what ever weather pops up on my route. A commercial ticket is always cheaper than flying myself (not always I know.)
Anyway…
It will take me for sure another week until I actually know in which direction I would like my future plane to look like / be
My little favorite so far … I have nooooo clue
a twin all weather plane is quite cheap to acquire at the moment
One of these? A 421C:
Pressurised, radar, FL280 ceiling.
All the nonpressurised twins “can” do bad wx (the Aztec reportedly can carry up to 10cm of ice) and historically they did quite well in commercial ops e.g. mail delivery but if you take your family into heavy wx at FL100 they will never fly with you again.
I guess you can pick up a shagged 421C, with reasonable avionics, for maybe 200k.
It does drink a lot of avgas though. The payload is good – roughly in the same department as a TBM.
The Seneca and such has no more wx capability than a SEP if you compare like for like on equipment e.g. de-ice and turbo. What it might have however which a SEP won’t have (PA46 and some old Cessnas excepted) is radar.
