The arrow cruises at around 110kt on 40l/h
That’s a very slow Arrow – the one we had in our club in Houston (straight wing, PA-28R-200) would do about 130kt on that fuel burn. 110kt is more what I’d expect from an Archer.
The first and foremost is cost. Two engines to overhaul, two props and yes, 30% more consumption than a comparable single is a huge factor too.
I have said it before, but perhaps it is worth repeating. I am not convinced the running costs should be the only factor.
There are many twins that you can buy in top condition for £100K with low time engines and completely refurbished. Of course they may not be as sexy as a new(ish) Cirrus but thats at least double and up to five times. Thats a lot of extra fuel, maintenance, and, most importantly, depreciation for less capability in many cases. Many twins will compete or be better on speed, compete or be significantly better on load, are likely to be cleared for ice without the need for fluid, and however you do or dont value it have the extra engine.
I always thought I would buy a Cirrus, and I still think they are very good aircraft, but after time in a lot of singles and a few twins, I think twins represent a better investment for those reasons and others; I think they are significantly under valued – but that is a good thing.
My Warrior (150 hp model) does 110 kts – easily.
Whenever ATC asks for “high speed as long as practical” on the ILS, all we can get with the gear up and a lot of power is 140KT.
What is “a lot of power”?
Mine does about 160kts IAS on a standard 3 deg ILS with about 19-20" MP and 2400 RPM (gear and flaps up obviously, 160kts is over gear and flaps speed). I don’t dare to do much more…
13" MP, 2400 RPM, 25deg Flaps on 3deg should give you around 80 kts IAS.
….. and the rate of change of your CHTs in that configuration?
What is “a lot of power”?
Flat out.
… and the rate of change of your CHTs in that configuration?
Not big enough to prevent the cylinders from lasting much longer than the camshaft
I just showed a B58P to a guy looking to trade up from an SR22. His reasoning was that his last annual in RGV was close to £20k for a TCAS repair, mag overhaul, some corrosion repair and the other costs for the annual. The last annual on the baron was £6k. Yes it burns more fuel but as another Baron owner told me, its always used going foreign so with the duty draw backs fuel is damn all more than a pound a litre. You can sit at FL240 in air conditioned comfort with WX radar doing its thing hands off on a rock steady KFC200 AP for tiny buy in money. Why not?
I’m going to get a trade up over next year or so of my twin com to something like a 303 which has nice simple systems and can do grass at her ease. Twin Comanche is excellent but my friends just got a 303 and I suspect as soon as I sit in it I’ll be smitten.
While I don’t know what was wrong with that specific SR22 the annual on a Baron will always be more expensive than on a SR22. Beech parts cost the same as Cirrus parts and an Annual on a Baron is always more work than on a SR22.
I do know:
- a complete overhaul of the TCAS system is USD 3900 (no matter if it’s in a SR22 or Baron). That’s very expensive, so I bought a $ 2000 used one when mine broke
- 2 overhauled Mags are around € 1000 (I just bought two last year)
PS: My last annual (2014) on my SR22 was € 2700.
How are Cirrus chute pulls after engine failures viewed by the insurer? If you get reimbursed there is no reason to buy a twin where you’ll have to replace the failed engine out of pocket.
