wrote in message
news:guIKf.12759$p13.2805@trnddc08...

On 21-Feb-2006, "Jay Honeck" wrote:

How can retractable gear *ever* be "a wash" with fixed gear? There's
just
a
lot more "stuff" in there to be maintained.


My earlier post simply noted [...]

What he said! Thanks again....


As to the issues posed by the OP: The O-540 powered Comanches have a
reputation as strong climbers, particularly when lightly loaded. However,
if I was based at Colorado Springs and had many westbound missions I would
probably want a turbocharged airplane. Have you considered a Turbo Arrow?

Considered, yes (among other tc models). Frankly, I'm scared of turbo--it
seems like for every story of increased capability at altitude, there are
three stories of huge maintenance bills, overhauls well short of TBO, etc.
The Comanches have a 20K ceiling and a reputation as good climbers (though
I'm still looking for hard numbers in the above-8K'-DA regime), and bring a
lot of versatility to the table. Bang-for-the-buck again....

Am I being overly (unjustifiably) cautious here?

Thanks!
--
Doug
"Where am I to go/Now that I've gone too far?" -- Golden Earring, "Twilight
Zone"
(my email is spam-proofed; read the address and make the appropriate change
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