I assume that when you say "speed" you are talking about minimium trip time.
Obviously range is a big part of this, maybe bigger than actual TAS. Also,
are you talking about flying in virtually all weather or just most of the
time? Are your trips evenly distributed thoughout the seasons? How many
trips will involve crossing the Sierra or Rockies? At night? What is the
operating budget? It is going to cost at least $50K/yr to operate an
airplane that will make 75+% of the trips. If your trips are mostly to
SoCal from Tuscon, just buy a high performance turbocharged single and you
will be able to complete most of your trips at low cost. If a lot of trips
are to somewhere in the PNW or the Plains (aka: tornado alley) then you are
going to need deice and radar. Can you just fly to Pheonix and then fly
direct on SW or UAL?

I had a similiar situation to yours. I lived in Minden NV, flew a Turbo
Lance and I had about 85% success in being able to fly myself to
destinations mostly in CA, arriving on time and not getting stranded on the
California side of the mountains when it was time to return. To go from 85%
to 99%, the minimium airplane had to have radar, pressurization, deice and
(two) turbine engines. I had some disadvantages compared to you, such as
being an hour from the nearest commercial airport (Reno) which only had
limited flights.

Think long and hard about what you want to accomplish and what you are
willing to do and pay for it. There is no airplane that will make your
trips 99% of the time even at four times your budget but almost any airplane
will make your trips most of the time.

What are the deficiencies of your current airplane (the Mooney) for making
your trips?

Mike
MU-2


"Ken Reed" wrote in message
ink.net...
I'm looking to upgrade airplanes; discussion and recommendations are
requested:

History:
Private - 1994
inactive 1994-2001
started flying again after 9/11/01
Instrument - 2003
Commercial - 2004

Roughly 450 hours total time. About 100 in Cessnas 150/152/172. About 50
hours in a Cherokee 140 (with 180 HP & CS prop), 50 hours in an Arrow and
about 250 hours in Mooney M20C. Zero multi-engine time.

Ownership Experience:
Current: 1967 Mooney M20C (sole owner)
Current: 1/4 share in C-152 (I'm working on my CFI and want something to
teach in)
Previous: 1/2 share in 1967 P28A

Narrative/Mission:
I fly commercially about 75,000 miles per year and I'm looking to replace
as much of that as is reasonable. Home is Tucson, Arizona and the majority
of my commercial flying is west coast and mountain states. Trips over 1000
NM are done only a couple of times per year.

When I travel, I must be at my destination on time. I typically leave
(commercially) the morning prior to the date I need to be somewhere. That
means I usually get to my destination in the early afternoon the day
before I need to be there. From TUS, on United (95% of my commercial
flights), I must go through either LAX or DEN, so it is rarely just a one
leg commercial flight, unless my destination is LAX or DEN.

I will fly solo about 95% of the time. The other 5% with one other
individual. This is purely a business entity. Baggage is light, clothes
and a laptop.

With respect to weather:
If I start flying myself more, leaving early the day before I need to be
somewhere, I will have an 'out' due to weather in that I should be able to
land somewhere within a four hour or so drive of my final destination, I
figure. Barring that, I can probably land somewhere and hop on Southwest
Airlines as a last resort. My final destination is typically larger cities
anyway. Returning home, I have more leeway if weather is an issue. 80% of
the time I need to be at a destination for one day. 15% of the time, two
days and 5% of the time more than two days.

Airplane Attributes:
I'm looking for speed above all else. Second and third are fuel burn and
fuel capacity. I haven't decided which is #2 and which #3, however. Of
course reliability, maintenance, purchase price, etc. are important. As
for budget, I absolutely have to stay under $200,000. Ideally under
$150,000. $100,000 to $125,000 would be very comfortable (with the
obligatory 10%-20% reserve available). I have a few airplanes in mind of
course, but what will this illustrious group recommend ? Do you need any
other data ?
---
Ken Reed
http://www.dentalzzz.com