Beech duchess comments?

As a confirmed twin driver let me play spoiler here... I am always
amazed at the way we worry about the boogy man -a single over water -
and ignore the true and present danger - a single over land where the
obstructions WILL kill you... It is flying a single over trees and
cities, and junk yards, and power lines, and fence lines, and rocks,
and abutments, that scares the crap out of me... That is why I fly a
twin...
Most water landings are survived and if they die it is from being
unable to stay afloat... Simply wearing an automatic inflating PFD
while flying over water will eliminate the immediate drowning
problem... These are small, comfortable, and not horribly expensive
thanks to the volume of the boating market - unlike airplanes...

In the daytime I believe that you can find somewhere to land
and miss the ground hazards,
at night I agree with you completly, and that is why I'm thinking
small twin.

Paul

I looked at big singles versus twins for the same reasons, and since I live
on Lake Michigan and travel east quite a bit, I chose a twin. The redundancy
goes beyond just the engines, and includes dual vacuum pumps as well as
electrical systems.

Of course, this also means that there is double the maintenance on these
items, and double the chance of something breaking. You should not buy any
airplane unless you can also afford to maintain it- patching stuff with wire
and duct tape is the first step toward having a catastrophic chain of events
occur at an inopportune time.

I did most of my training in an Aztec, and then flew a Baron. The Aztec has
bigger engines, but is slower. It did not have the solid feeling of a Beech
product, but parts are a lot less expensive. Finally decided on a B-55
Baron, and it is heavily equipped with known ice, radar, stormscope, etc. It
gives a lot of flexibility, and still has a full tank useful load of 760
pounds, with a cruise of 175 knots. The IO-470 engines are solid, but fuel
burn is around 25 gph. Even a short trip for lunch comes with a gas bill of
around $300.

Again, the most important issue is to never scrimp on maintenance- these are
complicated airplanes, and trying to save money by postponing repairs is
short sighted.

There are no B55 Barons certified for known ice, only the
58P and 58TC are certified, if they have the electric
windshield plate and all other required equipment.
http://www.controller.com/listings/f...E C805BCAF89D
lists a G58 as "known ice" for over a million and quarter.





"Viperdoc" wrote in message
...
|I looked at big singles versus twins for the same reasons,
and since I live
| on Lake Michigan and travel east quite a bit, I chose a
twin. The redundancy
| goes beyond just the engines, and includes dual vacuum
pumps as well as
| electrical systems.
|
| Of course, this also means that there is double the
maintenance on these
| items, and double the chance of something breaking. You
should not buy any
| airplane unless you can also afford to maintain it-
patching stuff with wire
| and duct tape is the first step toward having a
catastrophic chain of events
| occur at an inopportune time.
|
| I did most of my training in an Aztec, and then flew a
Baron. The Aztec has
| bigger engines, but is slower. It did not have the solid
feeling of a Beech
| product, but parts are a lot less expensive. Finally
decided on a B-55
| Baron, and it is heavily equipped with known ice, radar,
stormscope, etc. It
| gives a lot of flexibility, and still has a full tank
useful load of 760
| pounds, with a cruise of 175 knots. The IO-470 engines are
solid, but fuel
| burn is around 25 gph. Even a short trip for lunch comes
with a gas bill of
| around $300.
|
| Again, the most important issue is to never scrimp on
maintenance- these are
| complicated airplanes, and trying to save money by
postponing repairs is
| short sighted.
|
|
|

My B-55 is certified for known ice by STC with TKS weeping wings. It does
not require the 400 series vacuum pumps, does not lose airspeed, and does
not require periodic replacement like boots.

And you have electric props and windshield? What is the STC
number?



"Viperdoc" wrote in message
...
| My B-55 is certified for known ice by STC with TKS weeping
wings. It does
| not require the 400 series vacuum pumps, does not lose
airspeed, and does
| not require periodic replacement like boots.
|
|

The plane uses the prop slinger hardware for the old alcohol props, and has
a spray bar for the windshield. If you want to know the STC number you can
Google on TKS or call them (Aerospace Systems and Technologies) yourself.

I wish my cherokee 180 would do 160 Knots. I would put a garmin 430 and an
s-tec in it and call it good.
"Huck" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hey Guys,
Well it is nice to know that there are actually a few things we agree
on out there! One more thing well actually a a few more things. Think
annual costs! Single versus Multi your probably talking a min of
500-1000 more just for the annual at a reputable shop not to mention
the fact that when you start having stuff go wrong ie 35-65 g for a new
motor 5-15g for a new prop jack and retract tests hoses. This stuff
really adds up pretty fast. Also just to help stear you clear of a
twin commanche though it is one if not the best of the group
performance wise as far as economical and fast the parts have all but
dissapeared for them. Try to stay away from any of the commanches just
for that one fact alone. Parts is parts and if you cant find any your
in a whole with no airplane not to mention if there ever was an
accident it would probably be a total loss and that is why they are so
hard to insure now!
I say A36 would more than fit your needs. I know of a few people that
have actually gone back to bonanza's and sold their barrons. just for
fuel burn alone. To be truthfull with you also the baron is just as
fast as the baby barons{55's) and not much slower than the big ones
58's. With the exception of a few special models {58p and the E55} both
are faster.
Well I could literally talk airplanes all night.{why am I not out
playing in the air right now} Have a great day all.

Matty/huck
com asel amel inst
CFI CFII 1500 TT
Aluckyguess wrote:
My flying buddy had a Duchess about 10 years ago. It was a great plane.
He
now has a Barron, the Barron is nice real nice the only problem is fuel.
I
hate going on long trips because it cost to much. I would give up the 20
knotts and fly the Bonanza. I understand your thinking flying over water
and
at night. I fly at night I dont mind it to much in the Bonanza with the
autopilot I fly a Cherokee 180 also and I dont feel as comortable at
night.
I was thinking maybe a twin comanche.
"kontiki" wrote in message
...
I would stay away from a duchess, sorry. If you really think you need a
twin
I'd echo what the others have said and be thinking Aztec or maybe a
Baron
(but I'd look at the Aztec first).

Kyler Laird wrote:

Wouldn't a Seneca be a bit more appropriate and less expensive than a
Baron?

It depends on which Seneca... there are big differeneces in the different
model years of Senecas.

As I read their web info, only the 58 is certified as
"known" http://www.weepingwings.com/



"Viperdoc" wrote in message
news | The plane uses the prop slinger hardware for the old
alcohol props, and has
| a spray bar for the windshield. If you want to know the
STC number you can
| Google on TKS or call them (Aerospace Systems and
Technologies) yourself.
|
|
|
|

Try looking a little harder- Flight Ice in St. Louis does the installations
on all of the Barons and I think the Caravans. Some of the installations
have known ice certification.