Textron has a new plane coming. Have not said if it will be Beech, Cessna or??? Also, it has the GE turboprop in lieu of the 'standard' PT-6. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/airplane-further-proof-growing-trend-175331817.html
The initial price is set at $4.8M. Those "initial prices" of new airplanes seem to only go up from there. IMHO, that is quite a bit of money given the cost of other turboprop twins or even light business jets. .
Some people want new, I guess... my Turbo Commander will go 300 knots on 65gph, and climb at 1000 fpm with an engine out. And cost a fraction of this thing.
I've researched the new Beech SETP a good bit. It's almost an exact copy of the PC12. Why not make it bigger or faster?
I just don't understand the piston/turboprop plane market these days astronomical prices, same old speeds, and less useful. Who are buying these? I guess most of them are corporate expenses. Charters aren't getting them and I don't see why an individual would. The leap for me to improve on my 200 kts, 17 GPH, 5 hours, and 4 adults is HUGE in price.
Nothing beats the PC12 except a midsize jet. The utility is off the charts. Sure, PC12 cruises at 275 knots but it's a 7 hour airplane with 7 on board plus bags and a it has a lav. I fly mine coast to coast all the time. Airlines can't touch it. That's why PC12 is expensive. I bought mine in 2013. I could sell it for more than I paid for it and I've put 1000 hours on it.
I know why my father was considering a TBM-700 back in 1998 to replace his Saratoga. He doesn't like flying twins and the extra workload. ADD! Didn't want the added expense of a jet like a citation. Doesn't like flying with others, co-pilots. Also didn't want the added expense of a pilot. Didn't need the seating/baggage capacity of a PC-12. At the time a new TBM was under $2million. It was tough to find something small easy to operate with low operating costs that could touch 300knots for the money. Furthest he was flying was Vancouver to Phoenix/Scottsdale or Lake Tahoe. At the time only my younger brother at home and he moved out soon after. So he decided for his purposes the TBM was overkill. If we as in my brothers still teenagers and at home he would get one or the PC12. He did buy a share in his friend/clients Piper Meridian but the friend got into financial trouble and my Dad didn't want the whole plane to himself. So they sold it. Now he wants to keep it simple and get a Moony.
it is a great plane, but you are paying 10x more for 65 kts, 1 hour, 3 passengers, and a lav. Sure that is a big improvement, but what you get with planes past the 400 is exponential in price, not performance.
I don't weigh "top speed" into my equation when airplane shopping and here's why........ 1. Above 18K' you don't get to fly the the direction you want and the altitude you want. Just because your airplane can go 450 knots does not mean you will be allowed to go 450 knots. 2. I fly out of Atlanta. North to Chicago and NYC and south to Florida is heavily controlled airspace. You're not getting to NYC, Chicago or South Florida faster in a jet than you are a pC12. The routings are too whacky and ATC forces you to fly low. 3. Endurance is way more of a speed factor than speed. I don't stop for gas. I fly the whole way non stop. You're going 0MPH at the FBO buying gas. You can't compare a small piston plane to a PC12. I used to have a Cirrus and a Turbo Bonanza. The Pilatus can take 6 people on a 6 hour coast to coast flight easily. No headsets, lav, eat lunch, talk, watch movies, surf the internet, move around the cabin, lay the seats flat with footrests etc.
Actually, the logical step for you would be an Eclipse. Under $1 million (for one with older, but serviceable avionics), 375kts, 60 gph, and cruise in the upper 30s (which makes a big difference in terms of comfort, particularly on longer legs). Still basically 4 seats, though. Depending on the length of the trip, the cost per mile wouldn't be a huge increase over your airplane (remember, jet fuel is much cheaper than avgas) and the time savings and overall comfort would be huge. The PC-12 is a great airplane if you need to haul a lot of people and stuff, and you don't care about the single engine aspect (let's not have that argument again). The TBM, I guess, is if you want something new.
All SETP cost the same to run. Buy in costs are different but you have to weigh which will hold value best. I don't care what something costs to buy. I care what I can sell it for later.
I agree. That's where many of the Columbia pilots go. A few Mustangs, the most go to Evolutions. My Columbia shop is expert at the Eclipses too.