Used Aircraft Guide

[IMGCAP(1)]The Duke is like some luxury cars: It projects a definite image. The profile is sleek and shark-nosed, and it really looks the part of the corporate transport. It undoubtedly has impressed many clients with that solid, professional image. Beech used to nurture this, pitching the Duke in advertisements as an integral part of the lifestyle of attractive, successful people who are on the move.

The price tag reinforced this high-profile image-the last Duke was built in 1982 and went for about $600,000 equipped. The Duke also carries Beechs reputation for good workmanship and high parts costs. Its little wonder, then, that some owners fondly refer to their airplanes as the Merce…

[IMGCAP(1)]The Bellanca Viking is one of general aviations split personalities: a powerful four-place retractable that has great handling and superb built-in craftsmanship, but on the other hand is an antiquated design thats cramped, noisy, short-ranged and not very fast.

On top of that, the fuselage is fabric-covered and the wing is made of wood. That means maintenance by properly qualified individuals, who are getting to be as rare as hens teeth.

But Viking prices are low on the used-plane market, so you can get a lot of airplane for your dollar if youre willing to put up with its idiosyncrasies-and to vigilantly guard against dry rot in the wing, which has triggered several fat…

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How fast do you want to go? How deep are your pockets? The TLS is one answer: a go-for-broke and hang-a-bigger-mill-in-it approach to raw performance. Surrounded with quite a bit of hype during its development, the TLS sprouts a 270-HP, turbocharged, intercooled Lycoming TIO-540-AF1A from the firewall to give whiz-bang speeds and climb rates.

The aircraft was definitely a departure for the Mooney line, which from the Mite to the M-20K 252TSE had always reflected a do-more-with-less design philosophy, emphasizing efficiency long before fuel prices went out of sight. The TLS is a bit more of a brute than the 201, 231 and 252, and definitely at the top of the performance heap…

[IMGCAP(1)]As this book goes to press, the on-again, off-again production history of the Grumman-American/American General AA-5 appears to be on again. Tiger Aircraft LLC has opened a new factory in Martinsburg, W.Va., and has installed and refurbished original tooling for the aircraft. Production of new Tigers was planned to begin in April 1999, then it was pushed back to November 2000. At this time, there is no word on when completed airplanes may roll out.

New production is good news for fans of this virtuous single, which offers simplicity (that means low maintenance cost and reliability), good looks and performance thats among the best in its class-better, even, than some retractab…

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The 421 Golden Eagle stands at the head of Cessnas 400-series piston twins. Its roomy and relatively quiet, fast and efficient. Performance approaches that of some turboprops, but purchase and operating costs are considerably lower (though still considerable – they only look good when compared to propjets).

However, the 421 uses unusual geared engines that must be operated with care, and have seriously high overhaul costs.

History
The 421, which shares its basic airframe with most of the other 400-series Cessna twins, was introduced in 1968. Cessna aimed it at buyers who wanted better carrying capacity and performance than other piston twins offered, but who…

[IMGCAP(1)]Bush planes are a breed apart, with design criteria that are distinctly different from the average light airplane. A premium is placed on short-field capability and ruggedness, at the expense of speed, creature comfort and snappy handling. These airplanes are built to be routinely operated in environments considered hostile: short, rough strips, and low-level flight. Typical uses are pipeline patrol, ranch surveying and traffic spotting.

Airplanes like the Piper Super Cub, Maule and American Champion Scout are all intended to meet this mission. All are relatively old designs that have changed little over the years, but then this is mature technology: it works, so there’s no…

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Called the turbine 421, Baby Conquest, the baby carriage, entry-level turboprop and other diminutives, the 425 is in our book the best all-around businessman pilot-operated jetprop. Just be prepared to pay a price that extends far beyond initial purchase.

Cessna filled out its broad range of aircraft with turboprop models very late in the game. The company leapfrogged the category by going directly to jets early in the 1970s. Beech already largely owned the turboprop market by then, which may have affected the thinking of Cessna management.

History
The original Conquest, the Garrett TPE-331-8-powered 441, was introduced in 1977. The 425, originally dubbed Cors…

[IMGCAP(1)]If one where to liken the Beech line of airplanes to a human family, there would be considerable wonder about the parentage of the Sport and Sundowner. Its hard to believe at times that the same company that brought us the epitome of single-engine class in the form of the Bonanza and the dashing elan and good looks of the Baron could also make aircraft as dowdy, frumpy and ill-performing as the Sport and Sundowner. Yet, there they stand on ramps across America, bearing the Beech name.

At the same time, these aircraft represent a sort of shopping paradox for those in the market for a used aircraft. Sure, you can pick them up at pretty good prices these days. But will you be ab…

[IMGCAP(1)]If the Mooneys are at one end of the retractable spectrum (small inside, but very fast and efficient) the Beech Sierra surely must be at the other end (very comfortable, but awfully slow). When trying to describe the Sierra, words like sexy, good-looking, or speedy are not the ones that first leap to mind. Most would select adjectives more along the lines of dowdy, slow, and utilitarian, with a goodly measure of comfort thrown in. To be sure, no matter how you slice it, the Sierra will never be known for its mass appeal. Indeed, it might better be likened to an old woody wagon than to any sort of sports car.

And like the woody wagon, the Sierra has a certain appeal for those i…

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Despite an extremely rocky start in the late 70s, Cessnas top-of-the-line turboprop has recovered nicely and now commands a premium in the marketplace. The 441 Conquest/Conquest II stacks up very we’ll against the competition in an area of great interest to turboprop buyers: Performance.

History
In the aviation heyday of the 1970s, Cessna made a bold move by completely ignoring the fast-growing turboprop market (then populated by Beech, Mitsubishi and Rockwell, with Piper soon to arrive) by introducing the Citation fanjet. The idea was to leapfrog the competition and give the potential turboprop buyer the option of flying a real jet without having to jump up to…

[IMGCAP(1)]The 33 Bonanza is one of the few piston singles to survive the great general aviation slump of the 1980s. The quintessential doctor/lawyer single, it even outlived the previous archetype, the Model 35 V-tail Bonanza.

Owners love its flying qualities, performance, comfort and sturdy construction. However, they also have some words on the high cost of parts and maintenance, typical of Beech aircraft. Also, there are a few things to be careful of when operating a Bonanza.

History
Beech practically invented the modern retractable single just after WWII, when it introduced the original Bonanza. There was really no competition for it for years: in the late 1940s Cessna…

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Much is made of the resurgence of Cessna and Piper in recent years. Less-often acknowledged, however, is the fact that a number of airplanes either weathered the storm or returned to production several years ago. One of the latter is the Commander 114. With a small but steady level of production, Commander is evidently here to stay for the immediate future. Thats due at least in part to the deep-pocket backing enjoyed by Commander Aircraft. Much of the company is owned by interests in Kuwait, and a fair number of the new airplanes have been sold there.

The new Commander is several notches above the older version in terms of price, and to date about 120 have been built. Thu…