WIX Archives
Re: Some reflections...
Posted by Tom on Thu Feb 21, 2002 02:02:45 PM
In reply top Re: Some reflections... posted by Jim H on Thu Feb 21, 2002 12:35:50 PM
Ok I'll bite. C-47 sounds good but, sorry to put a dampener on things, but Mikael is right, servicing costs are very high in europe, I don't know what's it like in the US but I would think it's much cheaper. We run a C-47 out of Kemble, recently finished doing the annual and this can be VERY expensive, I'm talking in tens of thousands of pounds here. I have been working on the Dak with someone who has worked on them for years and also Catalinas (more expensive to run than a Dak, sorry Mikael), the engines will last much longer if they do long flights, they do not like takeoffs at all, the amount of plugs you go through is phenomenal! but short flights are the real killer. Don't forget the props, they were done on ours a year or so ago and it is another job that is not cheap. So really the more engines you have, the more outlay is needed. I'd opt for a trainer which you can easily get parts for so we're talking along the lines of T-6, YAK-11 or as Jim suggested a Beech 18 which would be much cheaper than a Dak. Lets do it!
Tom ;)