by Elliot Zeltzer, Owner-Pilot
Lately, it occurs to me, what a long strange trip it’s been.”
– Jerry Garcia (“Truckin” by Grateful Dead)
In the Beginning
In 1963, my father had a customer who was in the home building business. He offered my father a ride in his airplane and took us to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (KDTW) – way before it was a major airline hub. I don’t recall most of the trip, but I remember the ride was in either a Piper Apache or Aztec.
Fast forward to 1974, and I started my college experience at Western Michigan University. In the first term, I joined the Sky Broncos flight club and changed my major from business to aviation technology. By graduation, I had accumulated my commercial, instrument, multi-engine, flight instructor and a degree in aviation and business. I then experienced a fork in the road for my career, spending five years in the right seat building time, hoping for an airline job but also perusing a career in modern IT.
After college graduation, I moved back to the metro Detroit area. I continued to flight instruct but job demands made that difficult. I flew many different aircraft: 177RG, T210, P210, Aztec, Seneca, C340A and the C421C (the “King” of piston twins). And in 2008, I bought my first aircraft, a 1976 Cessna 421C! I did a complete avionics overhaul (Aspen 2500c glass panel), new paint, and added two firewall forward engines. The 421C was a good partner for me and my family’s travel needs.
Career Part Deux
In 2014, I got my “Ph.D.” in aviation – my ATP – and a few years later, retired from the IT industry. I needed to find something to keep me occupied, so one of my colleagues who operates an aircraft management service asked me to be a contract pilot for him. I joined his organization and flew King Airs, Citations and Pilatus’s. Skywest then contacted me to join their organization. I spent about two weeks of my life with Skywest to realize that this was an ego trip at my age, and I wanted no part of flying 1,000 hours a year.
I found a better fit at Corporate Eagle Management Services, a Part 91K fractional operator based at KPTK. Today, I am a captain flying King Airs and Hawkers. Training is an integral part of this organization – we train every six months, not unlike the airlines. I believe the high level of training is one of the key elements that will allow me to safely operate my next personal aircraft…
New Aircraft Selection
Planning for the completion of a long aviation experience.
In the meantime, we (the family) put thousands of hours on the 421, and it was the bedrock of our family travels. In the extended time it took me to sell the airplane, I embarked on a detailed examination of the next best aircraft for our family’s mission and needs.
In my search, I applied an IT practice for technology acquisition: “Fit for purpose.” Since this was most likely going to be my last aircraft, it needed to be the right choice to meet our mission needs and budget. Contrary to the fantasy/reality TV show “Selling Jets,” I was not interested in the “shiny ball of glitz.”
First, this aircraft had to be a turbine. This was driven by two criteria: 1) Avgas and its availability and price will continue to be a challenge; 2) Our mission profile is based on about an 800-mile radius and very often traversed by the Appalachians in all seasons. The 421C is a great aircraft and served me well, but I need to operate in the higher flight levels. In addition, the 3.5 to 4-hour legs were becoming a drag. This brings us to my calculated conclusion.
My Latest (And Likely Last) Aircraft
A jet…who would have thought!
The very thought of owning a turbine originally was out of reach. What changed? The sustainability and longevity of older general aviation turbine aircraft. Much of the GA turbine fleet has no life limit if properly maintained. The pressure on the aircraft manufacturers to sell new aircraft drove good performing aircraft to the bottom of the economic scale. Fuel efficiency and the newer airplane smell depressed the purchase price of many good turbine aircraft into my acquisition range.
I looked at twin turboprops (no single engine for me) first and concluded while they met the first requirement, they did not meet the performance needs of flight in the higher flight levels. Secondly, they had better speed than the 421C but did not significantly reduce the leg time. Lastly, the acquisition price for many of the mainstream turboprops remained quite high (i.e., King Air and Conquest I and II). In comparing the cost of operating the turboprop and maintenance, another choice was obvious.
This is where our industry colleague Dick Karl and his wisdom come into play. While we share similar paths of going from a technical career to retiring in a flying job, I chose a significantly different aircraft as my first foray into turbine ownership.
I selected the Cessna 500 series (501, 550, S550, 560) to evaluate my needs. I began with the 501 and quickly moved on due to limited range and performance. I entertained the Citation II (550) because the later Bravo and Ultra/V were late models holding their higher prices. I explored the Citation S550. It was originally developed for the military ergo the TKS wing deice versus boots. It married the Citation Ultra/V wing on the 550 fuselage and updated the engines to PW JT15D-4B. This created a 400-knot 1,900-mile aircraft with a service ceiling in the low 40s. I have TKS experience flying the Hawkers and can honestly say they are as effective as boots and are a reliable method to remove ice from the airframe. Yes, I would agree that fuel consumption is higher than many turboprops and new jets, but at the lower acquisition cost of this aircraft, I can buy a lot of jet fuel.
This aircraft/airframe/engine combination is one of the most popular and supported around. Service centers and maintenance facilities are widespread over this country. The likelihood of getting stuck somewhere without a repair facility is minimal. The Citation 500 series has a comprehensive maintenance program that consists of five phases that are basically calendar year driven. The fifth phase is a detailed and in-depth inspection that really opens the entire aircraft up inside and out. It is required every 3 years. But wait, have you heard about Richard Bacon and the Bacon Aviation low-utilization inspection program? This FAA-approved program extends the inspections for Phase 1-4 to every three years and the Phase 5 to every six years. The key is that you are limited to 200 hours per year. So, I selected a Cessna S550 with about 800 to 1,000 hours left on the engines and the Bacon maintenance program. Based on my expected 10 to 15 years of flying, the operating costs compare very favorably to a turboprop with jet performance and comfort – quite a deal.
This brings us to the final element of the aircraft acquisition – the “better half!” My wife of more than 34 years, a family physician by training (now since retired), has been my flying partner. While we have used our C421C as an integral part of our family travels, she was the hardest part of the sale. She rightly liked the cabin comfort of the C421C and, on first blush, was not a fan of the Citation cabin. However, the journey to convincing her was aided by my mentor Neil Meyer who had flown Citations for 30 years. His conversations about ease of flying, the significant safety enhancements built into a Part 25 aircraft, and the “magic carpet ride” made this aircraft a solid choice.
My wife is now ready to move forward to our next phase of aircraft ownership and travel. The performance and range opens us to locations not available to us before. My oldest son lives on the West Coast, and that trip is well within our new mission profile. From a safety perspective, it appears I will be going to three training events per year (two for my employer and one for personal). This high level of training has had a positive impact on my insurance cost. My underwriter is insuring me as a single pilot endorsed crew at a very reasonable price. This is quite amazing in this day and age of increasing insurance costs.
Epilogue
As it stands today, I have purchased a Cessna Citation S550 from Central
Flying Service in Little Rock, Arkansas. They are a remarkable organization that has treated me in a first-class way. They are currently performing the pre-buy inspections (full Phase 1-5) and my avionics upgrade to dual Garmin 750s. By the time this article is published, I expect to have the aircraft out of the shop and beginning our new journey in jet ownership.
In summary, I think we approached this aircraft with an objective criterion that will meet our flying needs, mission and costs until the end of my flying career. Who would have thought – a jet!