****1/3 FRactional share available****

The aircraft ownership was transferred into a new LLC. Each LLC member owns  their representative percentage share (ie: 33 1/3%) and will be able to sell their share at any point in the future without approval from other owners. 

Partners are able to block off time for aircraft use using an online calendar. The rules can be as flexible or as rigid as the owners would like (guaranteed days of availability, availability swapping, etc) .  With only 3 owners, there really shouldn't ever be any schedule conflicts that can't be easily resolved.  A benefit of multiple owners in an aircraft with 8 seats is trip sharing, ie: combining travel plans/trips for cost savings.

The aircraft is insured for part 91 (private) use and the annual premium is approximately $12,000.

I (Jack) will be available to fly the aircraft as a contract pilot on a daily rate.  Other MU2 pilots, chosen and approved by me will also be added to the insurance and will be available to fly the aircraft on a daily rate.  If the owners decide, jointly, that it is preferable to have a full time pilot in their employment, that is certainly an option.  

I will personally ensure that any pilot that is hired to fly this aircraft is properly trained and checked out by me.  One advantage of  the MU2 is that it has very rigorous training requirements- not just any pilot can fly this aircraft, and in fact, the FAA requires the equivalent of a jet type rating to fly it.  So you can rest assured that anybody that operates this aircraft will be well trained and safe.

The aircrafrt was recently used for a part 135 charter operation, and therefore meets all commercial maintenance standards, including 100 hour, 200 hour, and 600 hour inspections, plus propeller and engine overhauls, hot section inspections, tires, brakes, avionics, etc.  The previous owner spent just under $150,000 installing an entirely new Garmin glass cockpit avionics suite, and the aircraft paint and interior have been recently refurbished (meaning new paint and interior).  

I will stay involved for the first year of ownership, and act as your aircraft manager, and ensure that everything is taken care of on schedule.  The only repetitive inspections necessary at this time are 100 hour or annual inspections, whichever comes first.  

One outstanding feature of the MU2 is that there are no repetitive phase inspections like the ones typically required for many jets and other turboprops.  Everybody's heard the stories of a few buddies that go out and buy a used Citation or Lear Jet, only to find out at the end of the first year that they've had to spend $200-400k on mandatory inspections. (A friend of mine just spent $90k on a fuel pump for his Lear Jet)!  With the MU2, it's only the annual or 100 hour inspection, whichever comes first.

300-340 MPH at up to 28,000 feet. The plane can typically fly about 750-900 nautical miles comfortably (2.5-3 hours), with a slightly longer or shorter range depending on winds aloft.  

The Marquise is one of the most capable and rugged turboprops ever built.  It was basically built to military standards and has a dispatch reliability rate that far exceeds other aircraft in its class.  It can operate out of short 3000 runways, and can even comfortably operate on dirt, grass, or gravel.

With full fuel, it has an outstanding available payload of just under 1500 lbs.  That means, with full fuel you can still put six or seven adults in the cabin, plus their baggage. Filling an aircraft's fuel tanks and seats at the same time is typically unheard of with private aircraft in this class.

The plane does have a porta-potty in the back with a privacy curtain for those longer flights.

In one word:  Extremely.  The FAA mandated special pilot training for this aircraft back in the 90s due to the fact that it is more similar to a jet than to other twin-prop airplanes.  Since then, the safety rate of the MU2 has been among the highest of all turboprops, typically the best on the list when you look at the accident rate per year for more than 20 years.

The word "turboprop" means that the aircraft uses turbine (jet) engines which drive a propeller through a gearbox.  Turbine engines are EXTREMELY safe and reliable.  That's why you see so many Pilatus turboprops flying around with just one engine, even over the ocean.

Additionally, the aircraft has state of the art radar, TCAS (traffic collision avoidance system), TAWS (Terrain Awareness and Warning System) Synthetic Vision, dual GPS, and a high quality autopilot.

In a nutshell, I tell people to expect $700-$800 per hour, plus a pilot rate.

The fixed hourly costs to operate this aircraft are typically as follows:

Fuel: 70-90 gallons per hour, at $4-$6/gallon.  In remote places like the Bahamas, you will pay more.  In S. Florida, you'll be in the lower, $4.50 range.  So figure $375 per hour as an average.

Maintenance reserves: $225/hr.  This is the 100 hour inspection cost divided by 100, plus unexpected parts and repairs.   Long-time MU2 owners say if you budget $225 per hour, you will be fine, and my experience mirrors that.

Engine overhaul:  Fortunately, under part 91 (private) use, we are allowed to use Hot Section Inspections, and IRAN (Inspect and repair as necessary).  These can cost as little as $20,000 or as much as $100,000.  The aircraft currently has approximately 1000 hours remaining until the next HSIs are due.  At the very highest end, at $200,000, that works out to $200 per hour.  On the low end, in the $50,000 range, you'd be looking at $48 per hour.  

Let's add it up:

Fuel $375

MX reserve: $225

HSI reserve: $50-$200

Total: $650-$800 per hour

Fixed annual expenses are around $21k per year, and include:

Garmin database updates

Jeppessen instrument chart updates

Foreflight (flight planning subscription) annual fees

Insurance (est $12k/yr)

Monthly parking (est $8k/yr)

So, $7k per partner, per year.

Facility fees, ramp fees, landing fees, customs fees:  these are all airport-specific and are paid on a per-flight basis.

When you factor in the convenience, flexibility, ability to fly anywhere, anytime, and then you compare to fractional programs, jet cards, or charter, this is the perfect way to ease into the  private aircraft lifestyle without a large and risky financial commitment.

Fortunately, the Marquise is the absolute least expensive turbine aircraft to operate and maintain compared to any and all twin-engine turboprops or light jets.  Nothing else even comes close.

If you have previous commercial (part 121 or 135) or military experience, and meet insurance minimums, sure.  Minimums for insurance will typically  be 2500 TT, 500 multi-engine, and at least 100 Turbine PIC.   This is a commercial-level aircraft to be flown by a commercially-rated, experienced pilot.

The value of turboprops such as this is expected to remain steady, +/- 15%.  I don't anticipate any major drop in value for a properly maintained aircraft such as this.  In fact, every year the fleet shrinks in size, leading to supply/demand pressure that keeps the value high.

Keep in mind, a new Turboprop today with similar capabilities will cost you over 7 MILLION DOLLARS (a King Air 250).  This is not a typo.  A new King Air doesn't do a single thing this aircraft can't do, except fly longer distances without refueling.

COST and FLEXIBILITY

Typical fractional programs offered by most companies require an initial outlay of several hundred thousand dollars, potentially into the millions, and still require hourly fees in the range of $2500-$5000+.

Think about that- you spend $500k to get a 1/16th share of a light jet, then you still have to fork out $2500-$4000 per hour every time you use it.  

Or you can buy a jet-card such as those offered by Netjets.  A 50 hour midsize jet block of time in a Cessna Sovereign costs $700,000 (which works out to $14,000 per flight hour)

The last option is charter:  If you were to charter a light jet or turboprop between Miami and San Juan, it would cost you between $25,000 and $40,000!  In your MU2, you can operate this trip for around $4k each way (3.5 hours X $800= $2800 + Pilot day rate:  $1200)

Lastly, consider flexibility.  What if you take the plane to Grand Cayman or Nashville for the weekend, and you decide to stay an extra couple of days?  Or you wake up one day and decide you need to be in Atlanta for a business meeting by noon?  That kind of flexibility just isn't available with charter or fractional programs. They'd like you to think it is, but in reality, you're going to incur a lot of stress and/or change and cancelation fees for this kind of flexibilty.

First, I love airplanes.  Ever since my mom bought me a Cessna pilot center discovery flight for my 10th birthday, I was hooked for life.

In addition to my commercial flying experience, which spans over 28 years, I have also owned an aircraft brokerage company, a flight school,  two part 135 FAA certificated air charter companies, and multiple aircraft, including piston singles, light piston twins, turboprops, and a jet. 

Three years ago I had a nice exit from a business my wife and I had built, and I decided to buy another aircraft for our own personal use.  After doing a thorough analysis of every aircraft out there under a million dollars, the Mitsubishi MU2 was the obvious choice.  When you look at the capabilities of this aircraft, the initial acquisition cost, and the ongoing cost of ownership, there is simply nothing else that comes close in this price range.  

I'm sure this Q&A has left you with many more questions.  I am available 24/7 for phone calls, text chats, or further aviation discussion over coffee or dinner anytime, so get in touch, and let's get the conversation going.

My cell:  305-733-9101

email: jack@prsol.co

The aircraft is available to see in Ft. Lauderdale at W Aviation.   I'm happy to meetup and show it to you anytime.