Types of Business Aircraft

Types of Business Aircraft

As a follow up to our previous blog, we’ve assembled some basic information on the two major types of business aircraft: jets and turboprops. We’ll save helicopters  for another post because, as you might imagine, they are very different. 

You don’t have to look long to recognize that there is a wide variety of aircraft available today; our goal at V1 Management is to match one to your needs. Though there is no one aircraft that is perfect for all missions, generally, most owners buy a particular aircraft because it meets the majority of their missions (an approximate 80% match rate). Below, we discuss the different categories of business aircraft, focusing on turboprops and jets. Keep in mind, everyone in the aircraft world speaks in knots and nautical miles (1 knot = 1.15 mph and 1 nautical mile = 1.15 statute miles).

TURBOPROPS

A turboprop will seat 5 to 9 passengers and fly at speeds ranging from 240-310 knots. Acquisition costs for a turboprop can range from $600,000 to $6,000,000. Annual operating costs for 200 flight hours with one professional pilot will range from $50,000 a year to $450,000. 

Turboprops are great for trips ranging from 300 to 1000 nautical miles. Modern turboprops are extraordinarily reliable and may be operated in all types of weather conditions. Turboprops have some key advantages over jets, particularly the very light and light jet category discussed later. Turboprops also have lower operating costs than jets, have the ability to carry a full load of passengers and luggage for most of their standard mission trips of 500 to 1,400 nautical miles, are less expensive to maintain over jets and have the ability to takeoff and land at some of the smallest airports. Their disadvantages include louder cabin noise levels than jets, slightly more vibration from the props and engines, and slower cruise speeds than jets. Turboprops can be operated single pilot, while many jets require a crew of two.

There have been many manufacturers of twin engine turboprops in the past, but only two twin engine corporate turboprops are currently being manufactured, Beechcraft King Airs and Avanti Piaggios. The King Air line of aircraft manufactured by Beechcraft is the most popular model line of twin turboprops in production today. They have larger cabins than the very light and light categories of jets discussed below. They are also the most common and come in three main body styles, the C90, the B200 and 350. The models become larger and faster as you move up the line from the C90 to the 350. The B200 is one of the most popular business aircraft ever built.

There are three very popular models of single engine turboprops, the Socata TBM, the Pilatus PC-12 and the Piper Meridian. These aircraft are particularly economical to operate compared to the twin-engine models because they have only one engine. Single engine turboprops use less fuel, and the repair and overhaul costs are generally half of the twin turboprops. Nevertheless, single turboprop economics should be balanced with the safety factor of having two engines in the King Air and other twin turboprops.

JETS

For purposes of discussion here, we will divide jets into 5 categories: 1) very light jets; 2) light jets; 3) medium jets; 4) and heavy jets.

Very Light: There are two very light twin jets currently in production, the Cessna Mustang and the Embraer Phenom 100, with many more in the works, including a few single engine jets. They can be purchased for between $2,100,000 and $3,700,000. They seat a maximum of 5 passengers and 1 pilot, but are more practically flown with 4 passengers. Their range is 800 to 1,500 nautical miles, depending on load, and they fly from 340 to 380 knots. Annual operating expenses are slightly more than turboprops. They are generally flown with one pilot.

Light Jets: Light jets generally carry 5 to 7 passengers, cruise 350 to 460 knots and can fly 800 to 1,500 nautical miles. Because light jets have been produced since 1974, the price range for a light jet varies from less than $600,000 for an older model to around $8,000,000 for the newest, most fuel efficient. Annual operating expenses are generally 30% more than turboprops. Among the light jets are the Citation CJ1, Citation CJ2, Citation CJ3, Citation CJ4, Citation I, Citation II, Citation V, Citation Encore, Citation Ultra, Beechcraft Premier I and Beechcraft Hawker 400XP.

Medium Jets: Medium jets generally seat from 6 to 8 passengers and can fly 1,800 to 2,900 nautical miles. There are quite a wide variety of manufactures and models in this category. Speeds vary from 430 to 465 knots. Prices range from $800,000 for older models to around $15,000,000 for the newest. Annual operating costs can run in excess of $1,000,000 per year. Medium jets include the Lear 45, Lear 60, Hawker 800 series, Gulfstream 150, Gulfstream 200, Astra, Citation Excel, Citation XLS, Citation VII, Citation X, Falcon 10, Falcon 20, Falcon 50, and Saberliners.

Heavy Jets: Heavy jets can carry 8 to 14 passengers and have ranges from 3,000 to 7,000 nautical miles. Speeds vary from 445 to 525 knots. Prices vary from less than $500,000 for the old and less fuel-efficient aircraft, to over $50,000,000 for the newest. The annual operating expenses for jets in this category easily top $1,500,000. Heavy Jets include the Challenger 600 series, Gulfstream II, III, IV, V, 350, 450, 550, Bombardier Global, Falcon 900 series, Falcon 2000 series, and Falcon 7X.

Acquisition Costs

A critical question for every client is "What can I afford?" As you can imagine, the cost of a jet or turboprop varies widely depending on year of manufacture, avionics, amount of hours on the engines and airframe, quality of the paint and interior, whether the engines are on an engine maintenance plan, and the maintenance history and the timing and scope of any major upcoming mechanical inspections. When determining your needs and variable costs, speak with an industry professional; brokers are particularly helpful with these calculations.

As a service to all potential buyers and sellers, V1 Management is pleased to offer a chart summarizing the key characteristics of common jet, turboprop and helicopter aircraft, such as speed, range, cabin size and hourly costs. It can be found on our website at www.v1management.com.