Texas Aircraft Expo

This weekend I stopped by the Texas Aircraft Expo at Addison Airport. Okay, I’ll be honest, I stopped by on Friday but you get the idea. Held at ExecHangar, several manufacturers were represented and a wide variety of aircraft were on display. Everything from the SportCruiser to the Cessna Mustang were available to be examined up close.

One thing people need to understand about airplanes is that one size doesn’t fit all. If you normally fly trips of 400nm, you may occasionally have a trip that is 600nm. That doesn’t mean that you have to buy a plane that can cover 600nm non-stop. If the 400nm airplane is a better value, you’d save more by making the odd fuel stop for a long trip. It all comes down to smart scaling for your needs.

Below are a few of the aircraft that were on display.

Eclipse 500. Can cruise up to 1000nm at speeds over 300 knots.

 

Starting around $3.3 million, the Cessna Mustang cruises around 340 knots and similarly ranges around 1000nm.

 

Garmin EFIS dominates the panel with standby gauges and A/P controls at the top of the glareshield.

A great short field utility aircraft that seats 10 and can be converted to a jump plane, floatplane, or cargo ship.

Another turboprop 10 seater, the time tested Caravan is enhanced in the EX version. With a nearly 3600lb useful load, this aircraft can serve a variety of purposes.

 

Even the Husky has embraced glass panels as evidenced by this Garmin setup.

 

As you can see, there are a lot of aircraft out there to serve the needs of your business. Most if not all of these aircraft are available through shares or fractional ownership. The advantages of this arrangement are having maintenance and overhaul costs included in the monthly rates.