Caribbean flying
 

Currently fly an A36 without tip tanks(brand new IO550) and am about to spend a lot more time in the Caribbean island hopping. My question to the group is do I buy(and which type) a 337 or stay with the A36? Throw darts, give me a hard time, forewarn me....whatever....I'd like to hear it all.
Keith Sturgeon
Hick's Airfield
Saginaw Texas
817-991-4318

Hello Keith, I remember talking to you about the Fredericksburg flyin we did this year. Good to see you on the message board.

It's all about the mission that would justify a change in aircraft. You have given some profile in your message above so here are my thoughts. Nothing wrong with the A36, in fact I have talked to many Bo pilots and owners and understand the passion for such an aircraft. The performance of the A36, especially with the 550, is more than adequate for the mission given above. I can only imagine leveling at Flt Lvl 120 with your machine and watching the miles go by. Clean airframe, built for speed and efficiency has always tugged at my interests. I have so little Bo time, none as PIC, so this perception is only from reading and talking :)

Now, flying across the ocean, even the relatively short distances in the Caribbean, in a single engine airplane happens all day and every day. I haven't noticed reading daily reports about single engine planes dropping into the pacific ocean. But once you have experienced flying a multi-engine airplane over what can be, uncomfortable terrain and water, it is hard to ever feel right again in a single engine airplane. My uncomfortable terrain is mountainous, especially at night, IFR and night IFR, night VFR, Great Lakes summer or winter and oceans. But for those that haven't had the experience might just be fine flying a single engine in and over these scenario's. The greatest justification is "how many times have you had an engine failure in a single engine airplane"? I seem to see more pilot induced issues than mechanical issues. We need to know the airplane, know the maintenance and make smart decisions.

Would I fly a single engine out to the Bahamas, yes. If I know the airplane and know it's capabilities. Would I fly over Lake Michigan in February in a single engine? Again, it would depend on the airplane, it's capabilities and my comfort level for make the right decision. The Pilatus PC-12 is a single engine airplane. A Cessna 172 is a single engine airplane. I might have different comfort levels for those two aircraft. So back to your question, yes I think you would love a Skymaster. How could anyone not? It's a great airplane and offers a huge amount of comfort. It's roomier for you and your passengers. It has the redundancy that single engines do not have. At sea level the basic normal aspirated birds are very strong and fun to fly. It hauls almost anything you can stuff into the cabin. Has great range and flys stable as a rock. There is literally no CG issues unless you just load it with something stupid. Visibility is better that any other high wing out there. The military proved its built like a tank. My normal aspirated is very kind on maintenance and easy to work on. The rear engine accessory case is the only place that makes me cuss a little, the later model had an access door to help that issue but it didn't have a baggage door. There are just a lot of good about these planes and not much bad. People beat up the Continental IO-360 engines but I have had great success with mine. Fly it right and treat it right and they will go way beyond TBO. Would I like a different plane? Yes there are times that I would like a different plane. When I am at the gas pump and when I am at Flt Lvl 120 I want to see a higher TAS. But even flying to Fredericksburg last September I would have only saved 30 minutes or so over the Bo's speed. Mine burns 18 GPH ROP and trues at 154 kts. It's not so bad and gives me a lot of comfort.

I think the A36 would be just fine for your mission above but that second engine is nice when flying and all is good. Maintenance is going to be a little more and fuel burn might be a little higher or close to the same but you are probably going a little slower. The normal aspirated are the basic platform. If you get into the P model it's a different animal and I am sure there will be lots of opinions about the two. The P model is a much heavier airframe and doesn't really give much more speed unless you go real high. Takes a good amount of time to get up there but will perform better at high teens. The Riley converted are also nice as the all the systems have been updated but they are getting long in the tooth as the last one was converted in the late 90's. There still may be some good aircraft out there but be careful as there are some seldom flown Skymasters out there that will need some TLC. Those idle birds can be resurrected but just plan to spend about 20% or more of the purchase cost to get it comfortable in the air.

Lots and lots of good info on this message board. I encourage you to use the SEARCH feature to explore specifics and the second thread in this MESSAGES section has lots of info and opinions.

BTW, the Riverview Pilots are going to the Bahamas in March. Come join us and look over a couple of Skymasters that are attending.

Bahamas in March?
 

Herb, I hadn't read that some of you are going to the Bahamas in March. Let me know and I may join you in my "new" 1977 337G.

Ernie Martin

Bahamas in 2016
 

Thank you for you're advice and please keep me posted on the trip in March, we would like to attend.
Keith Sturgeon 817-991-4318 68bonanza@gmail.com

Hello Keith

If you are thinking about going you need to secure rooms now. We only have 4 rooms left on the second block of rooms. The properties will only hold the block until December 23. Let me know if you are serious about joining the group. www.riverviewairport.com
616-401-3637

I'm in the Bahamas now (MYLS) and these things are personal but the risk exposure is both objectively and subjectively reduced in a Skymaster and I would not do this very happily in a piston single.
There is enough risk already eg. build ups can happen quickly and the cells down here can be HUGE. Spent almost half an hour flying around one the day before yesterday. Also NEXRAD radar will show nothing because it does not go out this far. Satellite nexrad cloud coverage ends east and south of Puerto Rico which is not a bad surrogate in helping to get from a to b.
I like pressurization - often fly in the teens and my dog can't wear O2.
Off across the little pond to Bonaire tomorrow.

Back from Bonaire (TNCB) via Skymaster.
It was a bit of a mind game with no NEXRAD and no satellite images (lose Sirius XM somewhere north of the DR) and limited Coms at times.
re GA in Bonaire I would not recommend it. One thing is that you have to go to Curacao for AvGas if you want to top off before the trip north. Takes longer than you think.
More importantly is that as of Jan 1st the Bonaire Airport authority has decided to recoup it's airport lighting expenses by charging all corporately registered aircraft incl. GA acft (private use not withstanding) $2.28 per HOUR of tie down itime. So if you visit for ONE NIGHT the cost incl taxes/fees is approx $155. The gentleman I talked to implied may be extended to all GA acft.
If staying for a few weeks it might be cheaper to fly to Curacao and take a commercial shuttle.
The P337H performed without a hitch which was great.
Amazing how often people come up on the ramp and say how much they love
Skymasters.
Staying at the Stella Maris resort (by MYLS) was nice - recommend the shark dive with Robert, or any dive with Delbert.
Staying at Cape Santa Marie looks awesome - I couldn't stay there because of the pooch but the beach there is really beautiful.

On JamesC statement on his trip in the Caribbean that people often come up on the ramp and say how much they love Skymasters, my experiences there have been quite different.

I fly mostly to the Bahamas and for a while flew to most of the islands. The comments I often heard was "What is that?" or "What's the rear engine for?"

On the latter question, I developed two answers: "It's a spare" and "I use the front engine when I fly East, the rear one when I fly West". Half the time they bought it.

Ernie Martin

Two answers:
 

You are flying (over water/night/mountains) and hear a CLUNK...

Complete the following sentence: "I wish I was flying in a ___________"

---
A Skymaster pilot IFR over the mountains of Vermont in winter had an engine failure.

ATC asked, "Are you declaring an emergency?"

The pilot replied, "No, I'm declaring an inconvenience"

----

For years I commuted to the office www.potomac-airfield.com from Annapolis, MD

Because of the Class B around Washington DC, half my flight time was <1,500 ft at night.

Didn't think twice about it.

---
I have been going to outer banks for years now. Often low and scenic, often over water.

Sometimes high and fast... over water.

---

Although I don't OFTEN need the huge payload/room, when I do....

'Nuff said?

Riverview Pilots Flying Adventure - Bahamas 2016
 

Well, I did it. N2299X will be headed to Hicks airfield soon. 1965-6 C337
Keith Sturgeon

Congratulations Keith. There's something special about flying around the Caribbean especially in a Skymaster. Glad you got the chance.

Congratulations Keith. Just came back from Great Exuma in my P337. You will enjoy the Skymaster.