AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - June 2013 - 90

P&E

DOGFIGHT

Single supremacy

Twinosaurus? Not extinct yet

Continued from page 89

Continued from page 89

safety advantages, but neither has advanced
beyond the proof-of-concept stage. The kit
AirCam is a unique aerial platform and a
joy to fly on land or water, but it’s meant
for exploration and recreation rather than
transportation.
At a time of painful fuel prices, piston
twins are anachronisms—and the open
market judges them harshly. New Barons
and Seneca Vs are produced in extremely
low volume. And the value of a used single-engine Bonanza often surpasses that of
twin-engine Barons of the same model year.
Until a piston twin can do what twin
turboprops have long done (namely, climb
at max gross weight on one engine), piston
twins will be increasingly marginalized,
sidelined, and overshadowed by singles that
fly at similar speeds and altitudes with far
greater efficiency and reliability.
AOPA

400 as jaw-dropping examples. And the
complex, hard-working engines in those
airplanes likely won’t last too long, making
engine reserve costs on par with a normally
aspirated twin.
Are twins “double trouble”? With two
of everything, it must be a hangar queen,
right? I remember canceling a trip—once.
In 1991, the left engine wouldn’t start.
A bad magneto was to blame. So, in 23
years of partnering on this old Baron I had
one cancellation and it was attributed to
poor preventative magneto maintenance
on our part. “Unreliable” definitely does
not apply here.
Then there are the creature comforts.
Twins have baggage compartments in the
nose or in nacelle lockers, so your passengers don’t feel like they’re riding in
a third-world airliner. And let’s just face
the fact that passengers are reassured
when they see two propellers rather
than one. Finally, the higher weight and

DAVE HIRSCHMAN is a multiengine instruc-

tor and single- and multiengine ATP.

wing loading provide a smoother ride in
turbulence.
For the serious IFR pilot, it doesn’t get
much better than having a twin: You’ve got
the performance on tap for hot, high, and
heavy operations; the useful load to carry
radar and boots; the power to climb into the
upper teens to avoid ice or get on top; and
there’s two of everything, especially another
engine to carry you to an airport rather than
a random corn field—or worse.
Finally, there’s the cool factor. Twins
look cool, sound awesome, and convey that
you’ve achieved a sort of pinnacle of aircraft ownership and advanced pilot status.
They are an absolute hoot to fly with all of
that power on tap in your fist. And in today’s
depressed market, the money you save buying a twin over a single will allow you to buy
thousands of gallons of avgas.
AOPA
PETE BEDELL is a pilot for a major airline

and co-owner of a Beechcraft Baron D55.

IV
http://www.TheAviators.tv http://www.TheAviators.tv
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - June 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - June 2013
