Thanks for the replies. I’m meeting with the other main partner and the management company today so it helps. The extra cost is somewhat offset by the shorter flight times, but the calculus of 1 versus 2 engines has definitely been in the discussion. We had pulled the trigger on a plane 3 years ago and right at the same time we had a guy we know and his family die in a small plane crash, the partner on this plane went down in a field due to catastrophic engine failure, and another client went off a runway and totaled his plane all in a couple of weeks time. We backed out really because our wives just got real uncomfortable with it.
With the management program and the engine programs that we would be part of now, the concern is less but the safety factor also is still there. I’m a fairly young guy with two teenage kids, so upping my risk factor substantially to save a few dollars isn’t that important. However, everything I’ve seen on the TBM is that it is about as safe as you can get for a single engine.
I think the TBM will serve my needs, but may limit the number of people I fly and where I fly. I’m not sure about sitting in a tight 4 seater for a 700 mile flight. That’s probably more than I’m going to be interested in doing, but they may still be the case with the CJ1.