Twin Bonanza ???

[Skydive2 1]

does anyone have any experience operation an twin bo? How many gallons per load/per hour? how many loads to 10k per hour. I'm looking at one for a tandem machine...no more than 4 tandems (8 per load)

[cloudwlking 1]

Buy a 2nd one for parts/maitanance!!

[sundevil777 102]

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Buy a 2nd one for parts/maitanance!!

That might still be a good deal overall.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[muff528 3]

Maybe Cliff at Skydive Tampa Bay can help. They operated one in the 1990s. Contact info is at the "Dropzone" button at the top of the page. Kinda cramped and small door but as a jumper I liked it well enough.

[chuckakers 425]

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does anyone have any experience operation an twin bo? How many gallons per load/per hour? how many loads to 10k per hour. I'm looking at one for a tandem machine...no more than 4 tandems (8 per load)

Probably almost as cheap to buy a couple 182's or 206's and you won't have the Twin Bo hassle factor. T-Bones are maintenance heavy gas hogs that are cheap to buy but eventually costly to fly and keep in the air relative to other planes.

A 2 Cessna combo means never flying a T-Bone for the inevitable single tandem. It also means still having a plane in operation when one breaks down.

But what do I know?

Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

[KCJumper 0]

We just put a twin-bo online at SkydiveKC. Give Chris there a call and he could help answer some questions.

[davelepka 4]

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does anyone have any experience operation an twin bo? How many gallons per load/per hour? how many loads to 10k per hour. I'm looking at one for a tandem machine...no more than 4 tandems (8 per load)

I have about 1000 jumps out of one. It's loud, and the door is kind of small. We used to run two loads per hour, which included time to shut down and refuel inbetween every load. I think carrying enough fuel for two loads plus reserves ate too much into the useful load, and slowed down the climb for the first load, so they just kept it light with fuel for one.

Overall, a piston twin with retractable gear is going to be a maintenance problem. You're talking about cycling the gear ten times per day, and climbing hard for 75% of each flight. Chuck is right, a pair of 182s is the way to go. You can turn just as many tandems, but you can also run just one plane when you can get by turning 4 tandems per hour.

The advatages go on, from being able to keep flying when a plane goes down, to being able to stagger maintenance calls so while one plane is in for an annual or 100-hour, you still have the other one flying jumpers. It's also easier to run your operation, becasue you'll have 4 loads flying per hour compared to two. Your packers and instructors will have an easier time as they're not all trying to make the same two loads every hour.

Worst case scenario, you can sell one if the business slows down, but still be able to service the customers you do have.

Do I even need to mention the pilot issue? It's not tough to find a 182 pilot, and in terms of jump planes, it's hard to find an easier plane to fly. None of the above can be said for the Twin Bo.

There's a reason that Twin Bo's are so cheap, it's because you need a pile of money left over after you buy them just to run the thing. That said, I still think they're cool as hell, and would love to jump one again, but none of that has any effect on their practicality.