Piston Aircraft with 200 kts cruise?

[Fearless Tower]

Just curious as to what piston a/c will haul a family of 4 plus luggage and do at least 200 kts cruise.

I'm thinking:
AC 685
PA31 Navajo
C310
C340
PA46

Any others worth considering?

Of those that can do the job, any thoughts on best for overall cost/value(acquisition, maintenance, insurance...etc)?

This is a half pipe-dream half reality based question.

Right now, I'm thinking 310 is the best overall value and utility (if you get a good one). The AC 685 is my personal favorite for pax comfort, but I fear that it may have the highest operating cost.

FWIW, the 200 kts cruise requirement is a rough number I figured to make a Virginia to Arizona trip doable in one day.

Thoughts?

 

[Jim Logajan]

Just curious as to what piston a/c will haul a family of 4 plus luggage and do at least 200 kts cruise.

Maybe the Meyers 200?

 

[Jim Logajan]

Actually had to look that one up.....interesting...built in the 50s and early 60s and the airframe has apparently never had any ADs issued on it.

I had not heard of the Meyers 200 (also sold as the Aero Commander 200) either until I read "Odyssey - A Daring Transatlantic Journey" by Susan Oliver. In its day the plane was flown by a number of celebrities and set some speed records. It seems comparable to the Bonanza and the Bellanca Super Viking.

Ironically for the kind of distance involved you should probably be looking at long range tanks first and speed second. Fuel stops are the real time killer on long distance flights. Here is one article on the subject that addresses that point (and compares the economies of several fast airplanes, few of which seem to have the hauling capacity needed, though):

http://www.planeandpilotmag.com/air...he-need-for-speed.html?tmpl=component&print=1

 

[Jim Logajan]

As for the mission, KORF-KPHX is 1758nm. Given how my alertness noticeably drops after 9ish hours of flying in a day, I concur with the OP that 200 KTAS - Not mph, not kph, not marketing numbers, but TRUE airspeed - is a bare minimum.

The tough requirement is trying to travel ~1800 nm in one "day" with a family. Being willing to split the trip into, say, one "full" 8 hour flight time day and one 4 hour "half" day drops the speed requirement down to around 150 kts for that distance. (Or 9 and 3, or 6 and 6, or whatever makes sense for that trip. Me, I'd just spend two days of 6 hours in the air trying to fly that distance in a 150 kt plane.)

Since HP requirement is proportional to the cube of the speed (and energy/fuel costs are proportional to the square of the speed) given the same drag coefficients, one should be careful with speed requirements.

Even at 200 kts you are looking at 9 hours of flying (vs 12 hours at 150 kts.) Add in time to travel to and from airports, fueling, loading, preflight, and fuel, food, and bathroom stops, and could have an infinitely fast airplane and still take three or more hours to make that trip from your house door!

Since the OP (like most such people who ponder these things) is somehow surviving without a 200 kt airplane, the question is what aspect of an overnight stay somewhere along the way makes that a complete non-starter?