Adam private jets

What Adam Aircraft built

The idea behind the A500 was a small twin that is easier to fly than the usual ones. Its two Continental TSIO-550E engines of 350 hp sit on the fuselage centreline: one pulls a propeller at the nose, the other pushes one at the rear, and two booms carry the tail. If an engine stops, the aircraft does not swing to one side, as a twin with engines on the wings does.

The A500 figures are published data for the type. The hourly rate is our price model for a piston twin of this size; an offer for the A500 itself, if one is free, can differ.

Why an A500 is hard to charter

Passenger charter needs an operator with an AOC, and most A500s belong to private owners. With the manufacturer gone there is no factory support, so parts and maintenance depend on a few workshops that know the type. For an operator that is a serious hurdle, and offers for this exact aircraft come up very rarely in Europe.

Clients who ask for an Adam A500 usually want two engines, a cabin for up to five and a modest price. These common types from Piper, Beechcraft and Daher give that:

Trips that suit a small piston twin

Thanks to its pressurised cabin the A500 can climb above part of the cloud and turbulence, which unpressurised twins cannot. Toilet and galley depend on the individual aircraft, and the payload is small. In practice this class works for legs of up to about two hours with two to four people:

• business hops such as Munich - Prague or Vienna - Budapest, out and back on the same day
• island flights such as London Farnborough - Jersey or Nice - Calvi
• lake and Riviera trips such as Zurich - Lugano or Geneva - Cannes
• short sea crossings such as Larnaca - Antalya or Nice - Olbia

Longer legs, five people with suitcases or a fixed meeting time in winter call for a turboprop or a light jet. As twins, the A500, the Seneca and the Navajo are not bound by the EU limits on single-engine aircraft flying passengers at night or in cloud, but in icing a small piston aircraft without approved de-icing stays on the ground.

What a flight in this class costs

The tables give EUR 1,000 per flight hour for the A500 class and the Seneca. The Navajo costs EUR 1,300 per hour, and the King Air 90 and the TBM 940 cost EUR 2,000, always for the whole aircraft with pilot and fuel. The block below lists the hourly floors for turboprops and jets; small piston twins cost less than the turboprop floor.

Business jet price per flight hour

Heavy Jets from EUR 8,300 / hour

Light Jets from EUR 3,200 / hour

Ultra Long Range Jets from EUR 12,000 / hour

Super Midsize Jets from EUR 6,300 / hour

Very Light Jets from EUR 2,500 / hour

Long Range Jets from EUR 9,800 / hour

Midsize Jets from EUR 4,500 / hour

Turboprops from EUR 2,000 / hour

Flight time alone does not set the price of a short leg. Each quote carries the operator's minimum charge, the flight from the aircraft's base and the fees of both airports, so Zurich - Lugano takes 0:55 h and costs from EUR 4,000, four times the hourly rate. On Madrid - Palma, 1:52 h from EUR 5,000, the fixed part weighs less.

The A500 prices below are model calculations for a piston twin of its size. The type is rarely offered, so the quote you receive may well be for a Seneca, a Navajo or another aircraft of the same class.

A500 class, one way

Types we quote instead

What goes into a quote:

• flight time at the hourly rate, with the pilot and fuel
• positioning, if the nearest free aircraft is based in another city
• landing, parking and handling fees, higher at Nice and Geneva in season
• passenger taxes in the countries that charge them, such as France, Italy and the UK
• the pilot's hotel if the aircraft waits overnight for the return

Paying less and Empty Legs

• Name the size of aircraft rather than the model: a free Seneca or Navajo nearby costs less than bringing an A500 from far away
• Fly out and back on the same day within the pilot's duty time, so no hotel or second positioning is charged
• Leave a few hours of flexibility, so the trip can be linked with another flight
• Travel light: on a small piston twin, weight decides how much fuel goes on board

Empty Legs on the A500 itself practically never appear. On other small twins and turboprops they come up now and then, mostly on returns from the islands and the Riviera, and can be 40-65 % below a normal charter. The operator fixes the date and route and may cancel the leg if the aircraft is sold for a full trip.

Booking the flight

For a quote we need:

• route, date and time, and if you return on the same day
• the number of passengers and the weight of their bags
• whether a pressurised cabin matters to you
• whether a Seneca, a Navajo or a turboprop is acceptable if no A500 is free

Each offer names the type, the operator and the year of the aircraft. Before the flight you sign a contract with the price, the payment terms and the operator's cancellation rules.

Why ask us about an Adam A500

We say plainly when an A500 is out of reach on your date and send the nearest twin or turboprop that does the same job, with its cabin, payload and approvals checked. You get a firm option instead of waiting for an aircraft that may not be available.

European Private Jets has 14 years in business aviation, 11 people in offices in Cyprus, Nice, Hamburg and Geneva and access to about 6,500 aircraft through operators. Call +357 96407410 or write to private@jets.flights; requests are accepted 24/7.

Our team

Charlotte McKinney

Commercial Director

charlotte.m@jets.flights

Henry Richter

Head of Aviation Department and Data Protection Officer

henry.r@jets.flights

Emma Miller

Director of Development

emma.m@jets.flights

Liam Bishop

Senior Aviation Consultant

liam.b@jets.flights

Oliver Davis

Aviation Consultant

oliver.d@jets.flights

Anna Laurent

Aviation Consultant

anna.l@jets.flights

Questions about the Adam A500

• • Can I charter an Adam A500?

  • Only if an owner flies it under an operator's AOC, and with seven aircraft built such an offer is very rare. We check for one and quote a Seneca, a Navajo or a turboprop at the same time.

• • How much does a flight in this class cost?

  • Zurich - Lugano costs from EUR 4,000 and Madrid - Palma from EUR 5,000 for the whole aircraft one way, with pilot and fuel. Fees, taxes and any positioning flight are extra.

• • Is the AdamJet A500 a jet?

  • No. It has two piston engines driving propellers, one at the nose and one at the tail. The jet version, the A700, never entered series production.

• • How many passengers can fly?

  • There are five passenger seats, but with full tanks only about 120 kg remain for people and bags. If all five seats are filled, only fuel for a short hop fits within the weight limit.

• • Why does a one-hour flight cost four times the hourly rate?

  • The operator's minimum charge, the flight from the aircraft's base and the airport fees are the same on every leg. On a longer flight they are spread over more hours.

• • Which aircraft is closest to the A500?

  • The King Air 90, because it is a pressurised twin with a similar number of seats. For a lower price the Seneca or the Navajo do the same trips without pressurisation.

• • Are there Empty Legs on the A500?

  • Practically none. Other small twins and turboprops have them now and then, at 40-65 % below a normal charter, on the date and route the operator sets.