turbine single otter vs cessna caravan amphibian

[LE8]

Pros and cons and which one works best in terms of acquiring one and utilizing as a commuter.

Which one would you use if your run was 2 hours or less , comfort, etc.
I'm assuming the otter costs more to operate hourly as well.

Thanks in advance for any opinions and info.

[180]

Is the Otter amphib as well? Are you commuting from hard field to wet one? How long is the runway and the lake/waterway?

I've flown both on straight floats (sorry, no amphib experience) and the Caravan is way faster (160 vs 125), was more "slick" inside (we had nice plush high back leather seats) and the ventilation was amazing so even on a 30C+ day, it almost felt air conditioned. If I had a distance run with no limitations as far as runway length, or choppy seas, tight bays, Id choose the Caravan.

Now if take off and landing distance were limited, or you were going to be dealing with choppy water (swells) or you were dealing with a high alpine style lake on one end, I'd sacrifice the speed and comfort for the Otter's performance.

Basically, speed wing vs STOL wing decision.

[Idriveplane]

If takeoff distance isnt an issue I'd take the Van. Like said, much faster and comfortable. Passengers love it. Biggest peave are the seats, installing/removing them and they take up space. So say if you have to drop off a bunch of freight someplace and pickup 9 passengers on the other end, your gonna lose some cabin room to hauling the seats with ya. Otter has more cubic feet inside to haul awkward loads. But I've flown some of those in a van, including a 6 cyl diesel genset and a 2200 lb spool of fiberoptic cable on a stand to get laid across a lake. That being said, I'd really consider the Van with the new Wipline 8750's. Get the straight floats and you have an otter killer in speed and payload, just dont expect to get out of minnow lakes...

[esp803]

Well, I've flown a Garret Baby Van on Wip8000's, a Garret Otter on some form of Edo float and more recently a Grand Caravan EX on Wip8750 Amphibs.

If you want performance, go with a garret powered something, make sure it's the -12. Both the Caravan and the Otter are amazing performers with the Garret. Yes the Otter will go into and out of smaller, but the Caravan spanks it in climb performance, speed, cost per mile. payload wise the otter can carry more than the baby, but not by much given the caravans speed. payload space is a tough one, the otter can fit 16' lumber, the baby van can't, however the baby van is a dream for plywood compared to the otter, thanks to the larger door. Comfort wise for Pax, I'd say the caravan has the edge.

The EX, so far as been a relatively good performer, comfortable for passengers, fast, a bit of a fuel hog. On amphibs with 12 leather passenger seats, no boots or TKS, single point refuelling, and AC, they weigh in quite high, and do not have an amazing useful load. The new floats are a dream compared to the 8000's: they have solid spreader bars so no need to tighten screws EVERY night, they have twist on/off quick access pannels for EVERY compartment, they handle much better on the water, the ass end doesn't sit under water when at full gross and aft loaded.

They are all great float planes in my opinion, but none are the masters of everything. I'd say over all I liked the Garret Caravan, but the Otter is MUCH nicer to fly.

Feel free to PM for more

E

[piperdriver]

Well, I've flown a Garret Baby Van on Wip8000's, a Garret Otter on some form of Edo float and more recently a Grand Caravan EX on Wip8750 Amphibs.

If you want performance, go with a garret powered something, make sure it's the -12. Both the Caravan and the Otter are amazing performers with the Garret. Yes the Otter will go into and out of smaller, but the Caravan spanks it in climb performance, speed, cost per mile. payload wise the otter can carry more than the baby, but not by much given the caravans speed. payload space is a tough one, the otter can fit 16' lumber, the baby van can't, however the baby van is a dream for plywood compared to the otter, thanks to the larger door. Comfort wise for Pax, I'd say the caravan has the edge.

The EX, so far as been a relatively good performer, comfortable for passengers, fast, a bit of a fuel hog. On amphibs with 12 leather passenger seats, no boots or TKS, single point refuelling, and AC, they weigh in quite high, and do not have an amazing useful load. The new floats are a dream compared to the 8000's: they have solid spreader bars so no need to tighten screws EVERY night, they have twist on/off quick access pannels for EVERY compartment, they handle much better on the water, the ass end doesn't sit under water when at full gross and aft loaded.

They are all great float planes in my opinion, but none are the masters of everything. I'd say over all I liked the Garret Caravan, but the Otter is MUCH nicer to fly.

Feel free to PM for moreE

What is the difference between the -10 and the -12?

[PointyEngine]

The -12 is flat rated, and has higher thermodynamic limits in comparison to the -10, therefore you can pull takeoff power when hotter and higher. From memory, the -10/-11 are max rated at 1,000SHP, while the -12 can push out 1,100SHP. These crazy Frankenstein (but cool) Vans and Otters are flat rated, but have the ability to use all the juice if need be.