Piston aircraft are one of the categories Chicago Private Jets arranges most often out of Chicagoland, typically 3 to 9 passengers, published ranges from 730 to 1,480 nautical miles. Which one suits your trip comes down to the passenger count, the baggage, the distance and the performance at both airports on the day.
Piston aircraft We Arrange
Typical Aircraft
The working types in this category are Beech Baron 58, Beechcraft Baron G58, Cessna 340, Cirrus SR-22, Piper Aerostar 600, Piper Cherokee Six PA-32, Piper Navajo / Cheyenne, Piper PA-23 Aztec and Piper Saratoga PA-32R.
When This Category Fits a Chicago Trip
Piston aircraft cover the shortest Midwest trips, where the distance is well under an hour and the field at the far end is too small for anything larger. Two to five seats, and the economics only work over short legs.
Within the category the aircraft differ more than the label suggests. Cabin size, baggage volume and published range all vary across the 9 types listed above, and the right one for your trip depends on how many are traveling and what is traveling with them. Send us the details and we will narrow it down rather than leave you to compare specifications.
Tower hours vary a great deal across the Chicago-area fields, and several of the smaller ones close in the evening, which is worth checking before a late return. Whether a particular aircraft can use a particular airport on your date is the operator’s performance calculation for that aircraft, that weight and that day, and your advisor will confirm it before anything is booked.
Talk to an Advisor
Tell us the route, the dates and who is traveling, and we will come back with the aircraft that fit and a realistic estimate. Call +1-888-987-5387 at any hour, or use our contact page. You can see the full range on our aircraft overview, and read how we vet operators on the safety page.
Vetting Behind Every Trip
Every operator, aircraft, and crew goes through our internal due diligence before we present any options. Our internal standards meet or exceed what the FAA requires:
- FAR Part 135 charter operators for traditional private aircraft, or FAR Part 121 for airliner-size and group trips (or the foreign equivalent on international legs)
- Operator subscription to Wyvern and ARGUS reviewed where the operator participates.
- Pilot experience and operator incident history reviewed before we recommend an aircraft.
- Fewer than 60 brokers worldwide hold Premium Wyvern Broker Member status, and Air Charter Advisors is one of them.
Chicago-Specific Patterns We Plan Around
Two things decide more trips here than anything else. De-icing season runs from roughly November through March and affects departure timing, ramp availability and cost across the Chicago-area fields. Customs is the other: Midway is an international airport of entry and DuPage clears on the field around the clock, while Chicago Executive and Waukegan run a weekday afternoon window with prior notice, and Chicago Executive has no weekend clearance at all. A weekend arrival into Waukegan has to be requested before the end of Friday afternoon. Gary has a general aviation CBP facility on the field.
Contact
For a quote on a Chicago charter, send us the details through our contact page, or speak to an advisor on +1-888-987-5387. How we check operators, crews and insurance is set out on our safety page, and the full aircraft gallery covers the remaining categories. The National Business Aviation Association sets the broader operating standards we work within.