Budget Buy: Proven bird
Piper Archer
Put a Cessna Skyhawk and a Piper Archer wing tip to—OK, let’s separate them better than that—but in a race an Archer easily wins without whipping its engine. Not only that, but there is a cool factor involved. The Archer is a low-wing aircraft, so it looks more like an airliner. When Piper added overhead switches, that sealed the deal when it comes to imitating a Transport aircraft. There’s the boring practical side to low-wing aircraft as well, meaning crosswinds can’t get under the wing as easily as a trusty Cessna 172. The Archer name came in 1974 when the Cherokee Challenger, formerly the Cherokee 180, became the Archer.
Whom to contact
Piper Owner Society, N7528 Aanstad Road, Iola, Wisconsin 54945; 800-331-0038 ext. 116; e-mail [email protected]
THE REAL WORLD
Houman Mizani is manager of Universal Air Academy in El Monte, California, which operates four Piper Archer II aircraft. The school, with 40 to 50 students, loves its Archers. Archers don’t burn a lot of gas, need only routine maintenance, and are easy to fly, Mizana said. The school doesn’t pay a hangar fee on each airplane, but if it did, then total operating expense counting gas, oil, insurance, maintenance, and engine fund would average $90 to $95 an hour. It pays $80 to $85 an hour and uses the aircraft heavily. “They are not too complicated, not too expensive, easy to operate, and not too fast for the new pilot. We tell new pilots to buy something like the Archer or Cessna 172 as their first airplane,” Mizani said. Watch out for that engine overhaul, though. He said buying a high-time Archer close to an engine overhaul means you’ll have a $25,000 to $30,000 bill when it comes due. He keeps maintenance costs low due to the requirement for the flight school to do 100-hour inspections. They are not the easiest airplane to enter and exit, and that means over time, the right front seat can be damaged—especially if it is stepped on. (That would be especially true for Archers used as trainers.) Also be careful about buying one with older avionics. Can you still get parts? Overall, he said the Archer is reliable, great for flight training, and has few problems. “We’re really happy with them,” he said. “They’ve been around 40 or 50 years and it’s proven technology.”
Email [email protected]
Vref value
Vref, the AOPA partner offering aircraft value estimates, suggests a base value for the Piper Archer of $44,000 for a 1976 model (the oldest listed), $53,000 for a 1980 model, and $115,000 for a 2000 model. Compare that to the 2014 valuation of $295,000.
Recent advertised prices
Listed in Trade-A-Plane at the time this was written were 22 Archers that meet the “buget buy” range of $40,000 to $70,000. Four were in the $60,000 price range and were built from the late ’70s to the early 1980s, 11 were in the $50,000 range and were built in the mid- to late 1970s, and seven were in the $40,000 range and built in the early ’70s.
Insurance costs
AOPA Insurance Services estimates a $40,000 to $60,000 Piper Archer flown by a low-time pilot will cost from $600 to $750 per year to insure. The AOPA Insurance agent said the Archer, like the 172, is among the least expensive to insure.
How many in the fleet?
AIRPAC PlaneBase shows an FAA-registered fleet of 2,422 Piper Archer aircraft.
Financing
AOPA Finance estimates $300 per month for a $40,000 loan at 6.5 percent with 15 percent down. A $60,000 loan requires 15 percent down with a 15-year term at 5.5 percent with payments of $415 per month.
Airworthiness directives
Nothing serious.
Biggest plus
Speed!
Biggest minus
Ever try to get in one? Or out of one?
Things to watch out for
Sometimes you’ll find the right front seat broken because people step on it to enter the airplane.
What else to consider
Cessna 172, Grumman American Tiger, Beechcraft Musketeer
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