Budget Buy: It's complex
Piper Arrow
The engine is either 180 horsepower or 200 horsepower, and it has either a normal tail or a T tail (that encourages overrotation on takeoff). More than 3,000 are registered and, when this article was written, more than 50 were for sale on Trade-A-Plane alone. One of the issues early in the aircraft’s life was misuse of the automatic gear-extension system. Since it doesn’t float on landing, fly it to the runway with power. Keep it at a higher altitude in cruise because it doesn’t glide very far. Early models with the Continental turbocharged engine had engine problems, but there have been few reports of trouble in recent years.
THE REAL WORLD
Bruce and Robin Hulsart of Dover, Tennessee, use their 180-horsepower 1967 Piper Arrow strictly for transportation. The destination is usually their home on Kentucky Lake, seven miles south of the Kentucky border. The airplane recently received a new engine, propeller, paint, and interior. Bruce Hulsart estimates he has $90,000 total in the aircraft and could sell it for about that. Following all the restoration, he found he still has to repair a fuel seepage problem from metal wing joints.
Hulsart has seen Arrow prices from $40,000 to $90,000. He downsized from a Piper Aztec to his 135-knots Arrow. Is it underpowered at 180 horsepower? “You get used to it,” Hulsart said. The automatic gear extension is still hooked up, and he leaves it active. “If you slow down enough to activate the automatic gear extension, you are behind the airplane,” he said. One way to tell the age of the airplane is to look at the fiberglass wing tips and see if the material shows through. Hulsart estimates the total operating cost—including engine fund, maintenance, gas, and oil—is $120 an hour. “It’s docile. There is nothing dangerous about the airplane,” he said. Robin, also a pilot, warns buyers to make sure the door closes securely. The top of the door has been known to open in flight.
Email [email protected]
Whom to contact
Piper Owner Society, N7528 Aanstad Road, Iola, Wisconsin, 54945; 715-445-5000 ext. 152 or 800-331-0038; www.piperowner.org; e-mail [email protected]. Email is the best contact method.
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