Budget Buy: Moving van

It initially was only $3,000 more, and it outsold the lower-powered model. The 300-horsepower model squeaks into the “budget” category, but prices are similar. If you are really watching the budget, then the 260-horsepower model is the way to go. Either way, you have a payload after filling the tanks of about 1,000 pounds. It can haul but not fly fast, given that it can’t retract its gear, with the 300-horsepower model making 145 knots true airspeed and the 260-horsepower model in the 135- to 139-knot range.

THE REAL WORLD

Richard Park of Park Properties Management Company in Charlottesville, Virginia, wanted to carry his wife and two teenage daughters—plus two dogs—to destinations around Virginia, as well as to Oshkosh each year. After a four-year hunt he settled on a 1966 300-horsepower fuel-injected Cherokee Six that had been refurbished in California and featured on the cover of Pipers Magazine in 1999.

Get one that already has the equipment and avionics you want onboard. That’s his biggest tip to those shopping among the Cherokee Sixes on the market. Watch out for club seating in Cherokee Sixes that are not eligible for it. Park’s is, but he hasn’t had the middle row installed for two years. Look at the wing skin on top of the main landing gear to see if there are cracks around the rivet holes, Park advises. He’s no fan of fiberglass engine cowlings and had a fitting on the exhaust pipe get loose and vibrate a hole through the cowling. Older repairs had been done with the wrong kind of resin. It took 150 hours of labor to fix it. His annual inspection is $3,500. His top hourly cost estimate including hangar ($250 a month); low taxes (local governments think a 1966 airplane isn’t worth anything); an engine reserve; gas; oil; insurance; maintenance; and flying 80 hours a year is $225. If you are coming from aircraft that like to float on landings, such as a Cessna 172, remember the Cherokee Six is different. “They kind of fly like an anvil,” Park said. He has installed vortex generators for low-speed handling. “When you pull the power back, you better be real close to the ground.”

Whom to contact
Piper Owner Society, N7528 Aanstad Road, Iola, Wisconsin 54945; 800-331-0038 ext. 116; email [email protected]