need feedback on Piper 6x or 6xt with glass cockpit

DavidBDavidB
in General Discussion
I sold my Archer and am now looking for my "last plane". So far, have flown the SR22, Diamond, G36, and Piper 6X with G1000. After being a Piper guy my whole life, I have to admit the G36 is tighter and more finely crafted than the 6X, but it cost more and will cost more to maintain. Would appreciate any feedback on the G36 vs the 6X. I know the G36 is retract. I prefer the non-retract but Bo doesn't have one. My mission is mostly west coast under 10,000, 4 passengers about 20% of the time, usually within 500 miles of SoCal.

Comments

  • JoeBJoeB
    Look at the cabin and baggage spaces and envision how you'll use them. The Bo has very little baggage space - mostly it has to ride with the passengers somehow. The PA32 has two baggage compartments - one behind the cabin and one in the nose. You can stuff a lot in!

    The Bo also has a reputation for taking some care to get CG right. The CG moves substantially as you burn off fuel so you can start off a flight properly loaded and move out of the CG envelope later. With those two widely spaced baggage compartments the PA32 gives you lots of control over CG.

    If you want to carry 4 passengers in either of these aircraft you NEED to get the empty weight of each plane you're looking at and do the math to see if it can carry your passengers plus any expected luggage. Our PA32 is a perfect plane for our 5-place family.

    Sorry I can't comment on those glass thingies - my airplane still runs on steam.
  • bigandybigandy
    DavidB - I concur with Joe's comments. I too have a PA-32 series plane, a Cherokee 6/300.

    I offer up another consideration:
    Find the airframe that you like - then simply upgrade it to get it to the level that you desire.

    One of my flying friends bought a 1991 Beech A36 - this had 'classical' instrumentation (steam gauges) and a reasonable interior. The owner then invested in a Garmin G500, coupled to a Garmin GNS530 and 430, and then used the existing King 140 autopilot. I have flown this 'mini-airliner' and was really impressed by the end result. However, in terms of space and payload, my Cherokee Six is more capable than this A36 - at the sacrifice of speed. He also has synthetic vision and weather integrated in the cockpit too.

    If you have honed in on the '36 models and the 6Xs - I would seriously consider a slightly older '36 model or 6X and upgrade it with a Garmin G500 or Aspen EFD1000 glass system. The Aspen products have the upcoming ability to be integrated with 3rd party instrumentation, such as the JPI engine monitors, and also with ForeFlight running on your iPad.
    From what I understand, the 6X/6XT models that were produced with the Avidyne glass panels did not offer synthetic vision. I think Avidyne only offered these options for the PA46 installation - check with Avidyne!

    So - what about an older Piper 6X was initially offered with classical gauges - for example:
    (although this is a 6XT) http://www.trade-a-plane.com/detail/Single+Engine+Piston/2003/Piper/6XTC/1519325.html
    Then upgrade it with the Aspen or Garmin and have the option of Synthetic vision and weather?

    One last point - you can put a PA32 on floats or skis - you can't with a '36!
  • flyguydonflyguydon
    You might consider a Lance or some other retract. Piper retracts are very reliable. They go faster and they get better fuel economy. My Arrow is faster and gets better economy on trips than did my Warrior. You can do whatever you want with the panel.
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