Need to Haul about 850lbs - 3 adults and 3 children about 400-500 NM's

RC

Hi Everyone:

I'm deciding on which plane to buy with a specific max mission. I have three children, one of whom is disabled and has a nurse, as well as a collapsable wheelchair. That's 6 with my wife. I'm looking to haul everyone plus luggage, and calc comes out to just under 850lbs. I'm looking for a 3 hour range with reserves, since having kids will probably limit them to that amount of time without a rest stop anyway. Mostly paved runways although perhaps a couple of gravel and really well groomed grass. Some altitude as well in the Northeast (Vermont). Without going turboprop, it looks like the choice is rather limited to the big 6, or 6X, 6XT, Cessna 206, although I have a friend with a Turbo Normalized Bonanza G36 and he swears by the increase to 4000lbs gross which he says gives him just under 1300 usable (not sure I believe it). I've thought of others (dehaviland DHC2) or something to that effect. Essentially I need a big hauler that will fulfill the mission, and is hopefully not a complete bore when I'm flying by myself. Thanks everyone.

Ed2

Well, you need a 6 seater, so atleast a Cherokee 6-300 (nonretract), next would be a Lance or Saratoga which you could get in a turbo or non. Or a Seneca II or III would give you a little extra room for storage and load for a 3 hr trip. I have had a Beechcraft Sierra (comparable with an Arrow with a little more useful), 231 Mooney (close to 1000 useful) and now fly a Seneca II. The room and useful load for a family is fantastic. I flight plan for 165 kts and 20 gph @ 55 % power. Good luck.

RC

Thanks Ed2 very helpful. Trying to keep it as a single if I can swing it. Do you know if there are upgrades to a Saratoga IITC that would increase the useful? They have them in the Bonanzas, like Turbo Alley, but haven't found anyone that would do them for the Saratogas. I prefer a retractable for speed since going 145k in a 6 is a bit slow. I know earlier Togas would have a higher gross, but with all the avionics, AC now a days they much lower useful. Anyway, thanks for the help.

JoeB

Unfortunately there are no mods to increase the gross weight of any of the PA32 airframe.

See this attached pdf for specs on all the different PA32 models. You'll see that the standard empty weight goes up with time. Some of that is just the factory getting more realistic. But the early models generally came with fewer options and will hold more as a result. You still have to check the actual empty weight on each airframe you look at, though. Note, also, that these planes can carry a *lot* of gas. You can leave 30 gallons behind (200 pounds) and still fly a comfortable 3-hour flight with reserves.

If you continue to look at turbos, in the pre-1994 airframes you really want one with the intercooler mod. Those engines run hot without the intercooler. Piper revamped the cowling in 94 and fixed the airflow, so the later ones are OK without intercoolers.

IMO the "sweet spot" in the line is the straight-tail Lance. It carries just as much as my fixed-gear Toga but goes faster because it can pick up its feet.

RC

Thanks Joe. Looking at several of the straight tail Lances on www.controller.com, you can probably find one that's been nicely refurbished on the inside and had some glass panel avionics. It's a matter of patience, but per the chart the Lance makes a big difference and can certainly fit the mission per these specs. Thank you.