While there is no such thing as a cheap airplane, recent surveys of the GA market, including the diverse listings on AircraftForSale, reveal a number of models with prices that make them approachable. In some cases their prices are lower than pilots might expect and represent good values while in others the low “cost of entry” might lead to expensive maintenance costs.

• READ MORE: Sleuthing To Find the Right Airplane

Here’s a look at some of the models that offer a lot of performance at relatively low prices and some of the factors that might lead to higher and lower prices in today’s market.

Piper PA-24-250 Comanche

We often find many PA-24s on the market, and while their prices vary widely, typically between $75,000 and $150,000, they tend to be inexpensive compared with some other high-performance, four-seat retractables such as Beechcraft Bonanzas and Cessna 210s. Part of the reason might be that even the newest Comanches are more than 50 years old, as Piper ended production after a flood at the company’s Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, factory in 1972 damaged the PA-24 assembly line.

• READ MORE: Is It Better to Buy Your Last Airplane First?

Do not let the aircraft’s advanced years deter you, though, as a well-kept PA-24 can be a good traveling aircraft and a joy to own and fly. If the Piper does not quite suit you, the Beechcraft V-tail Bonanza can be a surprisingly economical alternative. 

Cessna 140

Shoppers can find nice examples of this classic Cessna two-seat taildragger for less than $40,000, though freshly restored versions might fetch more.

These small, lightweight, and relatively slow aircraft are better suited to short hops to nearby airports for lunch or fly-ins than long-distance travel, however, you can take longer trips in them if you are not in a rush. In most cases they will still get you there faster than a car.

The same goes for most of the Cessna’s vintage contemporaries, including Luscombe 8s, Taylorcrafts, and Aeronca Champs, which will perform the same antique-aircraft missions as the 140 similarly low prices.

Piper Lance

Pilots looking for a six-seat, single-engine family airplane on a budget face an uphill journey. Often the first model that comes to mind is the Beechcraft A36 Bonanza, but powerful demand has driven prices beyond many shoppers’ limits.

The Cessna 210 Centurion is another option, but their prices too have risen out of reach. Piper’s Saratoga is similarly steep, but its predecessors, the Lance and Turbo Lance, typically offer six-place cabin space at prices between $100,000 and $200,000 but often lower than $150,000. The turbo models give pilots the option of flying at higher altitudes than practical in most naturally aspirated singles. The Lance’s roomy cabin gives it the feel of an airborne SUV, which many passengers like.

Beechcraft C23 Sundowner

Beechcraft’s four-seat, low-wing trainers and personal utility aircraft, including the Musketeer, Sundowner and Sierra, were late to the lower-cost airplane party and could not match the sales of category rivals such as the Cessna 172 and Piper PA-28.

Today many buyers are giving the Beechcrafts another look, and some have found the rather obscure machines have features that set them apart from the Pipers and Cessnas in a positive way. More spacious cabins and better fit and finish give the model a higher-quality feel. Many prefer the 180 hp Sundowner to the lower-powered Musketeer and the more powerful and complex Sierra because of its combination of performance and price—often less than $50,000.

Mooney M20

Speaking of 180 hp airplanes, the long-running Mooney M20 series includes many models that used such modest power output to outrun aircraft with larger, more powerful engines, all while sipping less than 10 gallons per hour.

The basic model was on sale for decades, so there are a lot of them in circulation, and it seems that there is always a decent selection on the market. Those built in the 1960s and ’70s often cost less than $100,000 and provide a solid, economical path to aircraft ownership for pilots who want a good cross-country airplane. The type also has an active and supportive owners’ group that can make having a so-called orphan aircraft less daunting.

Cessna 310

Some part of me has longed for a Cessna 310 since childhood, and I still love its looks, whether we are talking about an early straight-tail “tuna tank” version or the later, long-nose R models that I spotted over my elementary school’s playground during the 1970s.

I can still make the case for one, because when it comes to getting a lot of airplane for the money, the light twin market is fertile ground as long as buyers do their homework, arrange thorough prebuy inspections (a rule for any aircraft purchase) and realize that the cost of ownership might be considerably higher than the cost of acquisition. I have seen many 310s lately for less than $150,000—sometimes much less. At such prices the buyer can find one with lower-time engines but will almost certainly have to deal with shortcomings like older avionics, dull paint, or worn interior. If you come across a combination that suits you, though, you could enjoy many years of cross-country bliss.

The post Finding Your Ideal Aircraft: Today’s Market Is Pricey, but Potential Bargains Abound appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Among the best at turning out new aircraft quickly and on a budget was Piper, which evolved its 1960 PA-28-140 into a range of models from basic trainers to high-performance and complex machines. In 1965 the company stretched the four-place PA-28 into the six-seat PA-32 initially known as the Cherokee Six, designed to be a sort of fixed-gear flying station wagon for growing families with lots of baggage.

Using the same fuselage and wing, Piper next developed the twin-engine PA-34 Seneca. The use of recycled materials clearly was helping the company in its mission to respond to pilots’ varied needs.

Developing a Six-Seater

By the mid-’70s, Piper wanted an airplane to compete with more-capable six-seaters like the Beechcraft A36 Bonanza and Cessna 210 Centurion. The company turned to the PA-32 design. All it really needed to do was modify the airframe for retractable gear. The resulting PA-32R Lance went on sale for the 1976 model year.

• READ MORE: Beechcraft A36 Bonanza vs. Bonanza V-tails

Over the next 30-plus years, the Lance continued to develop, sprouting a T-tail to become the Lance II and offering turbocharging as the Turbo Lance II. In 1980 the conventional tail returned, but the aircraft’s signature constant-chord “Hershey bar” wing had a new shape, with an attractive outboard taper. Its marketing name also changed to Saratoga, which the company produced, on and off, through 2008.

The PA-32 remains a popular model on the used market for the same reasons that made it a hit decades ago. For many people, it strikes the right balance of load-carrying utility, comfort, and speed. It is also stable and easy to fly. Pilots who trained in smaller Pipers will find the larger Lance and Saratoga familiar and comforting, but the design also has features that may convince high-wing pilots to give low-wing flying a try.

A Varied Market

Perhaps the most attractive thing about the PA-32 today is the number of versions available and the wide range of prices. Early “straight-tail” Lances generally come in under $200,000, and Lance IIs can also be bargains, in part because their T-tail design received poor reviews for pitch response—and many pilots simply dislike their looks.

The T-tail turbos also gained a reputation for running hot and other problems, but those tend to have been worked out on the aircraft that are still flying today.

While many pilots avoid the early turbo models, the Lances also have a following. They can be a good option for pilots seeking increased speed over long distances at higher altitudes. As usual, the mission influences our choice of aircraft, and some missions can be very specific.

Jim Barrett, a photographer who regularly shoots gorgeous air-to-air images of aircraft for FLYING, said he seriously considered buying a T-tail Lance several years ago, mainly because the horizontal stabilizer would cause less visual interference when shooting pictures with the airplane’s side doors removed. To Barrett, the tail on traditional aircraft is always in the way. Working around it is a perennial problem for aerial photographers.

Saratoga Moves Upmarket

Most potential PA-32 buyers prefer the standard tail and are therefore happy that Piper returned to that design when it rolled out the Saratoga SP in 1980. The new longer, tapered wing improved the aircraft’s appearance and performance by most accounts while a range of upgrades, including cabin appointments and cockpit equipment, meant buyers viewed the Saratoga as a cut above the Lance.

Saratogas are all over the map pricewise, but the nice ones are expensive, and the newest models from the 2000s typically land in the $300,000-to-$500,000range. The surge in used-aircraft pricing over the last few years seems to have affected Saratogas more than some other types, with even earlier models commanding surprisingly high prices. This could reflect the fact that many people regard them as aviation’s version of the large SUV, with three rows of seats and a wide cabin that families love.

Most PA-32s have club seating that makes it easier for passengers to converse, or for nonflying parents or older siblings to keep small children entertained. The aircraft has front and rear baggage compartments, which significantly ease loading for proper weight and balance. For passengers, the extra space means you can bring more stuff. Another feature that passengers appreciate is the left-side, double-door entry into the cabin. The opening is huge and appears to have been designed as a passenger door, not a cargo hatch that people can crawl through.

“It’s a great airplane for carrying passengers, which is how I fly much of the time,” said Michael Teiger, a retired physician with 3,200 flight hours who keeps his Saratoga at Brainard Airport (KHFD) in Hartford, Connecticut. His is a classic case of the machine matching the mission. He flies regularly between Hartford and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts (KMVY), and said his 1986 Saratoga, a fixed-gear version, has been a steady, reliable transport and a good instrument platform.

Bill Gennaro, a friend based at my home airport in Sussex, New Jersey (KFWN), owned a Saratoga for many years while his sons were growing up and recalled how it brought a degree of ease to long family trips.

“It was a Chevy Suburban with wings,” Gennaro said. He also described its handling as somewhat truck-like, not “harmonious” or “fluid” or other adjectives people often use when talking about their favorite high-performance aircraft. However, when it came to traveling with a family and lots of gear, the Saratoga was a winner.

“I wasn’t looking to bore holes in the sky,” Gennaro said. “It was just a great traveling airplane. You could basically set the autopilot, put your feet up and know you would get there soon.”

Which One Is for You?

While many shoppers will be able to find Lances with affordable purchase prices, they will need to look deeper into the ownership equation to determine which aircraft best suits their budget and mission. Saratogas cost more but might offer features that make them a better buy for certain pilots based on how they plan to use the aircraft. Because year-to-year model changes were few, most variations among different vintages of PA-32 are slight. Powered from the beginning by a 300 hp Lycoming IO-540, the PA-32 did not vary much in performance during its decades on the market.

Most owners say their aircraft cruises at a true 150 to155 knots. Piper continued to make fixed-gear Saratogas as well, which cruise about 10 knots slower. Newer models reportedly consume less fuel but do not fly any faster. Turbos can cruise in the 170s but are still considered slow for the category. Pilots generally do not buy PA-32s for speed.

Short-field operations in most cases are not part of their repertoire, either. Indeed—my instructor, Rich Bartlett, who flew a late-model Saratoga for several years, said the only downside of the design is that it “uses a lot of runway.” I recall a particular summer departure from Sussex with five on board.

I watched the takeoff run from the ramp, about halfway down the runway. All seemed well, and the airplane certainly looked like it had reached rotation speed as it lifted off and floated briefly in ground effect before settling back onto the pavement. For a moment, the airport’s 3,500-foot runway appeared that it might not be sufficient, but after another 100 feet or so they were off and climbing normally.

Focusing On Useful Load

Other than price, useful load can be the most notable difference between early Lances and later Saratogas. A Lance could carry more than 1,600 pounds, and overtime that figure generally decreased to just more than 1,100 for the last years of the Saratoga. Owners often talk about this downward trend in lifting capacity as a factor that influenced their buying decision.

“I think the Saratogas lost some of their useful load over time as Piper added more luxury features and equipment,” said Craig Barnett, owner of Scheme Designers, a Cresskill, New Jersey, company that designs paint schemes for aircraft and other vehicles.

Barnett moved from a Cessna 177RG Cardinal to a 1978 straight-tail Lance in the late 1990s, mainly because he wanted a bigger cabin and a boost in useful load to accommodate his growing family more comfortably on long trips. He also used the airplane to travel to trade shows and wanted more space to carry his displays. About the only complaint he had with the Lance was that it seemed like it should be faster given its 300 hp.

“When you are taking off, you feel the power. You know it’s there,” he said. However, the resulting acceleration and speed are always slightly disappointing. “You can tell the airplane is trying to get out of its own way, but it can’t quite do it.”

There was one other minor squawk with the Lance: its appearance. Barnett has spent his career obsessing over aesthetics and crisp, beautiful designs—areas in which the Lance comes up short, especially with its wide body and older-style Hershey-bar wing. “It was the chunkiest airplane I had ever gotten my hands on at the time. Not pretty, but it had what I needed,” he said.

Today, Barnett flies a Cirrus SR22 which, he said, has an embarrassingly low useful load compared with his old Lance. But the Cirrus is beautiful, he said, and his mission has changed. That said, few come on the market—even though Piper built 1,940 Lances and 1,621 Saratogas. Aircraft For Sale listed two Saratogas at the time of this writing—one 1994 Saratoga PA-32-301 with1,085 total airframe hours listed for $289,000, and one 1994 Saratoga SP with 1,952 hours total time was on the market for $319,500. For our sample table, we surveyed a total of 24 Saratogas and 13 Lances on the market at press time, with a fluctuating number for sale. So keep a careful watch if either mount suits your mission.

A Considerable Portion of the Business…

“What are you gonna to do with an outfit that has the audacity to compare its six-place, single-engine, 300-horsepower, high performance retractable with a couple of classics like the Centurion and the A36 Bonanza, when the airplane in question cruises at least 10 to 15 knots more slowly?” asked FLYING editor Robert B. Parke in his feature on the Piper Lance II in the June 1978 issue. “Well, for one thing, if you’re Cessna or Beech, you’d better keep your eye on this upstart; for in spite of its lower speed, the new Piper Lance II is walking away with a comfortable chunk of the six-place business.”

“Whatever you may think about the Lance II’s lack of svelteness, you must raise a few huzzahs for the gallant efforts made to give the airplane a look of distinction. The paint schemes are pleasing, and the new T-tail suggests a revolutionary change in the basic design.”

This article first appeared in the August 2023/Issue 940 print edition of FLYING.

The post Air Compare: Piper Lance vs. Saratoga appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Today’s Top Pick is a 1976 Piper PA-32R-300 Lance.

A longtime PA-32-300 owner once told me he was so confident in his aircraft’s stability and reliability that he could turn on the autopilot, put his feet up, and take a nap. As is true with a lot of hangar talk, this was an exaggeration. He would never do such a thing. However, the message was clear: This airplane is easy to fly, travel in, and live with. It was comfortable as well, with a wide cabin and lots of windows that endear the PA-32 to passengers.

The retractable Lance evolved from the fixed-gear Cherokee Six, a utilitarian six-seater aimed at giving pilots more room for carrying their families, friends, and baggage than the two-place and four-place Pipers in which they might have trained. When pilots began looking for extra speed in addition to extra space, Piper added retracts and a few other tweaks to boost the airplane’s performance. The popular airframe continued as the Saratoga until 2009. 

This 1976 Lance has 4,027 hours on the airframe, 2,368 hours since overhaul on its Lycoming IO-540 engine, and 248 since overhaul on its Hartzell propeller. The panel includes a Garmin GNS 430 nav/com, King KX-155 nav/com, King KMA 20 audio panel, KN 62A DME, KR 85 ADF, Century IIB autopilot, Garmin GTX 330 transponder Mode S transponder, and Sigtronics SPA-400 intercom.

Pilots who need to carry more people and cargo than the typical four-place single can handle should check out the specs for this 1976 Piper PA-32R-300 Lance, which is available for $118,900 on AircraftForSale.

You can arrange financing of the aircraft through FLYING Finance. For more information, email info@flyingfinance.com.

• FLYING Magazine: FLYING’s Air Compare: Cessna 206 vs. Cessna 210
• Plane & Pilot: Piper Lance/Turbo Lance
• Plane & Pilot: Piper Saratoga II TC: It‘s All About Comfort
• Plane & Pilot: Piper Pillán: A Saratoga With Top Gun Dreams
• The Aviation Consumer: Used Aircraft Guide: Piper Saratoga/Lance

The post This 1976 Piper PA-32R-300 Lance Is Spacious, Passenger-Friendly appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Today’s Top Pick is a 1978 Piper PA-32RT-300 Lance II

Piper developed the retractable Lance in the mid-1970s from the fixed-gear Cherokee Six in an effort to boost cruising speed and efficiency. The company also wanted to compete with other six-seat retractables like the Cessna 210 Centurion and Beechcraft A36 Bonanza. Pilots liked the Lance’s wide, comfortable cabin and SUV-style, load-carrying capacity. The model later evolved into the Saratoga, which Piper produced through 2009. 

When this Lance II rolled out of the factory, Piper was on a T-tail kick, applying the jet-like design feature to a number of its piston aircraft. The T-tail on this Lance II gives it a stylish look that stands out on the ramp and recalls a particularly vibrant era in general aviation.

This Lance II has 3,409 hours on the airframe and 1,369 hours on its 300 hp Lycoming IO-540 engine. The panel includes a Garmin 530W and G5 HSI,  Garmin 350 HC audio panel, GTX345 ADS-B transponder, Century III autopilot, and JPI EDM-900 engine monitor.

Pilots with the desire to transport large families or bulky loads in a high-performance single should consider this 1978 Piper PA-32RT-300 Lance II, which  is available for $189,000 on AircraftForSale.

You can arrange financing of the aircraft through FLYING Finance. For more information, email info@flyingfinancial.com.

• FLYING Magazine: The Practical Endurance of the Piper Cherokee Six
• FLYING Magazine: Today’s Top Aircraft For Sale Pick: 1994 Piper PA-32R-301 Saratoga SP
• Plane & Pilot: Piper Lance/Turbo Lance
• Plane & Pilot: Piper 1976 PA-32-300 Lance
• Aviation Consumer: Piper Saratoga/Lance
• Aviation Consumer: Piper Saratoga

The post 1978 Piper PA-32RT-300 Lance II Is a load-lifting ‘Aircraft For Sale’ Top Pick appeared first on FLYING Magazine.