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...destination sooner, we might be forced to leave behind a few things, or a few people. The slower, large-cabin bird gets us there just fine, thank you, and lets us carry all the stuff we'll need upon arrival.
In the six-seat, retractable piston-single market, there are three basic choices: Beech's Model 36 Bonanza, Cessna's Model 210 Centurion or Piper's PA-32R series, the Lance and Saratoga. The Bonanza arguably handles better than the other two while probably squeezing out a knot or two over the Centurion. The 210, on the other hand, generally has better short-field performance than the Bonanza and offers an improved hand-flown IFR platform. Piper's Lance/Saratoga series, however, can carry more than the other two, albeit more slowly, and usually is thought of as the most stable of the three when flying IFR. All three are growth versions of earlier, smaller airframes, all three are available in factory turbocharged models and, except for the Bonanza, all three come in fixed-gear versions, too.
If trying to describe their differences by referring to the automotive world, the A36 Bonanza might be thought of as a BMW station wagon; the 210 as a Ford Explorer; the PA32R as a Chevy Suburban. All three make fine platforms when there are two or three people and a few bags. But when there are a lot of bags and people, the Suburban can easily get the job done. So it is with Piper's Lance/Saratoga. You just might have to stop for fuel a bit more often.
HISTORY
In the early 1970s Piper suffered a major setback when a flood destroyed much of its Lock Haven, Penn., plant. Among the casualties was the tooling for the Comanche, Piper's popular, but complex and labor-intensive six-seater.
The company decided to abandon the Comanche in favor of a new retractable derived from the fixed-gear PA-32 Cherokee Six. The company was already having success with the Seneca, a light twin derived from the same airframe, so it made sense to build on a familiar design. Not much needed to be done to the Cherokee Six: The PA-32 was already available with the 300 HP Lycoming IO-540, so essentially the only change was to fit a retractable landing gear. That meant a new engine mount and changes to the wing. Piper also modified the wing spar in the process, allowing a 200-pound boost in gross weight, to 3600. The new airplane was dubbed the PA-32R Lance and introduced to the public in 1976.
The powerplant was the 300HP Lycoming IO-540 K1G5D with a 2000-hour TBO in the normally aspirated airplanes and the TIO-540-S1AD with a TBO of 1800 hours in the later turbocharged models. (The first 140 Lances built had K1A5D engines, the only difference being in fuel pump design.) The D means that the engine has the infamous Bendix dual magneto system. The fuel system originally held 94 gallons in four tanks, later upped to 102 gallons.
The PA-32R borrows heavily from its siblings. The main landing gear is very much like the Seneca--logical, since the basic airframe is the same--and the nose gear resembles the Seneca and also the Arrow. The PA-32R also came with Piper's automatic extension system for the landing gear. The fuel system is similar to the Seneca's.
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The Lance remained essentially unchanged for two years. In the late 1970s, though, someone at Piper decided that T-tails were a good idea. We believe it unlikely that the responsible parties were aerospace engineers or experienced pilots, based on the aerodynamic qualities of the Piper T-tail singles in general. The Lance wasn't the only T-tailed Piper. This also...
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