This 1972 Piper PA-32-300 Cherokee Six Is Brawny, Versatile ‘AircraftForSale’ Top Pick

1972 Piper PA-32-300 Cherokee Six [Courtesy: James Ballard]

Each day, the team at Aircraft For Sale picks an airplane that catches our attention because it is unique, represents a good deal, or has other interesting qualities. You can read Aircraft For Sale: Today’s Top Pick at FLYINGMag.com daily.

Today’s Top Pick is a 1972 Piper PA-32-300 Cherokee Six.

In one of my favorite scenes from any Marvel movie, a family of Soviet-era spies clambers into a Piper Cherokee Six and immediately dashes toward takeoff to avoid capture by U.S. agents. This is no way to fly, skipping the preflight and engine warm-up. I would have at least sumped the tanks.

Regarding the pre-takeoff briefing, well, they probably all knew it by heart. While the scene included plenty of Hollywood cinematic license, it made at least one point accurately: If you want to put your family into a personal airplane for long-distance travel, the Cherokee Six will get the job done.

Piper developed the PA-32-300 the way it developed most of its aircraft, through modifying and recycling older models. In the early 1960s the company’s four-seat PA-28 trainers and utility aircraft were popular rivals to Cessna’s Skyhawks and Skylanes.

But when Cessna introduced the six-seat 206, Piper had to scramble to answer the challenge. Engineers enlarged the PA-28 fuselage to add a third row of seats and wound up with the PA-32. The aircraft was an immediate hit, playing essentially the same role in the air that the family station wagon was playing on the road in that pre-SUV era.

While the aircraft eventually evolved into faster, more complex models such as the retractable Lance and Saratoga, many pilots favor the rugged simplicity of the fixed-gear Six, which often outperforms the others in pure utility and versatility.

This 1972 PA-32-300 has 4995 hours on the airframe and 994 hours since overhaul on its 300 hp Lycoming IO-540 engine. The aircraft’s cabin was refurbished in 2003 and the exterior repainted in 2010.

The updated custom metal panel features a Garmin GTN 750 WAAS GPS/nav/comm with Garmin Flight Stream 510, dual Garmin G5s, GNC 255 comm radio, GTX 345 transponder with ADS-B In and Out, GFC 500 autopilot with altitude preselect level button and go-around button, JPI EDM 930 engine monitor, and Davtron M800 chronometers.

Pilots looking for a comfortable and reliable traveling aircraft with up-to-date avionics and plenty of power should consider this 1972 Piper PA-32-300, which is available for $267,000 on AircraftForSale.

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