This 1972 Piper PA-32-300 Cherokee Six Is Brawny, Versatile ‘AircraftForSale’ Top Pick
Piper stretched its four-place PA-28 to give large families and cargo carriers more options.
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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.
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.
If you're interested in financing, you can do so with FLYING Finance. Use their airplane loan calculator to calculate your estimated monthly payments. Or, to speak with an aviation finance specialist, visit flyingfinance.com.
- FLYING Magazine: The Practical Endurance of the Piper Cherokee Six
- FLYING Magazine: Getting Sucked Into Aviation With a Piper Cherokee Six Owner
- FLYING Magazine: A New Take on the Faithful Cherokee Six
- FLYING Magazine: Best Used Six Seaters
- Plane & Pilot: Piper Cherokee Six/Lance/Saratoga
- The Aviation Consumer: Used Aircraft Guide: Piper PA-32R
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