12/1/2023 0 Comments Birds of steel plane listIn later years, Piper introduced turbocharged and retractable-gear models, including for a couple of years the Lance, a near-160-knot retractable-gear airplane with good payload despite its hoity-toity club seating. It was nothing pretty, but it earned its keep. Predictably, the 260 hp model faded into the background as buyers opted for the more powerful model, for all the right reasons.Īs time passed, the PA-32 got a tapered wing and other refinements, but for my money, Piper captured the essence of the model with the late ’60s and ’70s Hershey-bar-winged 300 hp model. The resultant airplane, the Cherokee Six 300, was faster (better than 140 knots consistently on about 15 gallons per hour) and a better load hauler. It was a hit, but the designers at Piper quickly figured out that if an additional 80 horses was good, another 40 ponies would be even better, and they were right. Piper launched the Six in 1965 as the Cherokee Six 260, a stretched Cherokee with a Lycoming IO-540 six-cylinder engine. The Cherokee Six is yet another example of a relatively pedestrian airplane that underwent a transformation when it got more power and more room, the classic recipe for utility heaven. For a longer list of models we just couldn’t bear to leave unmentioned, check out our February iPad edition. Here is a short list of a half-dozen well-loved and sought-after utility aircraft of very different descriptions. And why not? It’s easy to love something that gives and gives and expects so little in return. While it’s not part of the physical package, one other characteristic utility planes all have in common is the loyalty of their owners and pilots, who tend to keep them longer, fly them more and, in many cases, become ambassadors for the model. While utility birds are never known for their speed, they often hold their own, thanks to light empty weight and as much power as they can pack under the cowl a high power-to-weight ratio is another key trait of utility birds. It is an airplane designed to do its thing and do it well. The bare-bones style of a utility aircraft is part of its beauty, however. When it comes to usefulness, payload is king, and every pound spent making the ride more comfortable is utility lost - an air conditioner in a Cessna 206, for instance, represents half a paying passenger and who knows how many critical feet of climb per minute or feet of additional runway required. They are often bare-metal beauties devoid of luxury touches like leather, soundproofing or fancy panels. What many of the airplanes that fit this description have in common is a certain Spartan aesthetic. There’s no arguing that being able to go into and back out of strips that are inaccessible to other airplanes is a remarkably useful ability. Another key trait: Typically, utility aircraft are able to operate from rough strips and with less runway than their less utilitarian contemporaries require. Airplanes that have a lot of room for passengers and/or cargo can lay claim to the tag too. For some airplanes, the calling card might be load-hauling ability - this is probably the most cited trait of utility aircraft, though it’s hardly the beginning and end of the story. We’ve all heard the word utility used to describe a number of very different airplanes, usually ones that are rough-and-tumble performers. Owners of these can-do airplanes quite literally get more for their money. Models that are known for being capable go for more in the used market than their otherwise comparable, less capable contemporaries, and they’re also somewhat more resistant to market downturns. It’s a good thing to know if you’re looking to purchase a new airplane, and it’s a good thing to know if you have an airplane to sell. If you look back at used airplane values over the past many decades, you’ll see an interesting though hardly surprising trend: Airplanes that can do a lot go for a premium.
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