Anyone got experience with them?

Performance?

How reliable is the io540? The same way the 520 has problems with case cracking and cylinders, what are the 540s downfalls? I’ve hears of cam and lifter spalding if not flown frequently?

How easy is it to remove the rear seats (like an a36?)?

Do the club seats recline? (The last row I imagine)

I've got some 260 time, and it's a fantastic family hauler. Feels a bit like a truck, but the cabin is fantastic and the storage is abundant. Better than an A36 with extended baggage.

You can't hardly load them out of CG.

Only real nit to pick was speed. I think the Lyc big bores are great, but I didn't own it so I didn't have to pay those bills.

Thanks Tony. What kind of speeds did you see?

Im heavily favouring the 300

Every says get the 300. I recall 130 knots, but it's been a few years. My wife loved that cabin more than the A36.

The IO540 is a solid platform. It’s what Continentals wish they could be.

I’ll defer on any grenading engines because I had not heard of any. I’m sure there have been failures, but it’s not front page news like the Conti’s problems.

Seats come out pretty quick. Real quick actually.

The seats do not recline.

I hear the flies like a truck comment all the time. With 300 hours in a PA32, I find it plows through turbulence much better than most and it is extremely predictable. It’s a very stable platform. It’s not as fast as a Bo, but easy on the wallet to fix and in a pinch, you might even find a part you need to get you home at the Autozone or local junk yard.

With nose baggage, you’ll reach weight limits every time before having any CG issues. And that’s with full fuel. Try that in a Bo. Any of them.

What you give up in holding your nose a bit high as a Bo flyer, you gain back in utility and comfort. So what if it takes you an extra 10 minutes.

That’s my take anyway.

Thanks guys!

I would love an A36 instead but don’t think it will happen (insurance came back at 3x the rate of the C6 300).

That’s too bad about the seats not reclining.

Would you say then it handles turbulence better than thr a36? Will be a family hauler, main mission? KOSH!

I have a PA-32-300. I wouldn't say it handles turbulence *that* well: relatively low wing-loading makes it relatively bumpy (my wife hates turbulence in it). That is not to say it gets really bounced around, nor does it wag the tail a lot or dutch roll... it really is quite stable.

Speed-wise, I'm usually seeing low to mid 140s, but that's in the later model years that came with better wheel pants.

As has been said here already, the IO-540 is a very bulletproof engine, and in the Six it's really easy to operate: almost impossible to overheat in this plane in my experience.

Thanks Christian!

We emailed back and forth a couple days ago about your six

I've roughly 250 hours on a PA 32 300 and they will handle just about anything you can get in the doors and front storage. I used to fly 3-4 guys into Atlantic City all the time and 140 KTAS is about right. I can't remember if the seats turned around however I had bought an IO360 near Pittsburgh and it fit in the back with the seats out. Another issue is make sure you have a good engine monitor. I flew this one before they had more then the standard one cylinder EGT and CHT gauges. One day flying over the south end of Toronto at 6,000 ft I had an engine failure and had to dead stick it into Toronto Island airport. A valve seat had come lose and bent the valve which in turn hit and damaged the piston.

If it’s only for one flight a year, buy something else like an Archer, 172 or the likes. What you will save in operational costs will more than pay for tickets commercial.

FWIW, I budget $10k in expenses before the plane is flown each year, albeit mine in a folding gear Cherokee. Operating costs I estimate around $160 in gas, oil and misc crap per hour is what it costs me. But I don’t keep track of numbers, because if I did, I’d stop flying.

I can’t compare to a Bo in turbulence. I e never been in real turbulence in a Bo! I did borrow an Arrow this week and man oh man was that a rude awakening. Flew an hour south in my Lance and it was, meh, couple bumps. Flew back an hour later in a borrowed arrow and I was working had to keep it straight.

Rodolfo-

I have about 700 hours in a PA32-300. It was a '79 model. The IO540 was very reliable and smooth running. I owned a T210M with a TSIO520 and always felt the 540 was loafing more than the 520.

I was a relatively new pilot, 40 years ago, when we bought the Cherokee 6 and learned a lot flying it. It is a good instrument platform. We had state of the art radios at the time, 2 KX175b, dual VOR/Glideslopes and a DME. I remember we spent something like $3500 just to add the DME and it was nice to have. We had the Altimatic IIIb autopilot which IIRC did not have altitude hold, but could follow a CDI pretty well.

The '79 model has the hershey bar wing, but it had newly updated wheel pants. They added significant speed compared to the previous design. At 75% power, I could coax 145-152 ktas at 6-8000 which is where I cruised most of the time. If you get a '78 or older, your cruise speeds will be more like 135-140 ktas. Most of the time, I was seeing 148-150, unless I was heavy or it was hot.

Everyone seemed to like the ease of loading and the club configuration.

I think its a great plane. Good luck!

I have about 200 hours in a (then) brand new ‘76 PA32-300. I recall 140 kts at 24 sq, but that was more than four decades ago. Lots of folks brag about Bonanza handling, including me, but when you’re hand flying instruments in the clag, a truck that goes where you pointed it hands off is comforting. I recall flying four adults plus me plus bags out of Santa Fe no problem at all.

If it’s only for one flight a year, buy something else like an Archer, 172 or the likes. What you will save in operational costs will more than pay for tickets commercial.

FWIW, I budget $10k in expenses before the plane is flown each year, albeit mine in a folding gear Cherokee. Operating costs I estimate around $160 in gas, oil and misc crap per hour is what it costs me. But I don’t keep track of numbers, because if I did, I’d stop flying.

I can’t compare to a Bo in turbulence. I e never been in real turbulence in a Bo! I did borrow an Arrow this week and man oh man was that a rude awakening. Flew an hour south in my Lance and it was, meh, couple bumps. Flew back an hour later in a borrowed arrow and I was working had to keep it straight.

We had a PA32-300 for a while. It was pulled out of a barn and was completely restored. This was a '69 model with all forward facing seats and the first year of the throttle quadrant (not push/pull). The IO540 is an excellent engine. Its really just an IO360 with two extra cylinders; bulletproof and the extra cylinders meant it was very smooth running.

Performance wise if it fits it flies. Routinely had four people in it and climbed out at 1000fpm. If it was just me and full fuel I could peg the VSI and hold it there till at least 2500' (taking off from 500ft elev). I could reach 10,000' in 10 minutes. Speed wise this plane outperformed book and other Six's. I would flightplan 145 and almost always get 148it's out of it. Fuel burn was better than book as well. LOP would get me down to about 15.5gph. Sounds too good to be true but this Six actually did it.

Handling is the downside. It flies like a truck. It flies likes its bigger than what it is. It is not nimble, it is not snappy, it just is what it is. It is a great point A to point B aircraft for someone that has a family that packs the kitchen sink.

Edit for turn/winds: for turbulence it was average, keep the tips full if its going to be a rough ride. It also isn't great in strong crosswinds.

How not nimble is it? Similar to a Cessna 206? Worse?