Eagle20 wrote:
Wouldn’t a piper Warrior III with it’s O-320-D3G be a lot more economical than a Socata TB-9? I would think it’s cheaper to maintain.
The Pipers imho have the advantage that really every shop there is can maintain them, as opposed to the TB9 or even the Grummans, as they are the most common and therefore the airplane of that range which every mechanic knows inside out. Same goes for the C172’s.
If they are more economical to fly, possibly. The TB-9 is pretty slow and possible the Warrior is faster with a similar fuel flow. In terms of maintenance I’d say the Pipers most probably are cheaper to maintain, reason see above.
Mooney_Driver wrote:
The Pipers imho have the advantage that really every shop there is can maintain them
I think, in general it’s a good idea to have a chat with the shop that will maintain your airplane before buying one, especially if you are in an area where there may not be too many options, although given the OP’s location, LELL, this might not be such a big problem. Other than that I agree with @Mooney, there aren’t (m)any shops out there that cannot handle a PA28 or a C172.
