This plane from our friend WF seems a great value family plane:
https://wfaviation.com/collections/aircraft-sales/products/piper-pa32-260-cherokee-six-g-atrw
Jujupilote wrote:
This plane from our friend WF seems a great value family plane:
https://wfaviation.com/collections/aircraft-sales/products/piper-pa32-260-cherokee-six-g-atrw
Indeed. If I weren’t in the process of buying a house, I would consider this. Since I started this thread years ago, the PA-32 has emerged as the best candidate for a van-equivalent SEP.
I would gladly offer you buy it 50/50 but it wouldn’t be very convenient 
, and we don’t have yet what to fill those seats
We bought G-ATRW off two London based Architects who had owned the aeroplane for 28 years. They had it for its interior space and carrying capability, it went on lots of skiing trips with them. The paint had a bare metal paint job with them and a new interior. Originally we were buying it for a Marvel movie, Black Widow, which used 4 different PA32’s in the making of it. We left it on the back burner for a while, and then I had lots of spare time when my son was in hospital, so I paid for it and got it into maintenance. We spent a hat of money on it.
I believe the 260 is a real sleeper bargain. There is a guy looking at it this morning, who knows. Years ago you used to put up an advert, get lots of enquiries and one guy would come to see it from abroad. That guy would 9 out of 10 times buy the aeroplane. We have other good aeroplanes with 4+ seats and good useful load, but they are multiples of the price of this one:
Twice the price = TR182
Three times the price = U206F
Four times the price = Turbo Saratoga
The next sleeper bargain I want to try is the HR100/210 Safari.
Jujupilote wrote:
I would gladly offer you buy it 50/50 but it wouldn’t be very convenient , and we don’t have yet what to fill those seats
I’m sure it would be great to share a plane with you, if it weren’t for the logistical hurdles :)
For a 50% share, I would be in as well. It seems that I am a few years ahead of you MedEwok (some also call it older) and I have bought my house some years ago in a newly developed housing area. Now all of my neighbours are starting to spend money again. Yesterday my neighbour got his roof covered in solar cells and another one is converting his entire backyard into a large swimming pool. Others buy SUVs so I might as well buy an airplane.
At this very moment I am doing a performance calculation for a Cessna 172 for a planned family trip tomorrow. With 2 adults and two children it is still feasible but I always end up at departing MTOW. This is of course with conservative weight estimations but soon I will have to weigh everything prior to loading the plane. While I’m more of a fan of the PA24 I would be very glad to have that PA32 at hand for such trips.
Too bad that you are a about two flight hours away from me, @clipperstorch, I’m sure we could work out an arrangement for a shared PA-32 :)
Yes you are a few years ahead of me. We did miss the right time to buy our house though, as prices only went up over the last couple of years and what we’re searching for (roughtly: 5-6 rooms, about 200 m² of living space and 600 – 1000 m² of plot size) is easily about 200 k more expensive than 3-5 years ago now. And we’re not even living in S. Germany, were everything is even more expensive…
I want to be able to put my wife and two children (possibly three someday in the future) comfortably in a plane + luggage, so any four seaters are quickly at MTOW even though my kids only have a combined weight of 35 kg at the moment…
This video on a guy who bought a Cherokee Six to fly his family around could inspire you:
Granted this is the US and not Germany, but still food for thought!
Alpha_Floor wrote:
This video on a guy who bought a Cherokee Six to fly his family around could inspire you:Granted this is the US and not Germany, but still food for thought!
Love the video, although the steps how he convinced his wife from “No way, only if you want a divorce” to her enjoying flying with him seem greatly simplified
MedEwok wrote:
I want to be able to put my wife and two children (possibly three someday in the future) comfortably in a plane + luggage, so any four seaters are quickly at MTOW even though my kids only have a combined weight of 35 kg at the moment…
With 3 children the PA32 is certainly a very valid option. You might also want to look at Cessna 210’s maybe. I recall one guy in the north of Germany who got one as a fresh PPL and was very happy with his “Sumsi” as it was christened by that family. He has since upgraded to a Cessna twin.
What I like about the PA32 fusellage (which is identical with the Piper Seneca) is the huge back door for the pax and baggage and mostly club seating in the back. That certainly has family appeal. Personally I’d like the retracable version better than a straight Cherokee 6.
For a family of 2 kids I would also consider a PA28-235 Dakota as a very valid means of economical transport. For 5, a 5 seated TB10 or 20 would be possible too. But clearly, the PA32 has a much nicer cabin for the purpose.
