Aircraft model
PIPER PA-32R-300
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Lance, built from 1976: a Cherokee Six with retractable landing gear. It carries six people and their bags at about 155 knots, which is a rare combination of load and speed at this price. Owners are typically families who have outgrown a four-seater, or small operators moving people and equipment between regional fields.
It is a big, heavy single and it flies like one. The controls are relatively heavy, it needs to be flown onto the approach speed properly or it floats a long way, and it is unforgiving of aft loading — six adults with the rearmost seats occupied puts the centre of gravity near the limit and must be calculated, not estimated. The retractable gear adds insurance cost, requires a complex endorsement and needs proper inspection at purchase. The IO-540 is thirsty at 16-17 gallons an hour and expensive to overhaul. The 1978-onward Lance II and Turbo Lance II have a T-tail, which many pilots find worse in the takeoff rotation because the elevator is out of the propeller wash; the 1976-77 conventional-tail aircraft are generally preferred.
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Put PIPER PA-32R-300 side by side with up to two other models.
- PIPER PA-32R-300
What it is
| Seats | 6 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D |
| Horsepower | 300 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1976 |
| Production end | 1977 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 155 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 800 nm |
| Service ceiling | 14,600 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,000 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 56 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,660 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,710 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 6 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,620 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,056 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 3,600 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,980 lb |
| Usable fuel | 94 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 16.8 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $125,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $250,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $46,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $66,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 947 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 510 |
| Median year built | 1976.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 36 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 8 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 70.591 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 49.022 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 97 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 19.023 |
| Airworthiness directives | 5 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 510 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 510 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 510 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 7+ seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 1.9 of 101 |
| Severity | 5.7 of 102 |
| Access | 5.7 of 103 |
| Support | 10 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 4.4 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 27.7 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 28.99 · 17 models in class.
- Severity: class median 25.
- Access: class median 1,586.8.
- Support: class median 76.
- Liquidity: class median 20.59.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.