PIPER PA-32R-301T

The Saratoga II TC, the turbocharged retractable version of Piper's six-seat single and the last development of the line. It has the longer tapered wing, a restyled and much better-finished interior than the 1970s Lances, and a turbocharger that gives it 185 knots in the high teens. It was sold as an owner-flown business and family aeroplane and competes directly with a Bonanza A36 or a Cirrus SR22. The same PA-32R-301T designation was first used on the Turbo Saratoga SP of the 1980s, so not every aircraft under this model name is a II TC. The II TC proper dates from the 1997 model year, when Piper fitted a new Lycoming TIO-540-AH1A behind a new cowl with small round inlets — the easiest way to tell one on the ramp. The first II TCs have Bendix/King radios; from 1999 the standard fit was dual Garmin GNS 430s; the Avidyne Entegra glass panel was offered from the 2004 model year; and the Garmin G1000 replaced it from 2007 until production ended in 2009.

The trade it makes is comfort and speed against payload. The airframe is heavy and with 102 gallons aboard you have around 500 lb of cabin load, which is three adults — so the six seats are only useful with partial fuel. Flying in the high teens means oxygen for everyone on board, which with six people is a real operational chore. The turbocharged IO-540 is expensive to run and to overhaul, and its exhaust and turbocharger system need close inspection. It is a comfortable, quiet, capable aeroplane for two or three people going a long way quickly; it is not a six-seat long-range aeroplane, whatever the seat count says.