PIPER PA-34-200T

The Seneca II, built 1975-1981 and the standard multi-engine trainer of the American flight-training industry along with the Duchess and Baron. It is a six-seat twin with turbocharged 200 hp engines that turn in opposite directions, eliminating the 'critical engine' problem and making asymmetric handling noticeably more benign than in earlier twins. That, plus a rear double door and a genuine six seats, is why schools and small charter operators buy them.

As a private aeroplane it is capable — 180 knots in the high teens, 25,000-foot ceiling, and a useful load that can take four adults and full fuel. The costs are the usual twin costs, amplified: two turbocharged Continentals with a 1,800-hour recommended overhaul life, two propellers, two turbochargers and two exhaust systems, and the exhaust and turbocharger system is the type's recurring maintenance item. Annuals are expensive. Oxygen is required for anything above the mid-teens, which is where the aeroplane wants to fly. At 200 hp per side there is no high-performance endorsement, but a multi-engine rating and complex endorsement are required and insurers will want type-specific training.