AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2017 - 32

PILOT BRIEFING
Vref value
Vref, provider of aircraft
value estimates for AOPA
members, suggests a base
value of $49,680 wholesale
for a 1966 300-horsepower
Piper Cherokee Six (retail
$60,000), and $79,148 for a
1979 model (retail $94,000).
Retail and wholesale values
for the 260-horsepower Cherokee Six are $5,000 less for
early year models to $10,000
less for newer models.
RECENT ADVERTISED PRICES

BUDGET BUY

Moving van
Piper Cherokee Six |

B Y A LT O N K . M A R S H

MOST PILOTS thought the 260-horsepower Piper Cherokee Six, introduced in 1965, was
underpowered, and so Piper brought out the 300-horsepower model. It initially was only
$3,000 more, and it outsold the lower-powered model. The 300-horsepower model squeaks
into the "budget" category, but prices are similar. If you are really watching the budget, then
the 260-horsepower model is the way to go. Either way, you have a payload after ﬁlling the
tanks of about 1,000 pounds. It can haul but not ﬂy fast, given that it can't retract its gear,
with the 300-horsepower model making 145 knots true airspeed and the 260-horsepower
model in the 135- to 139-knot range.
THE REAL WORLD

Richard Park of Park Properties Management Company in Charlottesville, Virginia, wanted
to carry his wife and two teenage daughters-plus two dogs-to destinations around Virginia,
as well as to Oshkosh each year. After a four-year hunt he settled on a 1966 300-horsepower
fuel-injected Cherokee Six that had been refurbished in California and featured on the cover
of Pipers Magazine in 1999.
Get one that already has the equipment and avionics you want onboard. That's his biggest tip to those shopping among the Cherokee Sixes on the market. Watch out for club
seating in Cherokee Sixes that are not eligible for it. Park's is, but he hasn't had the middle
row installed for two years. Look at the wing skin on top of the main landing gear to see if
there are cracks around the rivet holes, Park advises. He's no fan of ﬁberglass engine cowlings and had a ﬁtting on the exhaust pipe get loose and vibrate a hole through the cowling.
Older repairs had been done with the wrong kind of resin. It took 150 hours of labor to ﬁx
it. His annual inspection is $3,500. His top hourly cost estimate including hangar ($250 a
month); low taxes (local governments think a 1966 airplane isn't worth anything); an engine
reserve; gas; oil; insurance; maintenance; and ﬂying 80 hours a year is $225. If you are coming from aircraft that like to ﬂoat on landings, such as a Cessna
172, remember the Cherokee Six is different. "They kind of ﬂy
WHOM TO CONTACT
like an anvil," Park said. He has installed vortex generators for
Piper Owner Society, N7528
low-speed handling. "When you pull the power back, you better
Aanstad Road, Iola, Wisconsin
54945; 800-331-0038 ext. 116;
be real close to the ground."
EMAIL alton.marsh@aopa.org

32 | AOPA PILOT January 2017

email piperowner@jones
publishing.com

Listed in Trade-A-Plane at the
time this was written were
26 Piper Cherokee Sixes, 11 of
them 300-horsepower models and the rest 260-horsepower. Prices ranged from
$55,000 to $90,000 for the
260-horsepower model and
from $71,000 to $145,000 for
the 300-horsepower model.
All but seven were 1960s
models, with the rest being
early to mid-1970s models.
The best ones are generally
$80,000 to $110,000.
INSURANCE COSTS

AOPA Insurance Services
estimates a 300-horsepower,
$75,000 Piper Cherokee Six
ﬂown by a low-time pilot will
cost $1,800 per year to insure.
HOW MANY IN THE FLEET?

AIRPAC PlaneBase shows an
FAA-registered ﬂeet of 1,821
Piper Cherokee Six aircraft,
including 260-horsepower
and 300-horsepower models.
FINANCING

AOPA Finance estimates
$520 per month for a
$75,000 purchase price at 5.5
percent with 15 percent down
and a term of 15 years.
AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES

A one-time-only pull of the
main tanks to inspect the
spar behind the tanks. Stabilator cable attach points must
be inspected.
BIGGEST PLUS

Hauls a load.
BIGGEST MINUS

Managing the four-tank fuel
system, but get a timer!
THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR

The ﬁberglass 18-gallon tip
tanks leak from time to time
and will need repairs.
WHAT ELSE TO CONSIDER

Cessna 210, Piper Saratoga

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2017