AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2017 - 36

PILOT BRIEFING
Vref value
Vref, which offers aircraft value estimates for
AOPA members, suggests
a retail price for the Piper
Tri-Pacer of $15,500 for the
1951 model to $17,200 for a
1963 model.
RECENT ADVERTISED PRICES

Listed in Trade-A-Plane at
the time this was written
were four Piper Tri-Pacers
for sale priced at $13,700 to
$35,000. There were four in
Barnstormers.com and one
in Controller.com at similar
prices.
INSURANCE COSTS

BUDGET BUY

AOPA Insurance Services
estimates a $25,000 1960
Piper Tri-Pacer flown by a
100-hour total-time pilot
will cost $850 to $900 per
year to insure.

Piper Tri-Pacer

HOW MANY IN THE FLEET?

The flying milk stool

AIRPAC PlaneBase shows a
huge FAA-registered fleet
of 2,833 Piper Tri-Pacer
aircraft. Who knew?

B Y A LTO N K . M A R S H

The PA-20 Piper Pacer made news in 1950 by adding a nosewheel to become the PA-22
Tri-Pacer. The gear seemed a little close together, and thus it gained an unfair nickname-
the flying milk stool. Tri-Pacers came in 125-, 135-, 150-, and 160-horsepower models with
a 180-horsepower after-market conversion available. There are 2,833 Tri-Pacers still registered out of 7,629 built (other estimates are 2,000 aircraft higher). There are also 721 Piper
Colts registered, the lower-power two-seat aircraft that looks like a Tri-Pacer but is more
equal to a Cessna 150. The Tri-Pacer compares well to the Cessna 172. It has a steel-tubeand-fabric construction fuselage and therefore should live in a hangar to protect against
corrosion and sun damage to the fabric.
THE REAL WORLD

George Klitsch used his 160-horsepower Piper Tri-Pacer to travel between two homes in
Florida and found at 125 miles per hour it was quite fast enough, given the Florida traffic and Everglades detours he was avoiding. For a per-hour cost including pretty much
anything you can think of (engine fund, maintenance, hangar, fuel, oil, maintenance) he
suggested calling Connie Stevens, president of the Short Wing Piper Club. She keeps
spreadsheets on costs and estimates the per-hour cost for her 150-horsepower Tri-Pacer
flown 50 hours per year is $81.90 while other pilots with 150-horsepower Tri-Pacers report
$92 to $112 based on flying 100 hours per year. Stevens' total annual costs are $4,095, and of
that, $3,670 were fixed costs to include, hangar, insurance, and annual maintenance costs.
Klitsch offers this tip to determine if the aircraft you want to buy has corrosion in the steeltube frame: From the exterior, run your hand along the bottom of the airframe. If the steel
tubes have rust, you will feel it. That is not the airplane you want. What he likes best about his
Tri-Pacer is the ability to land on any spot he selects. That means the airplane can also develop
a high sink rate, but if the tower says
land long or land short, or land on that
FOR MORE INFORMATION
exact spot, you'll be able to do it.
Short Wing Piper Club, P.O. Box 10822, SpringALTON K. MARSH is a freelance

aviation writer.

36 | AOPA PILOT July 2017

field, Missouri 65808; 855-797-2411, email
swpcpresident@yahoo.com; www.shortwing
piperclub.org. You might first reach an answering
service, but they do call back promptly.

FINANCING

AOPA Finance estimates
$227 per month at 6.5
percent for a 1960 Piper
Tri-Pacer with a $25,000
purchase price. The loan
requires 20 percent down
and offers a term of 10 years.
AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES

A few. The most serious
one concerns corrosion in
the struts. Easily curable by
buying sealed struts.
BIGGEST PLUS

Can land short.
BIGGEST MINUS

High sink rate.

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR

Rust in the longerons-
those tubes that run
lengthwise from the tail to
the engine-underneath
the baggage compartment
area and forward to the rear
door. Look for an aircraft
that has been hangared.
WHAT ELSE TO CONSIDER

Cherokee 180, Cessna 172.

http://www.Barnstormers.com http://www.Controller.com http://www.shortwingpiperclub.org http://www.shortwingpiperclub.org

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