Piper singles we love.

[Beefitarian]

I have enjoyed flying a couple of Warrior IIs. I took my longest trip in one from YBW spring bank to Wasington DC national when you could still fly a light single in there.

[robertsailor1]

Still love the good old Piper Pacer

[iflyforpie]

I'd say the J3 or the Super Cub like I'm sure somebody is going to say, but they all come with the 'Cub tax'. A basket case J3 will set you back more than a pristine Taylorcraft will and go slower to boot.

The Cherokee Six was the first Piper Single I ever flew and is from a practical point of view the one I like the most. Plenty fast on 260HP, easy to fly, roomy, cheaper than the Cessna 206 with nearly 207 space, get the doors closed and she'll haul just about anything.

[robertsailor1]

The Cherokee 6 is indeed very practical, one of the most practical of all the light singles but it flew like a barn door. Out of all the aircraft I owned over the years it was the least exciting aircraft I ever flew.

[Northern Flyer]

x2 on the super cub.

[SuperchargedRS]

PA-18-180 on edos, polar opposite, but also had some good times in the PA-28RT-201 too.

[robertsailor1]

Not many will debate a Cub on floats but nice ones are damn expensive for a 2 place aircraft. You can just about buy a Cessna 180 for the same price.

[Shiny Side Up]

I like all the short wing pipers and their lineage from the Cub, but I think in Piper's line up one of the biggest mistakes they made was losing the Commanche in favor or the Cherokee line up. The Cherokee six and Saratogas are good working planes, but lacked in style compared to the Commanche 260 which I found is a better cruising airplane, and especially a rock solid IFR ship. While I've never flown one, the Commanche 400 is one of the best sounding Piper ships.

[KK7]

It's small, light and underpowered, but I had a lot of fun in a PA-17 Vagabond.

[FlyGy]

I've been torn between buying a Turbo Lance or a Saratoga. Although I haven't flown either, I'll likely go with the Saratoga and upgrade the panel with an Aspen Evolution 2500.

[ScudRunner]

The Piper Meridian has always been my favorite lite single, I was hoping the Altaire would do well but since they cancelled the program......

[robertsailor1]

The Comanche is a wonderful aircraft, owned a 250 years ago. They were much more expensive to build than the Cherokee line. The 400's were very cool, hard to start when hot but were a real hot rod in their day. Friend had one and I flew it a little bit, nice aircraft but today the fuel burn would make you blink.

[Beefitarian]

Anyone spend significant time with a Lance? They seem like they can carry a pretty big load.

[robertsailor1]

Isn't the Lance basically a retractable Cherokee Six?
If your looking for a cheap load hauler its pretty hard to do better than the Cherokee Six. We used to throw in our family of four plus all our camping gear and 2 dirt bikes and head out for a weekend. The double doors make loading easy, seats were easy to remove and as an aircraft they were reasonable to maintain although if you move up to a retractable that would change.

[Beefitarian]

I'm looking for $7billion so I can just buy the best plane for my silly ideas. Since that isn't working out I like hearing about the most cost effective planes. What's most likely to happen is I'll rent just enough to stay current if I can.

[Nark]

I spent two years in San Diego flying a Super Cub, and a summer season in Alaska flying the 'Big-6'. That seems backwards to most wisdom...

If I never fly the Cherokee 6 again, I won't shed a tear. However I asked a lot of them, and they always performed.

The P-18 is the only piper tailwheel I've flown, and I love it. I'd love to drop $100,000 to get one, however there are more sensible things to buy.

[W5]

Have to go with the Super Cub. Flew models with 135, 150 and 180 hp; on different sets of wheels, skis and floats. Sprayed with it , towed banners and gliders and did a few things that are probably illegal now. Also flew one that had an aerobatic kit (clipped wings and inverted oil system). Even instructed in it.

[Sam300]

Always liked the Arrow

[Shiny Side Up]

Isn't the Lance basically a retractable Cherokee Six?

Sort of. The Lance (and Lance II) was the fist incarnation of the retractable Cherokee Six, but they also gave it a T-tail. Later in production they nixed the T-tail, gave it the tapered wing and re-named it the Saratoga.

[Big Pistons Forever]

Personally I think the Cub/Super Cub is over rated. It has this "mystique" that it is some super plane, but I think they are slow, drafty, have poor control harmony and have the most uncomfortable seats ever invented....... in general they IMO don't deserve most of the hype.

I will take a Husky over a Super cub any day of the week, which makes sense because the guy who designed the Husky basically took a Super Cub and fixed most of the things wrong with it.

As for the cherokee singles, well any of the Grumman AA5 series runs rings around the 4 place ones and anything the Cherokee six does a Cessna 206 can do better.

However there is one Piper "single" that is pretty awesome......that would be the Pa 48 aka The Piper Enforcer

[sstaurus]

No love for the Tomahawk? Now there's a machine... *whistle*

[warbirdpilot7]

x2 on the super cub.

You can not go wrong with the PA18. I did my conversion to tailwheel in the Super. I am know flying a J3. Love them both, but I am not a fan of heel brakes.

Getting back on topic, I would have to say the old PA25 Pawnee.I spent a lot of time towing gliders in this airplane. Yes its not a practical airplane for the average GA pilot. Looking at it from the standpoint of being purpose built, I can't think of any other in the Piper family that comes close.

[robertsailor1]

Had a PA-12 with all the Super Cub mods, 150hp clam shells both sides, flaps,big tail etc. on Edo 2000's very cool machine, similar performance to the Super Cub but much more room.
Always wanted a PA-14 with similar mods but they are really scarce.

[niss]

The P-18 is the only piper tailwheel I've flown, and I love it. I'd love to drop $100,000 to get one, however there are more sensible things to buy.

Jeebus Nark, if any of us were sensible we would never have become pilots.

[linecrew]

Always liked the Arrow

+1