Quote:
Originally Posted by bwild1
I am looking to purchase a piper arrow, most likely a late 60's to early 70's vintage. This will be the first airplane that I've owned. Are there any Arrow owners that can give me some pointers?
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I've had a '72 P28R-200 for 7 years and put over 2,000 hours on it. I use it to commute for business and some family-pleasure trips. If you have specific questions I can answer them.
I was looking for the Arrow II because I wanted the stretched rear seat compared to the Arrow I and the extra 20 HP is nice. I did not want the extra complexity of the 6-cylinder engine in the Arrow III. I bought mine shortly after the previous owner paid for a new leather interior and an upgrade to a Garmin 430 navcom and a Garmin 330 transponder. Both good upgrades.
It's a simple airplane for a retractable, and the fail position of the gear is down, not up. I plan for 135 kts which is a 9 gph burn lean of peak. It runs lean of peak well with an 4-cylinder engine monitor. I fly mostly IFR, and over the years have had vacuum failures and alternator failures, but the engine has been terrific. I put in a Lycoming overhaul 5 years ago and have only done oil changes since.