Pipers/Strutural Engineering/Doors

The 235 was never going to sell as well as the 182 or
206 anyway which both have significant utility advantages operating
off-airport and short field.

Well, that's somewhat debatable. If you're talking about landing in
wagon-rutted fields with three-foot hedges on either side, you're right --
the 182's high wing and steel gear will beat the low wing aircraft, hand's
down.

However, it's kind of the aviation version of SUV marketing: Sure, a Hummer
can climb a 60 degree slope, but who really cares? 99.995% of the
population will drive it to the store.

Bottom line: I fly the Pathfinder in and out of grass strips that would
challenge a lesser plane. That's as "off-road" as I care to get. Heck,
that's MORE "off-road" than most pilots I know *ever* get. (D'ja ever take
your MU-2 into Amana? :-)

Sure they could have sold more *if* the price was unchanged, but what if
it
cost $10,000 more?

As I understand it, the 235 was already priced higher than the 182 back in
'74 -- so the chances of Piper coming in with it under-priced were unlikely.
Still, Piper sold enough 235s and 236s to make them a profitable line, and
the second door would only have helped sales.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:IA1Gb.640175$Fm2.571783@attbi_s04...
The 235 was never going to sell as well as the 182 or
206 anyway which both have significant utility advantages operating
off-airport and short field.

Well, that's somewhat debatable. If you're talking about landing in
wagon-rutted fields with three-foot hedges on either side, you're right --
the 182's high wing and steel gear will beat the low wing aircraft, hand's
down.

However, it's kind of the aviation version of SUV marketing: Sure, a
Hummer
can climb a 60 degree slope, but who really cares? 99.995% of the
population will drive it to the store.

Agreed but if a Hummer only costs a little more (and had no other drawbacks)
then everybody will buy it instead of the other SUVs which will only climb a
40 deg slope


Bottom line: I fly the Pathfinder in and out of grass strips that would
challenge a lesser plane. That's as "off-road" as I care to get. Heck,
that's MORE "off-road" than most pilots I know *ever* get. (D'ja ever
take
your MU-2 into Amana? :-)

I have flown into a lot shorter and rougher fields than that! Do they have
cheap fuel?

Sure they could have sold more *if* the price was unchanged, but what if
it
cost $10,000 more?

As I understand it, the 235 was already priced higher than the 182 back in
'74 -- so the chances of Piper coming in with it under-priced were
unlikely.

So would anyone have bought them if they were $10,000 more? We will never
know. Piper evidently thought that it wasn't worth it.

Still, Piper sold enough 235s and 236s to make them a profitable line, and
the second door would only have helped sales.

Again it would have helped sales at the same price but there is a limit to
how much people will pay for a feature. Saying that it is obvious that
adding another door would have helped Piper is to assume that the company
was inept.and they didn't know what their customers wanted.

Mike
MU-2

--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"