Purchase Questions

"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
ink.net...
I had a 79 Turbo Lance as a first airplane. A 79 is a T-tail. Not
surprisingly, it flys like a big PA28 since that is what it is. Control
forces are heavy in all three axis but you get used to this and most pilots
prefer this type of handling in instrument conditions. Nothing about the
maitenance is particularly unusual and there are no real "weak points".
You need to set the pitch and rudder trim properly before takeoff, but that
is about the only change from flying a PA28. The cg with two large people
in the front seats and full fuel is likely to be forward of the limit and
will require a higher approach speed in this configuration. The airplane
is very easy to land softly with someone in the rear most seat. The turbo
models tended to overheat at higher altitudes and having a TurboPlus
intercooler was a big advantage. Keep in mind that there is a lot more
"stuff" on a Lance (retractable gear, probably autopilot, probably an HSI
ect) and it all wears out, so the cost is going to be a lot more than a
PA28. I had mine a year and flew it coast to coast twice and to Mexico
once puting about 350hrs on it. Lances, particularly the turbo ones offer
a lot of capability for the money.

Mike
MU-2
So why did you get rid of it? And what did you end up with. I have PA-28 180
and have been thinking about a new plane and a Lance was on the list. I am
now thinking about buying a friends V tail Bonanza.

"aluckyguess" wrote in message
...

"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
ink.net...
I had a 79 Turbo Lance as a first airplane. A 79 is a T-tail. Not
surprisingly, it flys like a big PA28 since that is what it is. Control
forces are heavy in all three axis but you get used to this and most
pilots prefer this type of handling in instrument conditions. Nothing
about the maitenance is particularly unusual and there are no real "weak
points". You need to set the pitch and rudder trim properly before
takeoff, but that is about the only change from flying a PA28. The cg
with two large people in the front seats and full fuel is likely to be
forward of the limit and will require a higher approach speed in this
configuration. The airplane is very easy to land softly with someone in
the rear most seat. The turbo models tended to overheat at higher
altitudes and having a TurboPlus intercooler was a big advantage. Keep in
mind that there is a lot more "stuff" on a Lance (retractable gear,
probably autopilot, probably an HSI ect) and it all wears out, so the cost
is going to be a lot more than a PA28. I had mine a year and flew it
coast to coast twice and to Mexico once puting about 350hrs on it.
Lances, particularly the turbo ones offer a lot of capability for the
money.

Mike
MU-2
So why did you get rid of it? And what did you end up with. I have PA-28
180 and have been thinking about a new plane and a Lance was on the list.
I am now thinking about buying a friends V tail Bonanza.

I got rid of it because it lacked real weather capibility, particularly
known-ice certification. I kept getting stuck on the west side of the
Sierra waiting for the weather to improve enough to return to Minden, NV. I
replaced it with a Mitsubishi MU-2 Marquise. I had meetings that I *had* to
attend regardless of the weather.

Mike
MU-2

Steve.T wrote:
I'm looking at buying into a partnership. The plane is a Piper Lance (6
place, complex single engine).

From you Piper drivers, particularly those who have Lance experience,
is there anything I need to know about? I asked an IA about 6 place
aircraft and he told me that C210s I was looking at tend to have gear
problems. What are the common Lance problems?

Being a PA28-180 driver, what should I expect in moving to a mid-70s
Lance?

I made the same transition a few years ago when I owned a PA28-180 and was
renting a Lance when I needed more capacity, and just for the experience and
speed. I finally gave it up when I decided I didn't need the capacity very
often, it was expensive to fly, and I wasn't flying it enough to stay proficient
in it.

It's not what you'd call nimble. Control forces are high compared to your PA28-180.

Lots of right rudder required for t/o and climb. I used to set the rudder trim
all the way to the right for t/o, and all the way to the left for cruise.

It's a ground-lover on the takeoff roll. The one I flew was a T-tail, so maybe
the straight tail is more enthusiastic about leaving the ground.

It will carry some ice. Fat wings are not so vulnerable to the loss of lift due
to changing the shape of the airfoil. I'm not recommending experimenting with
this, obviously.

Easy to get a forward CG. Think about your loading.

With club seating the second row of seats rubs against your seat, and you may
not be able to move your seat all the way back.

Fuel-injected Lyc was reluctant to start when hot. I've flown behind some other
FIed Lycs, but this one was the worst for hot starts.

Don't forget about the other non-model-specific evaluations when entering a
partnership, like your compatibility with your partners, a common view of how
the plane is to be maintained (they all *say* they maintain it in tip-top
shape), how upgrades and maintenance are financed, how to decide when to do an
overhaul, etc.

Good luck. Sounds like fun.

Dave