Piper PA-32R (John Kennedy Jr Death Plane)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piper_PA-32R

The Piper PA-32R is a six-seat, high-performance, single engine, all-metal
fixed-wing aircraft produced by Piper Aircraft of Vero Beach, Florida. The
design began life as the Piper Lance, a retractable gear version of the Piper
Cherokee Six. Later models became known by the designation Piper Saratoga. The
primary difference between the Lance and early Saratoga is the development of a
tapered wing on the Saratoga, replacing the "Hershey Bar" wing on the Lance that
was a carryover from the Cherokee Six. Later Saratoga models provided
updated/improved avionics, engine and interior touches but retained the same
airframe design.

Production of the Saratoga was discontinued in 2009.

The Saratoga competed for sales with the Beechcraft Bonanza, Mooney Ovation,
Cirrus SR22, Cessna 206 Stationair, and Cessna 350.

Until 1972, when the assembly line was destroyed in a flood, the Comanche was
Piper's luxury high-performance single. Afterwards, Piper began modifying its
heavy lifting single engine PA-32 Cherokee Six, adding retractable landing gear
and designating the type as the "PA-32R".

For the 2008 model year, the Saratoga II HP (normally aspirated) model was
eliminated, along with the 6X and 6XT (fixed-gear versions of the Saratoga),
leaving the turbocharged Saratoga II TC as the only production model in the
PA-32 line.


Role
Personal use, air taxi & freight aircraft

National origin
United States

Manufacturer
Piper Aircraft

First flight
30 August 1974

Introduction
1975

Produced
1975-2009

Developed from
Piper Cherokee Six

John F. Kennedy Jr., along with his wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, and
sister-in-law Lauren Bessette died on July 16, 1999, when the Saratoga Kennedy
was flying crashed into the Atlantic Ocean 7 miles (11 km) off the coast of
Martha's Vineyard due to spatial disorientation.

Specifications (1972 model PA-32RT-300)

General characteristics
Crew: One
Capacity: five passengers (optional additional seat on some)
Length: 27 ft 9 in (8.44 m)
Wingspan: 32 ft 10 in (9.99 m)
Height: 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m)
Wing area: 174.5 ft2 (16.2 m2)
Wing profile: NACA 65-415
Empty weight: 2011 lb (912 kg)
Gross weight: 3600 lb (1633 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming IO-540-K1G5, 300 hp (225 kW)

Performance
Maximum speed: 190 mph (306 km/h)
Cruise speed: 160 mph (258 km/h)
Range: 1000 miles (1600 km)
Service ceiling: 14600 ft (4450 m)
Rate of climb: 1050 ft/min (5.3 m/s)





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