Over the years, manufacturers have experimented with modest airframes equipped with largish engines, with the Cessna 182 being the best example and the Cessna 206 being yet a larger example. The pysche of owners buying such airplanes has more to do with the ability to haul a lot of stuff than it does to go fast.

Cessna has done well with the 182, well enough, in fact, to bring it back with an even larger engine the O-470 that made the model such a popular choice in the first place. In the four-place realm, Piper’s only serious competition to Skylane is what became known as the PA-28-235/236 cum Charger, cum…