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Piper Saratoga:

Shop the six-seat, retractable piston-single market and you'll find three basic choices: Beechs Model 36 Bonanza, Cessnas Model 210 Centurion and Pipers PA-32R series, which is the Lance and Saratoga. At first blush, the Bonanza arguably handles better than the other two while perhaps squeezing out a knot or two over the Centurion. The 210, on the other hand, generally has better short-field performance than the Bonanza and offers an improved hand-flown IFR platform.

Aviation Consumer Staff
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Piper’s timeless PA-24 Comanche series has solid handling, respectable cruising speed and is we'll supported. But don’t underestimate the maintenance on these old birds.

Shop the six-seat, retractable piston-single market and you’ll find three basic choices: Beech’s Model 36 Bonanza, Cessna’s Model 210 Centurion and Piper’s PA-32R series, which is the Lance and Saratoga. At first blush, the Bonanza arguably handles better than the other two while perhaps squeezing out a knot or two over the Centurion. The 210, on the other hand, generally has better short-field performance than the Bonanza and offers an improved hand-flown IFR platform.

Piper’s Lance/Saratoga series, however, can carry more than the other two, albeit more slowly, and usually is thought of as the most stable of the three when flying IFR. That’s a plus for newly branded instrument pilots upgrading from trainers.

Aviation Consumer Staff