Piper PA-32R
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The Piper PA-32R is a six-seat (or seven-seat), high-performance, single engine, all-metal,
fixed-wing aircraft A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using aerodynamic lift. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft (in which a rotor mounted on a spinning shaft generate ...
produced by
Piper Aircraft Piper Aircraft, Inc. is a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft, located at the Vero Beach Regional Airport in Vero Beach, Florida, United States and owned since 2009 by the Government of Brunei. Throughout much of the mid-to-late 20th cent ...
of
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. The design began life as the Piper Lance, a retractable-gear version of the
Piper Cherokee Six The Piper PA-32 Cherokee Six is a series of single-engine, fixed landing gear, light aircraft manufactured in the United States by Piper Aircraft between 1965 and 2007.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', page 63. Werner & Werner Cor ...
. 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 The Beechcraft Bonanza is an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947 by Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. The six-seater, single-engined aircraft is still produced by Beechcraft and has been in continuous productio ...
,
Mooney M20 The Mooney M20 is a family of Reciprocating engine, piston-powered, four-seat, propeller-driven, general aviation aircraft, all featuring low wings and tricycle gear, manufactured by the Mooney International Corporation.Munson, Kenneth & Mich ...
,
Cirrus SR22 The Cirrus SR22 is a single-engine four- or five-seat composite aircraft built since 2001 by Cirrus Aircraft of Duluth, Minnesota, United States. It is a development of the Cirrus SR20, with a larger wing, higher fuel capacity and more powerfu ...
, Cessna 210, and Cessna 350.


Development

Until 1972, when the assembly line was destroyed in a flood, the
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was Piper's luxury, high-performance single. Afterwards, Piper began modifying its heavy-lifting single engined PA-32 Cherokee Six, adding retractable landing gear and designating the type as the "PA-32R". The PA-32R was built under license by
Embraer Embraer S.A. () is a Brazilian multinational aerospace corporation. It develops and manufactures aircraft and aviation systems, and provides leasing, equipment, and technical support services. Embraer is the third largest producer of civil air ...
in
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as the Embraer EMB-721 Sertanejo. Kits for the PA-32R-300 (six supplied), PA-32RT-300 (16) and PA-32RT-300T (two) were supplied to Chincul in
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for completion. They were designated the PA-A-32R and PA-A-32RT. 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. Production of all PA-32 models ended in 2009.


Variants

;PA-32R-300 (1976–1978) :Marketed as the ''Piper Cherokee Lance''. Initial version of the retractable PA-32 line, with a standard tail. ;PA-32RT-300 (1978–1979) :After the first half of 1978, Piper modified the tail to a "T" design with the stabilator (horizontal stabilizer/elevator) moved to the top of the vertical tail. Many pilots and owners complained about the T-tail's lack of authority at low speeds. Beginning with this model, the ''Cherokee'' name was officially dropped and the model was named the ''Lance II''. ; (1978–1979) :Also in 1978, a turbocharged version, designated the Turbo Lance II, was introduced. It has a service ceiling of with a rate of climb of 1050 ft/min (5.4 m/s). It can cruise at at true airspeed at 75% power burning 20 gal/h. Fuel capacity is usable. The aircraft was the first to feature a distinctive large oval, single air intake below the propeller hub. ;PA-32R-301 (1980–2007) :The 1980 models reverted to a standard tail design, and were named the Saratoga SP. In 1993, the airplane received several cosmetic and systems updates and was redesignated as the Saratoga II HP. ;PA-32R-301T (1980–2009) :The 1980 turbocharged model was given the name Turbo Saratoga SP. The name and model designation stayed the same through the 1996 model year, despite several updates to the airplane during that time. Starting with the 1997 model year, the airplane received a new designation, the Saratoga II TC, and a new Lycoming TIO-540-AH1A engine. Externally, the biggest difference was the new cowl, with much smaller, round air inlets. The 1997-1998 Saratoga II TCs featured a King avionics suite, which was switched to dual Garmin GNS-430's and a GTX-320 transponder with the 1999 models. In mid-2000 model year, the avionics were again updated, with one Garmin GNS-430 and one GNS-530 and a GTX-327 transponder as standard equipment. Beginning in 2004, the Saratoga models were available with an
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"Glass Panel" avionics system, which was replaced by the Garmin G1000 in 2007. ;EMB-721C Sertanejo :License built variant of the PA-32R-300 and PA-32RT-300, 150 built. ;EMB-721D Sertanejo :License built variant of the PA-32R-301, 55 built.


Accidents

*
John F. Kennedy Jr. John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. (November 25, 1960 – July 16, 1999), often referred to as John-John or JFK Jr., was an American socialite, attorney, magazine publisher, and journalist. He was a son of 35th United States president John F. K ...
, along with his wife,
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy Carolyn Jeanne Bessette-Kennedy (née Bessette; January 7, 1966 – July 16, 1999) was an American fashion publicist. She worked for Calvin Klein until her 1996 marriage to attorney and publisher John F. Kennedy Jr. Her life and fashion sense ...
, and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette died on July 16, 1999, when the Saratoga Kennedy was flying crashed into the
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off the coast of
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due to
spatial disorientation Spatial disorientation is the inability to determine position or relative motion, commonly occurring during periods of challenging visibility, since visual system, vision is the dominant sense for orientation. The auditory system, vestibular system ...
. Kennedy's estimated total flight experience was about 310 hours, of which 55 hours were at night. His estimated flight time in the accident airplane was about 36 hours, of which about 9.4 hours were at night. * Michael Connell, founder of New Media Communications, Govtech, and Connell Donatelli Inc. and the primary Republican Party information technology expert for
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,
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, and
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
, among others, died on December 19, 2008, when the Saratoga he was flying crashed while attempting an approach for landing into Akron-Canton Airport. Connell was an instrument rated pilot with over 500 hours. According to the
National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...
(NTSB) report on the accident, Connell flew into adverse weather conditions where icing conditions existed, after having been warned about them. * On August 8, 2009, a Saratoga and a Eurocopter AS350 collided in midair over the Hudson River near
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, under
visual flight rules In aviation, visual flight rules (VFR) is a set of regulations under which a pilot operates an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better tha ...
. All on board both aircraft died in the accident. * On March 4, 2024, a Piper PA-32RT-300T lost power and crashed in a grassy area adjacent to
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in
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, killing all onboard. The victims were pilot Victor Dotsenko, his wife Rimma, and their three children, all from King, Ontario. The plane left from
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, flew into Nashville from the southwest, and overflew
John C. Tune Airport John C. Tune Airport is a public airport located in the western portion of the city of Nashville in Davidson County, Tennessee, United States. It is owned by the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, located approximately one mile (1.6 k ...
at 2,500 feet. After the plane's engine lost power, the air traffic controller tried to steer Dotsenko toward a runway. The pilot made a U-turn and said, "Yes, I have the runway in sight," and then added, "I’m too far away, I won’t make it."


Specifications (Cherokee Lance PA-32R-300)


See also

* Piper PA-32 Cherokee Six


References


External links


Piper AircraftPA-32 series at Airliners.net
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