ANN's First In-flight Impressions of Piper's Newest Heavy
Hauler
By ANN Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell
A revitalized New Piper
Aircraft has put a lot of emphasis on targeting it's latest bird
for a new generation of flyers that are interested in serious
utility, serious value and a serious lack of hassle.
That's a serious order to fill.
The Piper 6X seems well-designed to fit that role. Yes; it's
absolutely a barely-disguised refinement on the Cherokee
6/Lance/Saratoga line that dominated the 6 place market for so long
with excellent manners and "reasonable performance," but the
155-165 KT 6X and 6XT shows that going back to the drawing board
and sharpening one's pencil is the right thing to do when a tough
market (literally) demands it.
So... what's the fuss?
A new 3600 pound (GW) 6 seat Piper 6X will set you back some
$336,000 and the Piper 6XT all of $356,000 -- but deliver as much
as 1440 pounds of people and go-juice as far as 804-850 (X/XT) nm
down the road at cruise speeds of 148 KTs/154KTs (6X/11K/Long-Range
Cruise, 6XT/15K/LRC). Both the Piper 6X and the Piper 6XT are
powered by 300 HP Lycoming engines giving the aircraft top speeds
of 155 kts and 165 kts respectively.
No doubt about it,
Piper's homage to the (rightfully) legendary Piper Cherokee 6,
which built "a solid reputation for value, utility, performance and
reliability" is evident throughout every lengthy inch of the bird.
The 6X and 6XT refine this much repeated theme with new
state-of-the-art avionics packages (though a glass panel option,
says Piper Chief Suma, will have to wait for next year in order to
meet his quest for a properly integrated avionics system) and
improved aerodynamic styling. Piper also (unabashedly) meets GA
insurance concerns head-on with this bird, "The Piper 6X and Piper
6XT are high performance aircraft that insurance companies will
look upon favorably due to their fixed-gear configurations."
All that said, a flight in a new Piper 6X, despite the absence
of an Indian nom de plume, shows that while this is, outwardly, a
new bird for Piper; it's a Cherokee, through and through. Our first
chance to wring this baby out in the fevered skies of a 92 degree
Florida day (cumulus bumpies in every quad) found us with a
140 hour airframe that had served as the first 6X off the line. Fit
and finish appeared good, and the interior dimensions of the bird
are a welcome relief to those of us who respond all too readily to
the mating call of the Quarter-Pounder (with cheese, thank you).
The new panel is huge... it seems to have enough room for any
serious IFR mission as well as enough room for a home entertainment
system... and in our demo bird, the unused space to the right was
pretty noticeable.
The bird features Piper's new use of a series of upper level
rocker switches (Mags, Master, et al) at just above eye level and
the new cowling seems to suggest a slightly better (leaner) picture
off the nose. With over 1000 pounds of fuel, Piper-Pilot and an ANN
LardButt on board, the first 6X shows none of the shortcomings a
first bird off the line tends to exhibit--this was a tight bird.
Taxi agility is tight and responsive, with solid braking available,
and excellent (non-braked) turning abilities noted through the long
taxi to Rwy 4 at VRB. Overall layout brings just about everything
readily to hand, though the manual rudder trim is still quite a
reach forward and under the center of the panel.
Faster Than A Speeding Cherokee 6....
Lined up and hammered at the threshold of 4, the Lycoming
IO-540-K1G5 and a Hartzell three blade produce reassuring
acceleration and the first hint that Piper really has learned it's
lesson with it's published performance numbers in that it was
obvious that meeting the quoted 2028' T/O requirements over a 50
foot obstacle was going to be child's play -- even with another
400+ pounds on board to gross it out. Initial climb rates flirted
closely with 900 FPM and held up well through 3500 feet. Initial
control feel was pure Cherokee, with a high degree of rudder
coupling, modest roll pressures and a tightly defined pitch
profile. A fair amount of torque is easily countered with rudder
trim (though rudder pedal actuation is not the workout it used to
be) and the site picture over the nose seems a little less
cluttered than the fatter "6" cowlings of old. Temps, throughout
the flight, remained very manageable -- even in extended climb and
through extended slow flight.
A short run at 3500', with a reciprocal check-up, at 24 squared
offered some surprisingly good speeds for such an inefficient
altitude -- 144-146 KTs. Stability and control offered agile,
though solid, handling with a particularly well defined static
pitch profile and a tightly managed dynamic series after 10-15
degree, stick-free, excursions. The aircraft remains yaw-dominated
and is happiest with every turn led solidly by rudder, more so as
you let this puppy slow down. A coordinated series of 45 to 45
degree reversals revealed modest pressures and control
displacement, producing a low to moderate workload and some
pleasant maneuvering. Cruise visibility seems a tad improved,
probably by what appears to be a slightly sharper cowling.
Creature Comforts
Inside the beast, noise levels are manageable even with 300
ponies beating their brains out just a few feet ahead, though
optional interior packages can mollify those issues a great deal
says a Piper insider. The ride, despite Florida's sun-induced daily
'bump and grind' offers a surprisingly solid ride for a 3000+ pound
airplane and the Dutch roll behavior is sedate. It's a really nice
ride.
Slow-flight remains the exercise in child's play it always
was... even without the older Hershey Bar wing. Flap extension
produces very little trim excursion with the first notch, a
noticeable pitch positive influence with the second, and a
nearly full correction (pitch negative) of that with the final
notch. None of the trim excursions is problematic, and a quick
tweak of the trim wheel (if you haven't paid the freight for
electric trim and you know that you want to...) fixes everything
quickly. The bird handles down through 75 knots equally well, no
matter what flap configuration. With full flaps, the 6X offers a
pitch force fall-off as it nears the stall, and a light
amplitude/high frequency vibration about 5 KTs before the big
non-event. The amplitude of the buffet takes on some urgency as the
stall occurs but roll and yaw remain fairly active (even with an
obligatory force degradation) and the rudder becomes a pretty
obedient ally in keeping things leveled out. As forward,
CG-wise, as we were, we couldn't coax much more than a pitch buck
and a lot of buffeting out of the bird but a few rudder swings
showed no tendency to get ugly and the mere lessening of positive
pitch pressure got us back to the flying game quite handily with
little evidence of a secondary departure (not that there was one,
to begin with).
Cleaned up, the 6X stalls about 5-7 KTs faster, with a slightly
more pronounced buffet (in terms of amplitude), and a somewhat more
aggressive pitch buck... though using the word 'aggressive' in this
case is a waste of syllables in that everything remains very
mild and non-threatening. A few rounds, cranking and banking at
60-70 degrees, while trying to coerce an accelerated stall to
get out of hand, was a wash -- as not only does the 6X do its
buffet and pitch-buck routine, but shows NO tendency to overbank or
turn turtle. You're not going to need a seeing eye dog to read this
thing's intentions throughout its stall or a basic unusual attitude
series.
Gear Down And Welded...
Heading home, our chores in the pattern were only as complicated
as the FlightSafety traffic dictated (known as the Aluminum
Overcast in busier times), and a quick GUMP check got us settled in
well for an 80 KT final and a round-out at 70. Full-flaps produces
a good drag/deceleration combination that allowed for an easy
touchdown that could well have been accomplished in under 1000 feet
if we weren't playing touch and go. One nice change in the 6X over
the Cherokee 6 of old is the fact that the yoke doesn't swing up
(relative to the pilot) with full aft displacement, making for a
more manageable flare. Cross wind chores are easily countered by
aileron, though a slight crab (with a corrective rudder kick at
touchdown) really brings the workload down significantly. The joy
of this bird is that it marches obediently to whatever the rudder
tells it to and with no small urgency. A no-flap approach is a bit
flatter, and only a bit hotter, though one needs only add a few
knots (if that) to give yourself the requisite safety factor
(though, to be honest, it isn't really all that necessary--the 6X
LOVES 70-80 KTs) and a slightly less aggressive flare will get you
planted readily.
Repeat After me: SOLID
OK... that's the CliffsNotes version (which only proves
what a long-winded blowhard I can be...), but I gotta tell you,
that if this is the first step out of the gate for a REALLY New
Piper in a Post-9/11 world, it's a good solid effort. The aircraft
is a solid value... it's GOT payload, its GOT speed, and its GOT
room. It's also a nice solid (notice that word, SOLID... again)
ride that is going to be a fast favorite for the obligatory
parents, kids and family dog in search of a weekend adventure.
Couple this with some pretty impressive developments in the
manufacturing end of things (that will produce better and more cost
effective aircraft), and what we think we know of Piper's immediate
plans for the future (new products every six to twelve months and
an eventual jet... even though it may come about as the result of a
partnership or acquisition) and you have to tell those ready to
plant Piper 'six feet under' that they need to go elsewhere to find
bad news. Mind you, this is not your Father's Piper... this is
something better, a Piper (the 6X in particular) that truly
understands that this is a difficult market, with a need for
tightly defined mission-capable airplanes that people will actually
be able to operate and own affordably and safely. The 6X is heckuva
good first step in a post-9/11 aero-unfriendly world.
The 6X is the latest offspring in a family that originally wrote
the rules for the 6 place/entry-level GA market... and the 6X and
it's heavy-breathing sibling, the 6XT, seem to be well-positioned
to maintain (if not, expand) that role. Nicely done. More info to
follow.