Piper Turbo Lance II

1 × Piston Unpressurized Low Wing • Retractable

Range Map

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+ cargo

Payload vs. Range

Occupants:

Fuel on board

Cargo

Range

Cargo is additional payload after occupants and baggage.

Adjust payload

full tanks

Available Range / nm

Mission capable. This load flies with full fuel.

Fuel reduced by . left aboard for nm range.

Over max payload by . At this load it cannot lift a single occupant.

Trip Preview

Mission Profile

Used market

175

KTAS

Cruise Speed

648

Max Range

20,000

Service Ceiling

Occupants

971

lbs

Wet Payload

Endorsements & ratings:

High-Performance
Complex

Piper PA-32RT-300T Turbo Lance II (N39639) at Sun 'n Fun, Lakeland Linder International Airport, April 2024. Photo: ZLEA, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Estimated Ownership Costs

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About the Piper Turbo Lance II

Type certificated 1978 Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet

Overview

The Piper PA-32RT-300T Turbo Lance II is the turbocharged, T-tailed member of the retractable PA-32R family, type-certificated in 1978 on FAA TCDS A3SO and built through 1979. It takes the Lance’s Hershey-bar wing and six-to-seven-seat load-hauling cabin, swaps the conventional tail for a T-tail, and adds a turbocharged 300 hp Lycoming TIO-540-S1AD that holds power into the high teens, lifting the service ceiling to 20,000 ft and sustaining a 175-knot cruise above the weather.

It shares its exact engine with the tapered-wing Turbo Saratoga SP; the difference is the wing and the tail. Against the naturally aspirated Lance it trades simplicity and a lower fuel burn for genuine high-altitude capability. The Turbo Lance II earns its keep with the owner who has a full cabin and high country to cross: someone who routinely loads four to six people and bags, climbs into the high teens, and holds 175 knots over terrain that would sap a naturally aspirated six. The roughly 17.5 gallons an hour and the turbocharged engine’s upkeep are the toll he pays for performance that otherwise reaches for a light twin.

Key Features for GA Buyers

Turbocharged altitude performance. The TIO-540-S1AD holds 300 hp into the high teens, so the airframe keeps its climb and 175-knot cruise where a naturally aspirated PA-32 would fade, a 20,000 ft service ceiling.
Six-seat load-hauling. The wide PA-32 cabin seats seven (six with club seating) and carries a useful load over 1,500 lb behind the twin cargo doors.
T-tail layout. The horizontal stabilator sits atop the fin, clear of the propeller wash, distinguishing the Lance II airframe from the earlier conventional-tail Lance and the later Saratogas.
Cabin-class single mission. It carries four to six people and their baggage at 175 knots in the high teens, a mission that otherwise reaches for a light twin.

Trade-offs

T-tail handling. With the stabilator out of the propwash, elevator authority is lighter at low speed; the airplane wants speed to build before rotation, and pitch must be managed deliberately on takeoff.
Turbo complexity and burn. The turbocharger adds maintenance and runs hot; expect roughly 17 to 19 gph to hold the high-altitude cruise, more than the naturally aspirated Lance.
Shorter engine TBO. The turbocharged TIO-540-S1AD carries an 1,800-hour TBO versus the 2,000 hours of the naturally aspirated IO-540, raising the hourly overhaul reserve.

Technical Specifications

Dimensions & Weights

Height: 10 ft
Length: 28 ft
Parking area (ft²²): 1,403 ft²

Max Takeoff Weight: Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 3,600 lbs
Max Landing Weight: 3,600 lbs
Useful Load: 1,535 lbs
Fuel Capacity: Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 94 gal

Performance

Cruise Speed: Source: manufacturer figure 175 KTAS
Never-Exceed (V_NE): Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 189 KIAS
Max Structural Cruise (V_NO): Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 150 KIAS
Approach Speed: 82 KIAS
Range: Source: manufacturer figure 648 NM
Service Ceiling: 20,000 ft
Rate of Climb: 1050 fpm
Takeoff over 50 ft obstacle: 1,875 ft
Landing over 50 ft obstacle: 1,760 ft

Engine

Sources

Where the figures on this page come from. Piper Turbo Lance II specifications are traced to published references; estimated values are flagged inline next to the figure.

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