Range Map

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+ cargo
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1

Tank-dry, where fuel runs out at catalogue's stored cruise burn.

Excludes reserves: range beyond the dashed circle requires a leaner cruise than what we store. Great-circle, still air, book cruise. Estimates only: always verify against the POH.

Payload vs. Range

Occupants:

Fuel on board

Cargo

nm

Range

Cargo is additional payload after occupants and baggage.
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.

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Mission Profile

Used market Only available used
146
KTAS
Cruise Speed
730
nm
Max Range
16,250
ft
Service Ceiling
7
Occupants
1,074
lbs
Wet Payload
Endorsements & ratings:
  • High-Performance
Piper PA-32-260 Cherokee Six (N3815W) at Sun 'n Fun, Lakeland Linder International Airport, April 2024. Photo: ZLEA, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Piper PA-32-260 Cherokee Six (N3815W) 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 Cherokee Six

Type certificated 1966 Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet

Overview

The Piper PA-32-300 Cherokee Six is the fixed-gear, naturally aspirated patriarch of Piper’s six-seat PA-32 family, type-certificated in 1966 on FAA TCDS A3SO and built into the late 1970s. A 300 hp Lycoming IO-540 hauls a cabin built around a large rear double door and a forward baggage compartment ahead of the cockpit, earning the airplane its reputation as the “station wagon of the sky”: it will carry six adults and real baggage out of the kind of strip a more delicate single would refuse.

Where the retractable Lance and turbocharged Turbo Lance II trade simplicity for speed and altitude, the Cherokee Six keeps its gear bolted down and its induction unblown, and banks the difference in lower insurance, simpler annuals, and a higher-time engine. That makes it the right airplane for the owner who routinely fills the cabin and the baggage areas and flies off modest strips, and the wrong one for a pilot chasing speed or high-altitude legs: at 146 knots it is a hauler, not a cruiser, and a turbocharged Saratoga answers better when pace leads the mission.

Key Features for GA Buyers

  • Massive useful load. At a 3,400 lb gross weight the Cherokee Six carries a useful load over 1,400 lb, enough for six adults and meaningful fuel.
  • Fixed-gear simplicity. No retractable gear system means lower insurance, simpler annual inspections, and one less system to manage on every approach, versus the retractable Lance and Saratoga.
  • Dual baggage areas. A rear cabin area plus a forward compartment between the firewall and the cockpit make weight-and-balance flexible and bulky loads easy to place.
  • Utility-door access. Wide rear double doors suit air taxi, cargo, and utility loads, bikes, skis, or hunting gear.

Trade-offs

  • “Hershey Bar” drag. The thick constant-chord wing lifts well but holds cruise to about 146 knots, slower than more aerodynamic peers.
  • Fuel thirst. The 300 hp IO-540 burns roughly 15 to 16 gph at a 75% cruise setting.
  • Heavy on the controls. Pitch forces are noticeably higher than the smaller PA-28 series; expect deliberate back-pressure in the flare when the cabin is loaded.

See Also

Featured in our buying guides

Technical Specifications

Dimensions & Weights

Wingspan 33 ft
Height
8 ft
Length
28 ft
Parking area (ft²2)
1,400 ft²
Max Takeoff Weight
Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 3,400 lbs
Max Landing Weight
3,400 lbs
Useful Load
1,578 lbs
Fuel Capacity
Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 84 gal

Performance

Cruise Speed
146 KTAS
Never-Exceed (VNE)
Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 184 KIAS
Max Structural Cruise (VNO)
Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 146 KIAS
Approach Speed
78 KIAS
Stall, Clean (VS1)
62 KIAS
Range
730 NM
Service Ceiling
16,250 ft
Rate of Climb
1050 fpm
Takeoff over 50 ft obstacle
1,350 ft
Landing over 50 ft obstacle
1,000 ft

Engine

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Sources

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

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