Performance Data for the Piper PA-32 Saratoga II TC

(DDMP) (left) give the airplane additional "big-iron" ambiance. instruments. The DDMP lets you select any number of engine parameters by means of a rotary switch. Fuel status, electrical system, power setting (ex- pressed in percentage of maximum horsepower), and engine vital statistics all can be displayed on the DDMP. The percent-power mode is especially handy in setting power. For example, simply adjust manifold pressure, rpm, and mixture until you see 75-percent power on the DDMp, and you're there. The turbine inlet temperature (TIT) gauge is an important one. It measures temperature at the input side of the tur- bocharger, and it's redlined at 1,650 degrees Fahrenheit. Stray above it and you risk damage to both turbo and engine. Unlike the automatic waste- gate's control over manifold pressure overboosts, the turbocharger has no fail-safe mechanisms to protect it against overtemps. That's the pilot's job. Back in the 1970s, when thousands of Saratogas were sold, a popular maga- zine ad showed a baby grand piano being loaded into a Cherokee Six (the Saratoga's predecessor, and the first in the PA-32 line). It was an unusual sight, and yes, you could squeeze a baby grand through those aft doors, and yes, it would fit in the cabin. That same roomy cabin marks today's Saratogas, but now the interior is plusher than the red-velvet look of the disco days. You might still be able to stuff a piano in a new Saratoga, but with all that leather trim you'd think twice-and you'd cer- tainly have to remove the seats. With a little practice, flying the Saratoga is a breeze. You may have to crane your head a bit to see over that huge snout (which has a forward bag- gage compartment) during ground operations, but that's something you get accustomed to. Rotate at 80 kt, climb out at 95, and make sure you have 80 to 90 kt on final approach. Cross the fence, close the throttle, let the airspeed bleed off to 70 kt over the numbers, hold the nose off, and you'll arrive in style. New Piper provides three days of simulator-based pilot training with the purchase of each new Saratoga. Those new to complex aircraft often opt to fly with a flight instructor or seasoned high-timer for the first year of owner- ship-to gain valuable experience and make a safe, orderly transition to solo operations. That's a particularly good idea when stepping up to an airplane like the TC. Which brings us to what AOPA PILOT· 73 •AUGUST 2002 E-mail the author at tom.horne@aopa.org i Links to additional information about New Piper Saratogas may be found on AOPA Online (www.aopa.orgj pilot;links.shtml) . must be the only sore point in the Saratoga's history. Plug "Piper Saratoga" into an Inter- net search engine and there it is: John F. Kennedy Jr.'s fatal crash of July 16, 1999. In their ignorance-and eager- ness to fix blame-some news com- mentators were quick to pounce on a few key words. The Saratoga is a com- plex, high-performance airplane, they kept emphasizing, and in a way that betrayed their unfamiliarity with avia- tion terminology. Certainly this intri- cate speed demon must have been a big factor in the accident's cause. The fact is that Saratogas-even Saratoga II TCs-are, relative to some other comparable makes, extremely well-mannered. Yes, they do fall within the definition of a complex, high-per- formance airplane. As such, they de- mand that their pilots be well-trained and proficient; you could say that of all airplanes. Kennedy didn't have an instrument rating (something that all pilots of larger, capable singles like the Saratoga should have); flew into a dark, hazy night devoid of visual references over Long Island Sound; and entered unusual attitudes. The National Trans- portation Safety Board determined that Topping off a 'Toga Popular options for the Saratoga II TC Air conditioning $10.685 Built·in oxygen system $7.965 Altitude alerter $3.990 Copilot electric pitch trim $1,795 Copilot instruments $7,865 Goodrich Skywatch and WX-500 Stormscope $35,035 Kennedy lost control of his airplane because of spatial disorientation. That wasn't the airplane's fault. In the aftermath of the Kennedy accident, insurance companies began to raise their requirements for Sarato- ga coverage. Generally speaking, they want to see 250 hours total time, an instrument rating, and 75 hours in . type before insuring a Saratoga pilot for solo flight. "I see two basic types of Saratoga TC customers," says Gary Saunders, presi- dent of Columbia Aircraft Center, a Groton, Connecticut, New Piper dealer- ship. "One is the high-time pilot. Maybe he's been flying turboprops like the [Piper] Cheyenne ... but now he doesn't want or need that kind of complexity anymore ... he remembers his old, faith- ful friend, the Saratoga, the one he used to fly a while back. And he wants to go back to that...it's kind of like that for the new Archers, too. "The other customer, believe it or not, is the new pilot. They want to skip right past the smaller planes and go right to the airplane they want to ulti- mately fly. They get their instrument ratings, then hire a pilot to fly with them for six months or a year while they learn the ropes." The Saratoga II TC is an important airplane in The New Piper's product mix. A step-up program lets Warrior and Archer owners trade up to a Sara- toga at a preagreed price, and Saratoga owners can do the same if they de- cide to move up to a Mirage or Merid- ian. The Saratoga bridges the gap between New Pip- er's piston and pressurized mod- els and, as always, serves as an uncomplaining, stylish hauler for both the owner-flown and charter markets. /JCSIA