Why & How I Bought a Cherokee Six | Flying the 'Arch Tour' to Thanksgiving at Grandma’s
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ม.ค. 2023
- 22 yrs ago my career took us away from our hometown & families. Seven hours driving one way 4-5 times a year for holidays & events? There has to be a better way!
There is! 12 years ago I bought into a 1979 Piper Cherokee Six and it changed our family's life. I’ll explain why the PA-32 platform was perfect for our primary mission, show you the cost per hour to operate, and argue why the Cherokee Six is best family hauler out there. A roomy & comfortable 6 place cabin, lean 15 gph fuel burn @140 kts average airspeed and roughly a 6 hr range that won’t break the bank to operate meaning, the Cherokee Six is essentially a minivan with wings!
Plus where else can you get views of your hometown like this? We fly the “Arch Tour” arrival into St. Louis, hugging the riverfront low & slow for some up close & personal views of Mr. Saarinen’s masterpiece +other famous St. Louis landmarks before arriving a Spirit of St. Louis airport (KSUS) for Thanksgiving at Grandma’s house. HUGE Shout-out and thanks to StL APP for accommodating our request and making it easy for us in such busy airspace.
DISCLAIMER: This video is highly edited for entertainment purposes only. It is NOT for instruction or training. I am not a CFI. Seek qualified CFI and training in your own airplane. Now sit back, relax and enjoy the views! 😀
Music
“We Cruisin'” - Otis McDonald
“SilverWaves” - TrackTribe
“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” - DJ Williams
“Desert Planet” - Quincas Moreira
“Forever Young” - Otis McDonald
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I flew a Cherokee Six for 10 years. Nearly 5000hrs in it. Besides a few bad mags, elec fuel pump failure, spark plugs, and one cracked cylinder. It never let me down. I literally flew a few thousands people and thousands of loads of cargo in it. Amazing plane.
that is awesome! thx for stopping by and sharing. Other than our recent engine troubles, she's be very reliable for us, great airframe.
I'm very impressed with your journey .I promise to one furniture, yes that is great adventure.
Awesome! Thank you!
We have been through a number of family haulers over the years. Mooney, C-182, C-210, now we are in a PA-46 Malibu. Every upgrade so we can haul more stuff and make the wife and dog more comfortable. All in the name of making family memories.
PA-46!! Now you are talking. thx for stopping by #bucketlist
I did the same now I’m in 1986 Malibu completely restored. Great airplane.
How nice your planes grew with your family. I’m at the beginning of the spectrum :)
I'm so envious. My wife's view is it's too expensive. Take Southwest.
I'm jealous you have the time too! Between work and my children's sports I won't even log 20 hrs this year.
Blue skies my friend! Live the dream!
Thank you for allowing me to vicariously experience flying a Cherokee Six! I learned how to fly in a Cherokee 140 while in college and also flew a 160 and 180. I was fascinated by the Cherokee Six, but never had the opportunity to fly one. Alas, I was not able to continue flying because I never made enough money. I still carry my pilot’s license in my wallet. Someday, I might find a way to fly a Cherokee Six with an instructor. I also enjoyed the views of St.Louis. Many of my college friends were from there. (I went to Mizzou.) I flew a couple of friends to St.Louis for fun. We landed at a small airport, the name of which I forgot. As part of my flight training, I flew into Lambert Field at night with my instructor. Thanks for bringing back these great memories! I do have a question, though: flying a private plane is a great way to go places faster than in a car. However, there’s the risk of being “socked in.” Certain weather conditions can ground even a proficient IFR-rated pilot. Anyway, thanks again for sharing your experience.
thanks for stopping by and the nice comments! Yes, even with an IFR rating, I have had to cancel a few flights due weather because it was below my personal minimums at the destination. One of our videos ("ICING") details a trip that was extended by a day because it became unsafe to continue and we had to spend an unplanned night in Smyrna TN. You just roll with it and plan contingencies when the forecast isn't ideal.
Great video edit buddy, you did life right
thank you!
I live near Indianapolis and am in the middle of working on my PPL. Your channel is exactly why I'm getting my PPL with further plans to own a plane and take my own family on get-a-ways. I've used your videos as examples to my wife to try and help alleviate her fear of flying in a small plane. Keep up the great work.
That is awesome to hear, keep up the hard work, it's worth it. After 12 yrs my wife is still scared but with over 500 accident free hrs in 6ZeroAlpha, hopefully she's got some confidence in the bird & pilot by now!? Thanks for watching & the kind words.
I’m in beech grove working on my PPL as well I’m waiting on my check ride
Get your instrument rating as well before flying your family around. Way to many VFR private pilots killing themselves and their families.
This makes my heart smile. Even if it costs a little bit more than the minivan would, it’s so worth it!
no argument here! thx for stopping by
Great video, Great adventure for the family and your wife did a great job of containing her excitement about being back on the ground...LOL
thank you! we've had a lot of fun, seen some amazing things, but she still is not a huge fan of "small planes"
This inspirers me to work harder on my license, keep at it my family and I love your content
thanks for the support & kind words. never give up on your dreams, persistence is the key. fly safe.
Nice. Well put. I have a 79 also. It’s been an adventure
they are fun, memory-making machines for sure! fly safe
It’s truly a time machine. God bless.
thanks for stopping by!
Great video! Loved the commentary and the view!
Glad you enjoyed it!
That "plush velour interior designed by Audi" was a Piper selling point back in the day. It still looks to be in good shape. I always thought the velour absorbed some of the in-cabin noise, a moot point when noise cancelling headsets were introduced. Excellent video!
lol, I didn't know the Audi connection, thanks for sharing. it is certainly nicer to your legs than leather in the summertime. I'd say it's a 5/10, showing it's age particularly around the windows, but as I said in the video, I don't care. Having a solid / safe airplane is more important than looks for us. thx for stopping by and the nice comment, fly safe!
Awesome video. First time watching. Definitely in my bucketlist to own a plane. Nothing like family time in your own airplane.
Thanks for the price breakdown on your plane as well.
Love to see your son helping with the cam, mom and daughter enjoying the ride, and moms reaction on landing 😂
Keep it up. New subscriber here.
thank you, welcome aboard!
Love the story! Different angle to look at the city you travel. Super cool.
Glad you enjoyed it! Yes, it was surreal reliving 10 years of my childhood collected at every one of those places in 10 mins from above with my own children making new memories!
Good times! Welcome HOME for a bit. Now to convince my wife that we need a Cherokee 6. If it works....... I owe ya! Cheers.
Thanks 👍 Make her watch the video! It took my wife some convincing but she has been a loyal trooper even if she still isn't fond of small planes. You may have to offer your wife something she really wants too for the deal to happen, like a pick up truck. Ask ask me how I know?
First time watching, I’m from Missouri. It was cool seeing familiar sights. Soon I’ll be looking to get my license and just punch some holes in the sky. Nice video, loved the music!!!!!
thanks for stopping by and the kind words. Go for it, best investment you can make is in yourself, and the memories you will make with it will be awesome - cheers!
Great video, wonderful family
You are so kind, yes they are!
Went to chiropractic school in Chesterfield and looking to start getting my PPL now down in GA… was neat to see so many familiar places
ahh yes Logan College, otherwise know as "there's dead bodies in there" neighborhood lore when I was a kid. we had many a double-dog-dare-you to walk up the hill at night and peak in the windows. thx for watching!!
The Cherokee six w/300 hp is the perfect and highly reliable choice as a single engine heavy hauler!
I would agree 1000000%
like the video n plane also
thanks for stopping by, we're getting back to that real soon, stay tuned!
Great video! I love to see down to earth people flying with their family. I love your humor! Fu** that sh** in the video made me laugh pretty hard. Keep it up!
Insider - we used to be on that highway in our minivan pre-6ZeroAlpha. Glad you enjoyed it, thx for stopping by
love it!
thanks for stopping by an the nice comment
keep on flyin'
whenever I can!
Great story. Congrats
Thanks for stopping by!
Awesome Video!!! Beautiful Family and an extremely informative breakdown, related to your specific cost analysis. I really liked how you highlighted all of the various landmarks and stated, “You don’t get views like this on the highway.”
Can you do submit a video of how you completed your certifications when obtaining your license.
Thanks Sir!!!
Glad you enjoyed it! great idea, problem is I don't have any GP footage from most of my training, it was done before GP was invented (yes I'm old). It would be a lot of still pix and gratuitous use of "ken burns pan & zoom" + a lot of voice overs of me to create the narrative. not exactly exciting exciting stuff for YT, would you wanna watch that? let me think on it to come up with something a bit more exciting, thx for the suggestion.
Love the PA32 - 300 Piper Cherokee six and it’s useful load carrying because I have a family of six people
sounds liek you have the right airplane for your mission, thx for stopping by.
Nice landing, i currently rent a Cherokee six, great airplane. Trying to convince the wife that we should have our own plane too. 😊
Thanks! It's a great HP starter that has a lot of benefits. It took me 5 yrs to convince the wife and she still has trepidation because of the 'small plane' vibe. We test drove a few 6 places and the Cherokee has the most shoulder & leg room, minimizes the small plane vibe to the max, two doors, easy in & out, and room to spread our if just 4-5 of you on a 4-5 hr leg.
This was dope
thanks!!
nice video! Friendly Skies! Jason
thanks!
Great video. I lived in Warsaw and Flora IL. I know that drive. Don't blame you. How does the Cherokee do in cold weather?
thanks! just fine with a good preheat in the hangar, and climbs better, burns less fuel and gets a little better true airspeed in the cold air!
I'd love to see your plane if you're ever near southern Michigan. Looking to upgrade from my 172.
sounds good!
I'm looking at something with a similar useful load for family missions. What is the general price range I should expect for a plane like yours? I'd like one with similar avionics as yours, and upgrade that as I go.
Depends, but I have seen a few recently for sale $150-175k asking price, doesn't mean that's what's actually being paid in a sale.
Let me know the next time you are in the Lou! I am based out of KCPS Great looking plane and great video!
Thanks, we love it and baby it. The PA-32 East Coast fly-in this summer is at KSUS, come on out.
@@6ZeroAlpha I might just have to!
How tricky is the weight and balance and seating people as well as baggage?
not really an issue once you figure it out. Follow the POH and don't cheat on your first couple of W&B calcs because a fully loaded six handles much differently than in your training flights with only you and the instructor aboard. The the six likes to be loaded and is more forgiving aft so always fill up rear baggage and rear 2 seats first. At MGW and full of fuel you might not be able to put much in the nose due to the higher forward CG limit. I loaded our current W&B into Foreflight and have played with it enough to know how to load everything for most flights.
At some point will you downsize to something smaller and faster?
likely, although a pressurized would be nice, not many 4 place options for those
Hi grear channel, please rebuild the engine asap.
thx! Ha - yeas I agree, will be an engine update soon, and "it's not good"!
I would have flown it under the arch
ha! some have, and some went to jail!
How about OH cost? if the a/c had 500 hrs left on the engine, and OH cost (say) 50k, you need to add extra $100/hr to come up with 50k by the OH time...and then add 100 hourly and other little hidden costs.
as we said in the video, the engine had about 6600 hrs TTSN, and the base cost for the overhaul was $60k. It was very likely many very expensive components would have needed to have been replaced driving the actual OH cost up likely into the $75k-80k range, and you still have an engine with 6600 hrs TTSN. We opted to just do everything now to minimize labor costs in the end +significantly increase the value of the airplane.
Of driving THAAAAT!
?
@@6ZeroAlpha sounds emphatic
love the videos hate the bed music
Thx for the watching, glad you enjoy the visual parts. I do my best to select from the copyright-free music tracks that fit the mood of the scene/video. Nevertheless, always controversial no matter what! Would you prefer no music all? Would you watch a ~15 min video that has long gaps of silence vs being filled with music? thx for the feedback.
Tommy Emmanuel?
dave....is that you?
family don"t look to happy
yeah it's a rough life back there a sprawled out, tons of leg room, getting a head massage from mom! actually they both hate to fly, doubly so in a small plane, hence the 6 place and club seating for a family of 4.
@@6ZeroAlpha I was thinking that it's nice to know my kids aren't the only ones 😂
Eh the kids never really appreciate anything until they are older and looking back
Is there a reason you call under carriage during your check list on your fixed gear airplane ?
partially just habit from all my training over the years including retract time ("GUMPS" check), also reference for proper flaps setting for a fixed gear plane