A close look at a 1978 T-Tail Piper Lance and some other PA-32's 

Your American accent is hilarious! I always learn something watching your presentations. Enjoyed it very much.

“There was a cooling ball of a planet and a meteorite…” that actually made me lol. 😂

Nice 40 + years old airplane. Back in the 80s, I transitioned from a C172, to a normal tail turbo Arrow for complex training, and I was at awe with the performance of the Arrow. Later on, flew a Cherokee 6-300 with a friend on bank checks routes. The payload on the Cherokee 6 was awesome. Nice video.

Great videos Mark. Very interesting and informative. Keep them coming.

I’m enjoying the comments as much as the video. Great video, thank you!

I love your videos. It’s awesome to see someone selling aircraft that loves and knows airplanes like you do

Nice video, looking forward to the Myers 200. I have flown the T tail Arrow both normally aspirated and turbocharged. Soft field takeoffs were difficult because you couldn't lift the nose up until you were about 50+ knots. Other then that I liked the plane. I have flown the normally aspirated Saratoga SP. Loved it, great plane, a real load hauler.

I've flown both the straight 300HP lance Turbo T Tail, T-Tail Turbo had a great 3 axis coupled Autopilot but that is all I can say for it. The T tail lance you can't inspect or or clean the stablitator of ice and snow. Turbo sucks 21 gal/hr as opposed to 18 for non turbo lance, and it not faster unless you have O2 and get it up to FL190. My instructor said unless you rotate at 106 mph make sure to accelerate in ground effect as it seemed you did. Lot more time in the Non Turbo only a check-out and then flew the turbo to SRQ and back.

Outstanding presentation and thoughtful information as usual.

Just discovered your channel and am absorbed by the detailed orientated content. Keep up the great work. Looking forward to the early C180 episode having spent some time as a passenger touring south east Australia.

Looking forward to early 180 video. Good job explaining this series

The shark mouth turbo saratoga was the coolest and even weirder that it cooled the rear cylinders first

Thank you, I am looking at this model for my first airplane (but worry it might be more than I need for my mission).

Great video, as always.

Always a fan of the Lance. My dad and a partner bought a brand new conventional tailed Lance in 1977. Didn’t haul as much as the Six, but it was our flying “family truckster” compared to the 182 we had previously. We took a 78 T tailed Lance on a trip once, and Dad noted it was a little mushier, but said it was still quite flyable. I never flew the T-tail Lance so I can’t compare them. I do have some time in a T-tailed Arrow (normally aspirated) when I got my PPL and found it quite flyable - But if I was buying a four place plane I leave gear welded down in a Dakota or Skylane.

I've flown the T-tail Turbo Lance and the T-tail Arrow. All I can say is that they both are not worth buying. The horizontal stabs are actually smaller than the non T-tails and they handle like dump trucks. One of the nicest flying Cherokees I've flown was the 235, later made with a tapered wing and called the Dakota. The Cherokee 6 and original Lances are great airplanes.

Good looking plane

Love the videos keep it up!!!

I enjoyed that very well presented and informative video, thanks.

Thanks Mark, good stuff!

I flew the Lance, conventional tail, aspirated 300hp. In my experience it is able to carry more load than most pilots can imagine in "Standard Aviation procedures". BUT beware of *adequate indicated air speed, and very careful speed control and DO NOT try *normal climbs with it heavy or overloaded, as it was in my experience. I had 7hour endurance plus approximately 1100 to 1200lbs of cargo. In this scenario I operated, it took a long rwy, no high density altitude - actually I had to take off early in the morning due to cooler temperature (*otherwise you're likely a dead man lol). So it means it can fly like that, IF, you fly low, and a favorable kinda flatish terrains. It is amazing but I could even short field land after 3hour flight using 80knot, full flaps, plus plenty power to assure my descending ramp to the point at 80knot with high precision - very short room for landing. This is a too long a story. But with my experiences I started enjoying and appreciating with respect this airplane. It can be a very capable machine if you learn its absolute limits as well as yours. Yes, I knew and felt all times it was on its absolute edge without margin for error. Once in a while other planes crashed doing the same ops. This ops taught me a great deal of things. Among many ones I learned how important it is to control precisely airspeed. Precision landing garanteed my safety in those flights. Configure your aircraft for landing, set your eyes to the touchdown point, hold precisely the speed that you are sure it is minimum and still it can garanty you won't stall as far as you keep it all the way prior to flare up. Don't be ashamed or shy for holding firmly the brakes, 'cause that is what they are there for! ...I was tought by some instructors to save the brakes lol... Forget about that lol!

Early production models had faulty Continental engine block components (too much salt in the cam shaft metal). A friend of mine bought a newer used, 1970’s vintage, Lance in about 1985. On a trip to Palm Springs his engine began to run rough so he enriched the mixture to see if that helped. His engine blew up over Bishop, CA. Oil fire ensued at 10,000 AGL, fire came through the cabin at the right panel ventilation duct toward the right seat occupied by his golf clubs. His nylon jacket was melted on his right arm and he lost hair on his face and right side of his head from the initial flames. Black oil smoke filled the cabin and his family in the back seats were choking (wife and 2 small children). He was an ex Navy Pilot and an MD. He quickly realized he was about to pass out. He stuck his nose out the triangular vent in the left side window for breathable air. His wind screen was totally black and the fire was raging and getting worse. He declared an emergency, turned back towards Bishop about 5 miles away using the window vent to judge his direction to the large hangar at Bishop Airport. He was losing altitude rapidly and the fire was raging under the cowl and the wing roots. His thoughts became, I have to get this on the ground now or we are all dead. His passengers, family, were all vomiting in the rear seats. He attempted to land anywhere flat. He watched the desert ground come up when he saw a runway stripe and turned short short short final. He made a safe landing rolled up to a waiting fire truck, the passengers evacuated and the fire was extinguished. Aftermath: cam shaft, about 20 lbs of it had departed the aircraft. The 3,000 degree oil fire had destroyed most of the engine compartment and the wings were about to fail and were drooping significantly. He was given a cash settlement, they repaired the aircraft which he then sold, his wife refused to fly anymore. He served for a number of years afterwards as Chief Medical Flight Officer and Adversary Training Pilot at Fallon. One hell of a Pilot, one crappy airplane. I flew a Lance once on an instructional flight 4-5 hours. It flew like a brick, I was not impressed.

Great info, it’d be great if you had included the range or fuel burn or speed since you experienced it , Thank you

Awesome !

Thanks for your Video!!!!! Great Airplanes!!!! I currently own and fly one for the last five years, T tail has not been an Issue for me(Just fly 5 knots faster on takeoffs and Landings). Four adults with Luggage, and full fuel, taking off with DA of 7K+ at The Temp. of 97" climbing to 19K Feet, Cruising 150knots, not sure if any other GA plane can do it with the SAME price tag?

I love the drone? view on landing!

The. T-Tails run out of elevator on approach because you can end up flaring and floating down the runway if your power settings are not set and crossing the numbers at 85-90 mph at full flaps but overall it’s a nice looking Aircraft Mark

The long nose fuselage on the both conventional or T-Tail Piper lance makes a difference to trim that nose down to see the horizon

There were no retract Cherokee 6’s. When Piper added the Retract model the name it was the Lance. Thus there were Lances with a normal tail, and the T-tail.

The width of the stabilator on the t-tail is less than the width of the stabilator on the non t-tail lance

one of my first thoughts was about the added structure in the vertical fin to support the different loads of the horizontal. what, if any, are the CG and weight load changes

The nose is heavy on those pa32s and the combination of the T-tail makes for some good planning for flares and landings

I learned in a PA-28-140. The Lance looks like a giant⁉️ I suppose it’s just subjective but I’d choose a low-tail over a T. Same on King Airs. Does one need a ladder to inspect the h stab?😎

I love the Saratoga TC in our flying club-get 175 kts TAS at 10,000 ft with 75% power. Course that’s with 20 gph-not exactly environmentally friendly.

1977 also T tail.

Great video Mark, looking forward to the 180 video. Could you also clarify what the benefits are of the t-tail compared to a normal configuration?? You talk about some of the potential drawbacks, but what is it actually good for!?! P.s I enjoyed the drone shots on T/O and landing

There was a naturally aspirated T-tail arrow as well.

Is it badass that he’s reviewing this airplane on the side of a road or is it just me?

⏪🔙⌚0:35 that was Cool 😊

BTW - it's not really referred to a "square wing" because it clearly is not "squares" but is referred to as "Hershey Bar" wing.

Do the PA32s have a max. angle configuration that involves the flaps like the smaller Cherokees? They use a 20 deg. (2 clicks) setting for best angle of climb. They get the plane off the runway sooner as well. If so, are there any load or other limitations when using it?

There are also fixed gear Saratoga’s.

You're confusing two different AD's on the wing spar. The inspection panels aren't done IAW a factored number of hours. You're thinking of the eddy current inspection AD.

I've always hated the fish mouth models. They were not cool to me. My 1976 non turbo burned about 16.5 gph at 65% and 155 knots true. It was comfortable, dependable and enjoyable to travel in. We had it for about ten years.

I loved the T-tail Lance and enjoyed a couple hundred hours with it. It was a load hauler and flew like a mini airliner. My Comanche is faster and flies better but if I needed six seats again, this would be my first choice. Enjoy the discount from all the “bashing” on the T-tail configuration.

Can I get the next flight 😀

T-tails…meh. The solution to an issue that didn’t exist for small GA aircraft. The 727 was a nice t-tail to fly, however, and pretty good short field performance for a jet. You could even do a GA style, soft field takeoff on a rough, third world, Russian built runway as long as the performance calc allowed it on a long runway. Not much chrome showing on the nose strut. On some runways you’d think the nose gear was going to break when it banged against the compression stop. Lots of pitch authority, which seems to be contrary to these t-tail aircraft. I read a few comments about the Lance being a load hauler. What’s the useful load?

U fly’em power on, all the way to the ground…🤓

To me 85 mph over the fence is fast for a 2300 foot sod strip.

Flew Turbo Arrow IVs and the T tail Lance....teh Arrow was OK, but I hated the T tail Lance. Piper was STUPID for putting the T tail on them.

If it just degrades performance/handling - why a T-tail?

I never flew anything with a T-tail, but I could never get the point of them other than looking cool. I think it was just a marketing thing, like V-tails or gull-wing doors on cars or racing stripes on lawn tractors. They work OK, but there's no real reason for them.

Any chance you could talk to the Meyers 200D?

I guess you've lived long enough in Placerville to speak almost fluent "Yank".

Laence? Lahnce? I would have pronounced it Lahnce. But that's just me.

For no benefit, the T tail is ugly to me just like a V tail. I just want a normal tail

T tails are crap!!! Longer t/o n landing distance I prefer 4 tank fuel for a visual check.otherwise a good airplane! Good night IFR platform good hauling single engine...