Piston Singles Buyer‘s Guide 2012

Cessna Aircraft
www.cessna.com

Cessna 172 Skyhawk and Skyhawk SP
Perhaps the definitive simple single over the last 50 years, the Skyhawk has matured to become a sophisticated, 21st-century marvel. Okay, so the basic design still has a strong aesthetic resemblance to the original. Virtually everything else about the airplane has improved, from interior materials and creature comforts to avionics and powerplant. Today's Skyhawk comes in your choice of 160 or 180 hp versions, each cruising at an easy 120 knots with 2+2 accommodations, Garmin G1000 avionics and enough other goodies to satisfy the most discriminating pilot. Price: $274,900 (172); $307,500 (172S).

Cessna 182/T182 Skylane
Cessna's popular Turbo-Skylane offers pilots a more enthusiastic four-seater with performance to match the mountains. The standard-breathing Skylane employs a Lycoming IO-540 engine derated to 230 hp, or you can select the turbocharged model with the same engine inhaling compressed air and delivering 235 hp. The heavy breather is by far the more popular machine, especially for pilots who must operate regularly at high-density altitudes. Perhaps either Skylane's best feature is its simple handling, little more challenging to fly than the lighter Skyhawk, yet an easy 20 knots quicker and with far better climb performance. There may be easier airplanes to fly, but don't ask a Skylane pilot to name one. Price: $398,100 (182); $432,800 (T182).

Cessna 206/T206 Stationair
The largest Cessna piston single is the Stationair, a six-seater that's equally happy carrying a hockey team or a load of cargo. The airplane works well as a small corporate transport or a freighter flying resupply missions to the bush country of Alaska and Canada. Like the Skylane, the Stationair comes in both turbo and normal versions, though again, the turbocharged airplane is the hot seller. Service ceiling with compressed power (310 hp) is 27,000 feet, though the airplane is approved for cruise at 25,000 feet. Add Garmin G1000 avionics plus the G700 autopilot, and you have an airplane that can deliver six people to the most or the least sophisticated destinations. Price: $544,000 (206); $585,500 (T206).

Corvalis/TTX
If you're into speed, power, low-wing visibility and comfort, the Corvalis TTX is a different kind of Cessna. The company's first low-wing single ever, the TTX is a new-generation airplane constructed of E-glass and carbon fiber, more reminiscent of military fighters than general aviation designs. The TTX sports the new Garmin G2000 glass panel, with touch-screen controller, a pair of side sticks, a turbocharged 310 hp Continental TSIO-550 engine and a near-cabin-class cockpit more reminiscent of a twin than a single. The Corvalis TTX will deliver speeds in excess of 220 knots at FL250 or range out to 1,000 nm if necessary, but not both at the same time. Price: $733,950.

Piper Aircraft
www.piper.com

Piper Warrior
The Warrior is Piper's entry-level trainer, a 160 hp model with flight characteristics that redefine the term "benign." The basic PA-28 Cherokee 150 was modified in 1974 to adopt a semi-tapered wing and the existing relatively bulletproof Lycoming O-320 engine, rated for 150 hp. That airplane lasted only four years in original form, before power was upgraded to 160 hp on the same engine, resulting in the PA-28-161 Warrior. The airplane's stall is so slow and gentle, it's almost nonexistent. Some instructors even criticize the Warrior for being too gentle. Cruise is 120 knots, and approaches are so slow, the airplane can easily sneak in and out of 1,500-foot strips. Price: $289,900.

Piper Archer LX
Second in the Piper hierarchy is the Archer. It flies behind a 180 hp Lycoming and carries four folks if you're willing to leave some fuel behind. With gear and prop fixed, the Archer works well as a trainer or a 2+2 family traveling machine. Cruise is a few knots quicker than the Warrior, and with 48 gallons aboard, you can plan on cross-country flights out to nearly 500 nm. Combine that with perhaps the easiest landing characteristics in the industry, and you can understand why the basic PA-28-180/181 has been around for nearly 50 years. Price: $309,900.

Piper Arrow
From its inception in the mid-'60s, the Arrow was always intended as the simplest retractable in the sky. (The first ones even featured an automatic gear-extension system, long since disabled following the inevitable lawsuit.) Today, the Arrow remains the only basic retractable, now that Mooney has become a question mark. The 2012 Arrow retains essentially the same durable 200 hp injected engine as that used on the early models, the same relatively bulletproof gear system and the gentle handling of the fixed-gear Archer. Count on a reasonable 140 knots in cruise, though not many flight schools will care much about that parameter in training mode. Price: $399,000.

Piper Matrix
In late 2007, the Vero Beach company introduced the unpressurized Mirage, called the Matrix. In every sense, the Matrix was a Mirage without all the pumps, valves and other hardware necessary to inflate the cabin. The result was a resounding sales winner with virtually identical performance. Perhaps more than coincidentally, all the plumbing that was left out totaled 170 pounds, so the Matrix wound up with a pilot and three-passenger full-fuel payload rather than the Mirage's more typical one-plus-two limitation. The Matrix still succeeds in outselling all other Piper products. Price: $869,000.

Piper Mirage
Piper's original 1984 Malibu was such a world-beater that it blew the only competition, the Cessna P210N, completely out of the market for that year. (Cessna came back in 1985 with the considerably improved P210R, only to go out of production with all other piston Cessnas in 1986.) Today, the 350 hp, Lycoming-powered Mirage is the only pressurized, piston single on the market, and it's still the airplane of choice for many businessmen/pilots. Typically operated at 15,000 to 22,000 feet, the Mirage can provide 210 knots max cruise for a pilot and two passengers out to 1,000 nm, or a full load of people and stuff on 500-mile legs. Price: $997,500.

Cirrus Aircraft
www.cirrusaircraft.com

Cirrus SR20
The Klapmeier brothers' first production airplane was the 200 hp SR20, and it continues today as the foundation of the Cirrus line. In fact, the U.S. Air Force recently provided a resounding endorsement by purchasing 25 SR20s as primary trainers at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. Fitted with a 200 hp Continental IO-360 engine, the SR20 is well-suited to operation at modest density altitudes, and can cruise at up to 155 knots. Price: $289,900.

Cirrus SR22/22T
The airplane that truly captured the imagination of the flying public is the SR22, a 310 hp, carbon-fiber sport/speedster. Designed from the outset around the interior dimensions and accoutrements of the BMW 5-series sedans, the SR22 boasts one of the most comfortable cabins in the class. It also scores 180-185 knots following a 1,400 fpm climb. Introduced in 2001, the SR22 outpaced even Cessna's long-established 172 and 182 in sales. The turbo version of the SR22 allows cruise in the flight levels at 210 knots or more. Price: $449,900 (normal) to $544,900 (turbo).

Hawker Beechcraft
www.hawkerbeechcraft.com

Beech G36 Bonanza
For many pilots, the G36 has always represented the top of the pyramid among production singles. With its aft right cargo doors and conference seating, the G36 offers easy boarding to all six seats, near 200 mph (176 knots) speed on short flights and a max range of 900 nm at reduced power settings. It's also arguably one of the most comfortable airplanes in the sky, with a new thermostatically controlled air conditioner, LED lighting everywhere you look and luxurious comfort at all stations. Most notably, however, Bonanzas are famous for their excellent control harmony. The airplanes are equally renowned for the way they fly as for their impressive performance numbers. With the same rugged gear system used to train Navy pilots to land on carriers (on the old T-34C), the Bonanza can even fill in as the most luxurious off-airport airplane you'll ever find. Price: $736,000 to $759,000 with new interior.

American Champion Aircraft
www.amerchampionaircraft.com

American Champion Champ
Flying doesn't get much more minimalist than in a Champ. Sure, you can always opt to fly ultralights or LSAs, but if you're determined to stick with standard production airplanes, a Champ is as entry-level as they come. The Champ employs a 100 hp Continental O-200D engine, basically the same mill used on the Cessna 162. Approved for basic aerobatics, the Champ is rated for +5/-2 G's, and can fly loops, rolls, hammerheads, spins and most other inside maneuvers. Certified at 1,320 pounds gross, the Champ meets LSA standards, so it can be flown by aviators with a sport pilot license. Price: $109,900.

American Champion Super Decathlon
At the opposite end of the line, the Super Decathlon is a brilliantly conceived, marvelously capable advanced aerobatic trainer that can double as a Sunday-go-to-hamburger airplane. A variation on the original Bellanca Super Decathlon, the current airplane features a Lycoming AEIO-360 engine with inverted fuel and oil systems to allow limited inverted flight (two minutes---more than enough, believe me). In tandem configuration, it's a comfortable cruiser with 125 knots speed and 40 gallons of fuel, worth three hours endurance plus reserve. Perhaps best of all, the Super is pure fun. Price: $163,900.

American Champion Scout
The bush champs are the Scouts, and as of last August, there are now two of them. The basic airplane is a hardworking, nonaerobatic version of the Super Decathlon. Sporting four feet more wingspan, the Scout offers a lower stall speed and better short-field performance plus a tough gear system to handle off-airport destinations. The Scout also features a carbureted engine for more reliable engine starts in the backcountry. Gross is 200 pounds heavier than the Super Decathlon's max weight, and the Scout is approved in the utility category. Price: $157,900.

American Champion Denali Scout
The top-of-the-line is the Denali Scout, fitted with a 210 hp Lycoming IO-390 engine to lift the airplane's 2,150-pound gross weight. This turns the most powerful of the 8-series airplanes into one of the premier, two-seat airplanes in the bush. Standard takeoff run is well under 300 feet, and cruise with all that power on tap is an easy 110 knots. Surprisingly, fuel capacity can be as much as 70 gallons, so even a 10 gph burn will provide six hours endurance plus reserve. That's excellent range for a bush airplane. Perhaps best of all, the extra horses should make the airplane a superlative water bird, even mounted on heavy amphibious floats, with good short-field performance to levitate from truly short water runways. Price: $182,900.

American Champion Citabria
The Citabria line comes in four flavors. The Aurora is a 118 hp trainer/fun machine ($119,900); the Adventure is the same basic airframe flying behind a 160 hp Lycoming ($130,900); and the basic Explorer uses the 160 hp mill plus a slightly larger wing, better suited for the bush role ($134,900). There's also a super version, called the High Country Explorer ($148,900) that features a 180 hp Lycoming and larger tires, plus other upgrades for the backcountry.

Aviat Aircraft
www.aviataircraft.com

Aviat Pitts S2C
Aviat Aircraft of Afton, Wyo. offers two production aircraft. By far the wildest is the Pitts S2C, a 260 hp aerobatic training/competition machine, capable of such exotic maneuvers as double hammerheads, Lomcevaks, multiple vertical rolls and a variety of other tricks. The S2C is something of a one-trick pony---hardcore aerobatics---but it does that job better than most of its competition. Fuel capacity is only 28 gallons, so don't plan on flying for more than about 1+30, but that's usually enough for most people when the mission is acro training or practicing for competition. Price: $301,757.

Aviat Husky
The Husky is a variation on a theme by Piper, namely the Super Cub. Aviat incorporated a number of improvements to expand the type's utility and the result is a bush machine par excellence. A 180 hp Lycoming engine provides motive force for the basic airplane, and in combination with a big, 183-square-foot wing and a low 37-knot stall speed, the Husky can perform such tricks as a 200-foot takeoff distance on land or 300-foot run mounted on floats. Payload is nearly 600 pounds, impressive for a two-seater. Mount it on huge bush tires, amphibious floats or skies, and you can go practically anywhere. If you need the absolute maximum short-field numbers, opt for the 200 hp model, and you'll see near helicopter performance. Price: $204,192 (180 hp); $249,260 (200 hp).

Diamond Aircraft
www.diamondtaircraft.com

Diamond DA20 Eclipse C1
It's hard to imagine a better 21st-century trainer than the Diamond DA20. A follow-on to Diamond's Rotax-powered Katana, the current C1 is blessed with carbon-fiber construction, a 125 hp Continental engine, two conventional joysticks and a semibubble canopy. The littlest Diamond sports perhaps the best performance and handling of any two-seat trainer offered in years. Best of all, it makes the process of learning to fly an absolute ball. Price: $179,800.

Diamond DA40/XLS Star
Stretch the cockpit of the DA20 to allow mounting two rear seats, pump the power up to 180 hp, and you wind up with the DA40 Star. It's Diamond's better idea for a four-place traveling machine, complete with an aft-left door, and it does an excellent job of transporting a string quartet (sans instruments). Like its little brother, it flies with a joystick, a throwback that's more fun than you'd imagine, and its low 49-knot dirty stall lets it sneak into and back out of short fields normally reserved for more STOL machines. The upgraded XLS model ($359,800) includes a number of improvements, including more efficient wheel fairings, a tuned exhaust from Power Flow, a new, three-blade, MT, semi-scimitar prop and several luxury features. Price: $279,800.

Maule Air
www.mauleairinc.com

MX7-260
Maules seem almost timeless. They're known worldwide as tough birds, designed to be ridden hard and put away wet. There's an almost bewildering variety of Belford Maule's remarkable machines, most with tailwheels, others with nosewheels, nesting on sprung steel gear or oleo struts behind engines from 180 to 260 hp, with your choice of carburetion or fuel injection. Basically, Maule seems willing to configure an airplane to meet your needs. Looking back at the 2011 lineup, the M7-260 (with oleo strut gear) was the King Kong model, sporting a 260 hp Lyc and conventional gear. With such copious horsepower and a high-lift airfoil, the airplane scores 1,650 fpm climb in standard wheeled mode, and cruises of 141 knots with flaps in the minus-7-degree reflex position. (Maules utilize huge flaps that deflect from minus-7 degrees to 49 degrees down.) Takeoff and landing distances are both under 400 feet on land. Best of all, the copious power allows the M7-260 to deliver decent performance with floats. The M7-260C features aluminum spring gear. Contact Maule for pricing.

Maule M7-235B
Only a short step down in performance is the injected, 235 hp Maule taildragger, another good water bird and a short-field airplane that will knock your hat in the creek. Performance is slightly reduced, but range is better by reason of improved fuel burn. The "B" utilizes the oleo strut main gear. Contact Maule for pricing.

Maule MX7-180B
This is the economy champ with oleo struts and fuel consumption around 9.5 gph at 75%. Fit the optional 85-gallon tanks, and you can linger aloft for a butt-numbing 10 hours plus reserve. That can be a major advantage when many trips are out-and-backs. The MX7-180C features aluminum spring gear. Contact Maule for pricing.

Maule MXT7-180, MT7-235 and MT7-260
All three of the models above are constructed in steerable nosewheel configuration, specifically for pilots who don't feel the need for bush flexibility of a tailwheel. Performance is relatively unchanged, despite the additional drag of a nose gear over a tailwheel. Contact Maule for pricing.

CubCrafters
www.cubcrafters.com

Cubcrafters Top Cub
Combine the original Cub's USA35B airfoil with 180 hp, and you have an airplane for (practically) all reasons. With a max takeoff weight of 2,300 pounds, the Top Cub boasts a useful load of 1,100 pounds, and it can carry that load on 300 nm out-and-back trips. Like the Husky, the Top Cub is happy on any form of landing gear---wheels, skis or floats---and it offers comparable short-field (-water?) performance. Price: $205,480.

Extra Aircraft
www.extraaircraft.com

Extra 330LT/LX
Walter Extra's remarkable, 3D airplanes come in a variety of configurations. All are power by 315 hp AEIO-540 Lycomings for maximum aerobatic performance, but the LT has been purpose-built for cross-country travel as well as vertical and inverted fun. It features an Aspen PFD/MFD along with a full stack of Garmin radios as standard equipment. The LX is the current two-seat trainer version for those into very advanced aerobatic training. Price: $438,000/$407,500.

Extra 330SC
Finally, the SC is the competition airplane, Extra's full-blown, single-seat, top-of-the-line aerobatic model, more than coincidentally the airplane flown by the 2009 World Aerobatic Champion in Silverstone, UK. This is the most advanced acro Extra available. Price: $428,000.