Howdy. I own a Musketeer and have a few hundred hours in it, as well
as a few dozen in Sundowners. Basically the same plane, the Sundowner
climbs better (but still not well) and is a shade faster (not even 5
knots, in general). Our Musketeer is an *old* one (1963), but we
haven't had any problem finding parts. The engine is just an O-320
(O-360 in the Sundowner) that every mechanic on earth knows like the
back of his hand. The rest is just an airplane. A very simple,
reliable airplane. The Beech parts we have bought have been somewhat
more expensive than Piper or Cessna parts, but seem to be built
better. Even with such an old plane, we've had relativly few large
maintenence expenses.

I only have a few hours in an Archer, but the Archer wasn't nearly as
comfortable as the Sundowner or Musketeer. It was a bit faster, but
not by a whole lot. The real difference seemed less than 10 knots. For
a 300 NM trip, that comes out to a difference of about 10 minutes. To
me, the comfort was well worth the extra few minutes. Our Musketeer
cost $10,000 less than a comparable 172 or Cherokee. The visability of
a Sundowner is simply stunning, compared to anything else short of a
Katana (I've been flying a Cessna 206 quite a bit lately - great
plane, but the visability is much worse than on any of the Beeches).

I'd buy a Musketeer/Sundowner again in a heartbeat. They are fun to
fly (great control response, very predictable). Actually, they land
better than the Cessnas I used to fly. The key (as in most planes) is
airspeed control. if you are on the speeds over the numbers, the Mouse
can make you look like a much better pilot than you deserve to look
like. Of course, the penalty for being wrong is greater than in the
Cessnas, but if you are careful, it lands beautifully. The biggest
problem is the climb. The Sundowner is better than the Mouse, but
still not very good. The Musketeer can be downright dangerous if you
don't plan well. It's climb rate is scary-bad. The Sundowner's is just
bad. But if you plan for this, you can manage it.

Honestly, I can recommend the Sundowner/Musketeer family very highly.
Our Mouse has proven to be very inexpensive to operate, fun to fly,
and very reliable. If you understand the limitations of the Sundowner
and are willing to accept them, then you can find yourself a truly
wonderful plane for a bargain price.

Cheers,

Cap


"VM" wrote in message . earthlink.net...
I'm considering buyint a 1978 Beechcraft Sundowner. I have concerns about
being able to find spare parts, etc. I'm also considering a Piper Archer
II. The Sundowner I've found is $15,000 less than a comparable Piper
Cherokee Archer II. The Sundowner looks like a new airplane both inside and
out and everything works. The Archer looks ok but needs paint and needs a
handfull of minor repairs, all of which are included in the purchase. Any
thoughts?