I have a 76 Sundowner since March 5. A great plane. Very Stable, and the 2
doors blow the socks off the crawl over the seat Pipers especially after a 3
hr cross country and you and the co-pilot have to hit the head !
ROOMY too. Good load, just DONT FILL THE TANKS unless you've done the W&B
first or fly alone.
I keep 34 gal ready to go and get 8.3GPH on 105KT cruise. That's 4 hrs of
bladder bursting flying in my book. I plan to stop at 2.5 hrs or less for a
break and re-fuel.
Nice stable platform for IFR training too if you don't have your ticket. I
got mine in 8 weeks after I got the Sundowner.
Dr. Bill
N9230S
8A6, NC

"Roger Tracy" wrote in message
...
I owned a Sundowner for a while. Was a very nice plane for the money.
I had virtually no trouble with it, it was very well made and it was
comfortable to
fly in. It just isn't fast. I sold it and bought a Grumman Tiger which I'm
very happy with. But
the Tigers cost more. I don't think you can go wrong with the Sundowner as
long as the speed works for you.


"VM" wrote in message
arthlink.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?