Q: I am looking to purchase a Cherokee Six. I would prefer a 300, of course, but budget-wise the 260 looks more appealing. Can the horsepower be increased on the 260?
Would a RAYJAY turbo increase horsepower or just increase performance at higher altitudes? I don’t need altitude, I’m a flat lander in northeast Arkansas, but the added power would be nice.
Thanks for any insight you can give!
Caleb Finley
Cherokee 6
A: Caleb, I’m not certain, but I suspect the Type Certificate for the Piper Cherokee 260 will only allow the Lycoming O-540-E series engines to be installed unless someone has obtained an STC for a higher horsepower engine. As far as adding a turbo, it will not increase the engine horsepower, but will give you the advantage of maintaining horsepower to higher altitudes.
Here’s some additional information that may assist you in making your decision. If we look into the future when the engine reaches its TBO time and engine replacement is in order, you’ll have a couple of choices.
You can choose to have your engine overhauled in the field or exchange it for either a Factory Rebuilt, which is a Zero Time engine at roughly $44,600 at list price, or $38,700 list price for a Factory Overhaul. Oh, I forgot to say you should have been sitting down before looking at these prices!
Just to make you feel a little better, let me give you the prices for a 300 horsepower engine as used in the Piper Cherokee Six 300. For a Factory Rebuilt you’re looking at roughly $60,000 at list and for the Factory Overhaul around $55,000.
There are some restrictions when exchanging an engine with the factory, so be sure to check with a Lycoming distributor to get all of that information.
As you can see, you’ve got several choices, but I’d like to remind you that cheaper is not always better, so be certain to take everything into consideration before making any decision as to which model Cherokee you buy.
Be a better informed pilot.
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The 260 models are generally older and have the “Hershey Bar” wing. They are not quite as fast as the taper wing 300s, but have a higher useful load. I flew a 260 for several years and LOVED IT! The plane had a 1600 pound useful load, so full fuel (84 gal, 540#) plus 1100 pounds of people makes it a true 6 seat airplane.
As has been recommended, check the paperwork for each plane you’re considering, but you may find the 260 a better all around choice.
A pa32 – 260 has a 100 lb. more useful load than a 300 due to weight of fuel injection, also your leaned fuel burn
Rich of peak at altitude is a lot better than the 300. Both engines give you a constant 135kts.
Having flown the 6-300, make sure you read the climb performance chart. The 300 needs first notch of flaps to have a good climb rate up to DA 11,000.
That said, the IO540 may be installed with a field approval IFF your FSDO will accept it. So you want to talk with them first.
I’d be armed with all the weight changes and similar before I approached them on this. Example: injected does not have carb heat so how do you deal with that?
Lastly, I am not an A&P, so take this with the appropriate amount of salt.
Although this always seemed counter-intuitive, if I remember things correctly it actually worked out that the 260 could have more useful load than the 300. So a complete investigation is warranted to see just why more power is desired. Having said that when the club I was in bought a ‘6 we went for a 300.
I have a Rajay turbo-normalized STC installed in my Cessna 182P. It’s a terrific system as the plane has full cruise power up to the lower flight levels. They system is certified to FL25. It’s great for high density altitude take-offs while fully loaded and increased TAS at high altitude.
The Rajay system has a manual wastegate, which means the turbo is only engaged when you dial it in to make boost. Otherwise the aircraft operates as a regular normally aspirated engine.
Down low you get the fuel savings of the standard engine, and up high experience faster performance with sea level fuel flows.
Picture and description of the plane: welch.com/n46pg/homepage-section/