Student Pilot Buying A Piper Arrow
Q. Hi, I am a student pilot buying a Piper Arrow. I have located a 1974 PA-28-200R Arrow with 5,500 hours total time and 500 hours since a major overhaul. It sounds like a good deal for the price. However, before I worry about buying the aircraft, I need know how many hours I will need in this model to qualify for insurance coverage. In addition, are there any restrictions for a retractable gear aircraft based on turf fields?
A. Typically the underwriters would like to see about 150 hour total time and 25 in retractable gear aircraft before they will offer a quote in the Arrow. A few will consider less total time if you have higher retractable time. The Arrow is one of the few retractable gear trainers, so it is better for transition.
Being a student pilot buying a Piper Arrow also doesn’t mean you cant buy insurance, just makes it more difficult and of course, more expensive.
The turf restriction varies with companies. Most underwriters do not want to insure a retractable gear aircraft that based on a turf field. However, most polices do not usually restrict landing on turf runways.
