The Piper Indians

I would have liked some color pictures. The author has good knowledge of piper aircraft. Covers the history, and has personal experience flying pipers. I found it very helpfull and interesting. Especially good read for someone considering buying a used piper.

I generally like the Bill Clarke series of airplane reviews. I own this book as well as the second editions of "The Cessna 150 & 152" and "The Cessna 172." All of these books are easy reading yet provide detailed information on the plane (or planes) in question. This book starts with a chapter on the history of Piper Aircraft Company, followed by a few chapters detailing the specifications of the Piper PA-28 Cherokees, Archer, Warriors and Dakotas and up to the retractable Archers and twin-engine Senecas and Aerostars. Each is described with detailed performance specs, and the author notes any issues good or bad, especially any AD (Airworthiness Directive) issues that might be expensive to comply with. The latter half of this book is more generic, covering used airplane buying in general, forms that are needed, avionics, maintenance, etc. The only problem with this book (and the series in general) is that it was published in 1988, so the prices do not reflect the current rapid appreciation in the used aircraft market and some of the chapters, like the avionics chapter, are somewhat outdated in this GPS age. That's a one-star demerit. Otherwise, I highly recommend this book for anyone who is seriously contemplating the purchase of a Piper, particularly one of the fixed-gear singles.