Plane & Pilot 2017 Buyer’s Guide: Single-Engine Piston Planes

Newcomers, upgrades, and old favorites: 20 piston singles for 2017.

Plane & Pilot

Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at 08:13 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

The 2017 Buyer's Guide for piston singles features significant updates to existing models and new aircraft, offering a diverse range from basic trainers to high-performance, pressurized airplanes.
Many leading models, including the best-selling Cirrus SR22 G6, incorporate advanced avionics like Garmin's G1000 NXi and G3000 suites, alongside enhanced safety features and improved passenger comfort.
The market provides options for various needs, from high-altitude, six-place pressurized aircraft (e.g., Piper M350) and blazing-fast cruisers (Mooney Acclaim Ultra, Cessna TTx) to versatile fixed-gear utility planes (Cessna 182 Skylane) and entry-level personal aircraft (Cirrus SR20, Diamond DA40, Tecnam P2010).

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Beechcraft G36 Bonanza

When you think of the ideal personal transportation piston single, it’s hard not to think of the G36 Bonanza, a fast, six-place retractable cruiser with club seating in back and a big, comfy barn door for passengers to climb into and back out of the plane. The basic design of the plane hasn’t changed in decades, but the quality and design character, if anything, have only grown stronger over time. And the electronics are light-years ahead of any ’60s-era Model 36, with the Garmin G1000 avionics suite standard. Beechcraft, now a part of Textron Aviation, only sells a few dozen Bonanzas a year, and they go for a premium. But the pleasure and pride Beechcraft owners take in their planes, owners will tell you, is hard to beat.

Niche: Premium, retractable-gear single

Base Price: $799,000

Competitors: Cirrus SR22, Cessna TTx, Piper Matrix

Read our G36 Bonanza pilot report.

Beechcraft G36 Bonanza Specifications

Learn more at Beechcraft.