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 piston single aircraft market offers a diverse range of options, from utility planes and trainers to high-performance, pressurized six-seaters, with recent updates to existing models and new certifications.
Many leading piston singles, including the best-selling Cirrus SR22 G6, prominently feature advanced Garmin avionics suites (like the G1000 NXi or G3000) for enhanced safety, navigation, and user experience.
Key models provide distinct advantages: the Piper M350 offers turboprop-like capabilities with pressurization, the Mooney Acclaim Ultra focuses on speed and comfort redesigns, and the Cessna TTx provides an SR22 alternative with a more advanced cockpit.
The market accommodates various pilot needs, ranging from fixed-gear utility and training aircraft like the Cessna 182 and Piper Archer to premium retractable-gear cruisers emphasizing speed, range, and passenger comfort.

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Cessna TâTx

There’s one natural competitor to the industry-leading SR22, the Cessna TTx, a product that was conceived, developed and hatched around the same time as the SR22, but suffered a series of unfortunate events early in its production life that limited its success. Today’s Cessna TTx is a compelling alternative to the Cirrus, with better forward speed (around 20 knots better), a more advanced cockpit, with the Garmin G3000 touch-controlled suite, a more satisfying hand-flying experience and certificated spin worthiness. The TTx is in many ways the Bonanza for the next generation, an airplane that’s fast, comfortable and technologically advanced, but with a true sidestick, fixed gear for ease of operation and lower insurance rates, and the most advanced cockpit in light GA. Like the SR22, the TTx is an expensive airplane, with typical prices with all the bells and whistles hitting $750,000.

Niche: Premium fixed-gear

Base Price: $689,000

Competitors: Cirrus SR22, Piper Matrix, Mooney Acclaim Ultra

Read our Cessna TTx pilot report.

Cessna TTx Specifications

Learn more at Cessna.