Interesting
I think there have been at least two pipers ditched in the Pacific ocean sucessfully, and now this one. The occupants survived in every case.
I think tricycle gear aircraft which touch down on the mainwheels first would behave better than taildraggers which have the wheels ahead of the C of G. Just theory though. I have never done it.
I flew Cherokee sixes when they were new, and my memory tells me that we took off and landed using ANY tank, and used the fuel tanks in any order. I was a bit concerned about the ability of the aileron to hold up a full tip tank if the opposite one was empty, so I gradually experimented with it until I had proved that it could. We had no limiting Zero fuel weight, and one of the aircraft could carry 50 pounds less than it's own weight. We could actually fill all the seats and all the fuel tanks. (pax were considered to weigh 170 pounds each in those days. They weren't so fat)
I just dug out the piper "information manual" and I note that it recommends taking off and landing using the "fullest tank". It recommends using fuel out of left and right main tanks alternately, and then the tips in the same way to maintain balance. It seems that this was changed later as another chapter states that you should fill tips first, and use mains first. The PA32 fuel system is simple, but you have four tanks to choose from, and it is easy to select an empty one.
I cannot remember, but I think the flight manual now has different data, and I wondered if this is another "unique Australian" requirement.
CASA insists that the wing spars in the PA32 must be changed after 11,000 hours, althoygh Piper says they should be inspected at 70,000 hours. CASA will not even accept the pipoer inspection system.