Just to add my half-penny-worth re the Warrior, the book figures (weights and performance) quoted earlier only apply to new aircraft. The performance figures relate to performance at MAUW (2,325lb or 2440lb depending on the model) and the basic weights are seemingly those before you start adding modern kit.
My experience of renting 30-40 year old machinary is that it rarely performs as it did when it was brand new.
Looking at the club fleet of 6 Warriors that I learnt to fly on - which is as immaculate a fleet of pipers as you will find anywhere - I don't think any of those had a useful load of much more than 825lbs, due to the basic weight always being higher than the original book figure. Knock off 200lbs for fuel to tabs and you're down at 600lbs for pax and baggage.
Whether this is due to the gradual acquisition of lots avionics, paint, upholstery etc. over the years, or piper doing what Colin Chapman did when he homologated road cars for racing and declared an impossibly low basic weight, I couldn't say.
By all accounts, the same will almost certainly hold true of a TB9. I reckon for your mission capability, you need a step up from these two a/c. PA28 180/1 or Arrow, Cessna 182, TB10, a bigger engined Robin, etc.
Last edited by wsmempson; 14th Nov 2008 at 09:03.
Reason: illiteracy