I used to rent a Piper Colt which is the underpowered version of the Tripacer(I believe the Tripacer is 150hp?). I really liked the Colt as a two place. I would think the Tripacer is considerably better but could it haul 4 people plus fuel etc.? I think the latter is considerably cheaper than a C172 as the Tripacer I believe is fabric covered . Do the fabric test or have it done by somebody that knows what they r doing. Fabric recovering is expensive. Everything to do with a/c is expensive just like the Porsche. Enjoy your flying. It is a whole new world!
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Knowledge is everything when it comes to aircraft or Porsche. Keep the questions coming. I am retired and have lots of time to answer
Cheers.