Piper PA-28 Cherokee
The Piper PA-28 Cherokee is a family of two-seat or four-seat light aircraft built by Piper Aircraft and designed for flight training, air taxi and personal use. The PA-28 family of aircraft comprises all-metal, unpressurized, single piston-engined airplanes with low-mounted wings and tricycle landing gear. They have a single door on the right side, which is entered by stepping on the wing.
| PA-28 Cherokee | |
|---|---|
| Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee C | |
| Role | Civil utility aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Piper Aircraft |
| First flight | 14 January 1960 |
| Introduction | 1960 |
| Produced | 1961–present |
| Number built | 32,778+ |
| Developed into | Piper PA-32 Cherokee Six |
The PA-28 is the fourth most produced aircraft in history. The first PA-28 received its type certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration in 1960 and the series remains in production to this day. Current models are the Warrior, Arrow, and Archer TX and LX, and the Pilot 100 and 100i. The Archer was discontinued in 2009, but with investment from new company ownership, the model was put back into production in 2010.
The PA-28 series competed with the now discontinued, similarly low-winged Grumman American AA-5 series and Beechcraft Musketeer designs and continues to compete with the high-winged Cessna 172.
Piper has created variations within the Cherokee family by installing engines ranging from 140 to 300 hp (105–220 kW), offering turbocharging, retractable landing gear, constant-speed propellers and stretching the fuselage to accommodate six people. The Piper PA-32 (initially known as the "Cherokee Six") is a larger, six-seat variant of the PA-28. The PA-32R Saratoga variant was in production until 2009.