Piper aircraft, Inc.
 Piper PA-28 Cherokee
built between 1961 to present
 by Piper Aircraft.

• Design and development

  

  At the time of the Cherokee's introduction, Piper's primary single-engined, all-metal aircraft was the Piper PA-24 Comanche, a larger, faster aircraft with retractable landing gear and a constant-speed propeller. Karl Bergey, Fred Weick and John Thorp designed the Cherokee as a less expensive alternative to the Comanche, with lower manufacturing and parts costs to compete with the Cessna 172, although some later Cherokees also featured retractable gear and constant-speed propellers. The Cherokee and Comanche lines continued in parallel production, serving different market segments for over a decade, until Comanche production was ended in 1972, to be replaced by the Piper PA-32R family

  Variants

  Cherokee family

  

  PA-10

  Unbuilt design study similar to the Thorp Sky Scooter. Was to have been powered by a 65 hp (48 kW) engine. Developed into the PA-28.

  PA-28-140 Cherokee

  Two-place, fixed landing gear landplane, Lycoming O-320-E2A or -E3D engine of 150 hp (112 kW), gross weight 1,950 lb (885 kg). First certified on 14 February 1964. Approved as a 2,150 lb (975 kg) gross weight four place aircraft on 17 June 1965.^[ Built in the following variants:

  • PA-26-140 Cherokee, initial version.
  • PA-28-140-4 Cherokee, four-seat version of the PA-28-140. Introduced in 1965.

Wiki Link Variants