Piper PA 28 Warrior

The Piper Warrior is a four place low wing all metal aircraft of the venerable Cherokee series. Like other members of the PA-28 family, the Warrior is all-metal, unpressurized, four-seat, single-engine piston-powered with low-mounted wings and tricycle landing gear. All PA-28 aircraft have a single door on the co-pilot side, which is entered by stepping on the wing.

The PA-28-151 Warrior was introduced in 1974 featuring a stretched body and semi-tapered wing and a 150hp engine (indicated by the suffix on the model number).

In 1978, Piper upgraded the Warrior to 160 horsepower, changing its name to PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior II. The Warrior III has the same engine and airframe with refinements in the cockpit, a 28 volt electrical system, and the option of a glass panel. It is marketed as a training aircraft.

Flight controls
All Cherokees use control yokes rather than sticks, together with rudder pedals. Engine controls for the Warriors are by levers on a quadrant.

Pitch control for Cherokees is via a stabilator. Unlike a Cessna 172 in which the horizontal stabilizer serves as a stationary mount for the hinged elevator, on the Warrior the entire assembly moves.

Attached to the stabilator is an anti-servo tab. The anti-servo tab moves in the same direction of the stabilator movement, making pitch control heavier as the stabilator moves out of the trimmed position. The tab also provides trim control and is actuated by a wheel located between the front seats.

Also between the front seats is the lever which controls the flaps. Flaps can be selected in 10°, 25° and 40° increments. They are spring loaded to return to the retracted position. To raise the flaps a button on the handle is pressed and the lever lowered. Moving the flaps causes a pitch change in the airplane.

Rudder trim is by a wheel which operates as a spring loaded recentering device.

The nose gear is steerable through a 30 degree arc each side of center by the use of rudder pedals and toe brakes. Brakes can also be actuated by a handle below the instrument panel.

How It Flies
Cherokees were created to be inexpensive airplanes that offered benign flight characteristics and reasonable performance.

For pilots used to Cessnas, starting the Warrior's four-cylinder Lycoming will be routine other than switching on the electric fuel pump.

Takeoffs normally are done with flaps retracted. To reduce takeoff distances for short- and soft-field departures, Piper recommends that the flaps be set at 25 degrees and the nose lifted at a lower airspeed. Rudder trim can be used to center the ball during climbs and in long descents.

The Warrior is noted for stability in flight. Wing dihedral contributes to good roll stability, and the stabilator can be trimmed for hands-off level flight. Deploying the flaps causes a mild pitch change that is easily trimmed away. Ailerons and rudder are not interconnected, and when banking into a turn, the nose will yaw opposite the direction of the turn (adverse yaw) without positive rudder control.

Cruise performance is what one should expect from a 160-hp four-seat trainer: about 2 miles a minute.

The Warrior's inherent stability, low stall speeds, and good weight distribution help create solid approaches. Landings are non events with good pitch control throughout, but the low wings contribute to float if too much speed is carried.