The Indian Uprising of 1961
By: Norm Goyer
I have always preferred a military style aircraft, that is, low wing, power quadrant and good power-to-weight ratio. Maybe it was because Tina and I were almost pushed out to sea backwards in a 40 hp J-2 Cub. (Read “Making Progress Backwards” in the new “I Learned About Flying From That” book compiled by Flying magazine). In last week’s newsletter, I wrote about the excellent Cessna C-150/152 primary trainer. When fine little two-place came out in 1958, it really had no competition at that time. Piper was still saddled with the “Cub is Great” syndrome and attempted to salvage the training market with its obsolete yet brand-new two-place Colt, about as popular as a soggy pizza. But Piper knew that they had one chance to get back into the “modern” airplane design business. Their solution was a very sound one: They hired John Thorpe and Fred Weick to design a new simplified-construction, multi-purpose airframe that could be modified from a two-place trainer to a “stuff-the-cabin” family-traveler, all with the same basic one-design airframe. Homebuilders will recognize John Thorpe as the designer of the very popular all metal Thorpe T-18 and the certified Thorpe T-211 which is now being built in India and sold as the “Thorpedo”, an LSA which, in my opinion, is one of the best flying designs in the large crop of new two-place aircraft. Fred Weick was the designer of the very famous Ercoupe; which in spite of “blowing” it with its two-control system, was a fine aircraft that had a very long production life with Ercoupe, Mooney and Alon. It is only fair to state that the two-control system was Weick’s response to a government “Safety Airplane” competition.
Piper’s new design was called the PA-28-150 Cherokee, and it became the basis for an outstanding line of Piper aircraft, some of which are still being manufactured. The Cherokees hit the market in 1961 and became an instant success. Piper wanted simplicity of construction, and the designers certainly came through. There were 400 fewer parts in the Cherokee than in the Piper Tri Pacer. Piper knew that many potential purchasers would want a tad more horsepower, so they also produced a 160-hp version using the same Lycoming O-320 engine with different compression ratios. This engine was also used as a 140-hp in the two-place trainer version. It was used again as an 150/160 hp in the four passenger “small family” version. Then Piper installed a Lycoming O-360 180 hp engine, and created one of the most enduring and popular Cherokees ever produced, the Cherokee 180.
The Cherokee 140, with its Lycoming O-320, 140 hp engine, was only sold in 1964. It was intended as a two-seat flight trainer.
In order to compete with the Cessna 182, Piper installed a six-cylinder Lycoming O-540 235 hp engine with a constant-speed prop. This Cherokee “hot rod” could cruise almost as fast as some retractable aircraft, with similar power. The big attraction was, if you stuffed the cabin full, it would still carry the load. It also had great short-field performance, while high-and-hot flying didn’t phase the Charger/Pathfinder and Dakota (various names used for the 235 Cherokee) at all.
Pictured is a 1974 Cherokee Cruiser, similar to the four new aircraft we purchased for our Piper Flight School.
In 1964, Piper released the Cruiser and the Flightliner with only twoseats, recommended for flight schools to compete with the Cessna 150. Over the years, some owners of the 140-hp Cruiser versions have added the two rear seats, allowing them to be used for small family transportation. However, owners must remember there are severe weight restrictions with the 140 hp Cherokees.. The Lycoming O-320, 150-hp, four-cylinder engine was unmodified; however a change in the propeller and a new lowered-rpm operating range effectively lowered the horsepower to 140. This engine was not popular and was only used in 1964. In 1965, the aircraft received a stock Lycoming 150 hp engine.
The Cherokee 180, when equipped with EDO floats, had enough power to fly from water.
The Lycoming 140-hp did use less fuel so it would compete with the lower operating costs of the 100 hp Continental in the Cessna 150. The extra fuel costs the 140 hp engine did use was cancelled out by requiring far less maintenance than the Cessna 150. The first Cherokees had hand brakes and a ceiling trim tab, similar to those in the Tripacer. Toe brakes and electric trim became available in later models. The landing gear was wide and rugged, both smart moves for a training aircraft.
In 1961, Piper introduced its new line of Cherokees, including a 150 and a 160 hp model. This is the Piper Cherokee 160. There were no differences in the airframe
In 1973 I purchased four new Cherokee 150 hp Cruisers for our newly-purchased FBO at Apple Valley Airport in Southern California. The previous owner had two old Cessna 150s and a 145 hp Cessna 172, all high time, and very tired-looking. My reasoning was that a majority of our customers would come from nearby George AFB and the military personnel would probably prefer low-wing aircraft. Within weeks, our FBO had almost 100% of the training and rental business in the whole valley. We added new Piper 200-hp Arrows and a new Seneca I for our commercial, instrument and multi-engine courses. The new Pipers launched a very successful ten-year run.
Piper Cherokees, up to the PA28-180, used the same fuselage. The Cherokee 235 had a longer, slightly different cowling to cover the six-cylinder engine.
In 2009, these same up-to 1974 Cherokees with the “Hershey bar” wing make some of the best buys in used personal aircraft. There are parts available, both used and new, the engines are still current and the aircraft very easy to restore to a like-new condition, thereby assuring you a profit, or at least free flying for years to come. There are many Cherokees from 140 to 235 hp currently available. These are outstanding fun, practical airplanes.
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