! / _____ / TAPE 26

power, size and weight for the general run of light plane

flying.

In the spring of 1963, both the 160 and 180 hp models

were approved as seaplanes \'lith Edo floats. Edo,

incidentally, stands for Earl Dodge Osborne, a notable man

whom I have known for many years, but unfortunately have not

come in contact with for some time. lie is several years

older than I am, but I understand that he is still alive.

This is August 1983, and he must be about 90 years old. He

and Casey Jones, whom I first met 60 years ago at the 1923

National Air Races in St. Louis, together \'lith three others

whom I did not know, founded the organization called the

Quiet Birdmen, of which I happen to be ,a member. It was

founded just after World War I and now has chapters or

"hangars", as the.y are called, throughout the entire country

and I get a great deal of pleasure "hangar-flying" with

pilots from all around.

The Cherokees did not make very good seaplanes, largely

because they had a single door on the right-hand side only.

When beaching or docking, a seaplane pilot may want to get

down on either the right-hand float or the left-hand float in

order to facilitate the operation. Getting to the left-hand

float required an impractical acrobatic maneuver. Very few

5

TAPE 26

Cherokees were purchased with floats and after a time the

models were dropped.

From the early 1930's until sometime after World War II,

most of the civilian training, primary training that is, was

done on first Taylor and then Piper Cubs. This of course

helped to influence the pilots trained on Cubs to buy the

more advanced Piper aircraft as they became available. As

the use of the tricycle gear became almost universal,

however, and as larger instrument panels were needed to

support radios and other navigation equipment as well as

gyroscopic instruments for instrument-type flying, the tail­

dragger Cubs \vith their narrow tandem fuselages became

obsolete. Also, side-by-side seating vas found to be a

better arrangement for training.

Shortly after World War II Cessna came out with a small

high-\dng trainer \'lith side-by-side seating and an all sheet

metal fuselage, the model 120. As I remember it, it ,.,as

powered with a Continental 65 hp engine. Sometime later an

improved model called the Cessna 140 was produced and I

believe it had a somewhat more powerful engine, either the 75

or 85 hp Continental. These models still had fabric-covered

wings and tail-wheel-type landing gears. In fact, all of the

Cessna single engine models at that time were tail-draggers,

6

TAPE 26

although their twin-engine models were fitted with tricycle

gears.

In 1951, Piper put a tricycle gear on its Pacer model

and called it the Tri-Pacer. These were accepted immediately

by the flying public and far outsold the Cessna 170 tail­

dragger. Cessna then put a tricycle gear on its 170 model

and .called it the 172. They then gradually fitted all of

their models \dth tricycle gears except one, the 180, which

is particularly suitable for bush ,.,.ork. By about the mid-

1950's they had put a tricycle gear on their 140-type model

and called ik the Cessna 150. This model and its successor,

the 152, have dominated the training field for many years and

still do in 1983.

In the mid-1950's Piper was in dire need of a modern

training plane so that more people would learn to fly on

Pipers and then continue with the Piper line. They even

considered taking over the Ercoupe and making a training

plane of it, but Bill Piper, Sr. wanted action more quicly

and so they stripped the /+-place Tri-Pacer down to a 2-place

trainer and called it the Colt. The Colt \vas fitted with a

115 hp Lyco.ming 0-235 engine, but it could be produced ldth

the same tooling and methods ns the Tri-Pacer, which was

already in production. It sold fairly well for a couple of

7

TAPE 26

lower powered all metal years, but it could not compete with the,ACessna 152 and the

model was dropped about 1962.

Shortly after the )evelopment (enter in Vero Beach was

started in 1957, and we were using fibreglass and plastic in

the Pawnee hoppers and other non-structural parts, Pug Piper

and I started thinking in terms of a possible trainer made of

fib~eglass and plastic composite construction. \vhen ,.,e had

our Pawnee and Cherokee projects well enough along so that we

could take on another project, we started on the composite

trainer in earnest. We used Sam Snyder, who had graduated in

aeronautical engineering from my alma mater, the University

of Illinois, as the project engineer, and Bob Drake, our

plastics specialist,

suitable for production.

to \-rork out construction methods I

The hope was that we would get a savings in cost and

possibly a savings in weight also. To facilitate getting a

lo,., cost \dth high quality, ,.,e decided to make the airplane

small, having a span of only 25' and a uing area of only 110

square feet. This would give a relatively high wing loading

for a trainer, but we decided to use full span flaps to give

acceptable minimum speeds. A simple form of construction was

used incorporating a very small number of major parts. The

flaps were deflected to a maximum of only 30° and then

8

TAPE 26

operated differentially as ailerons. A low wing monoplane

arrangement was used with side-by-side seating and a wide.

tread tricycle gear with a general configuration somewhat

like that of the Ercoupe. The wing \Y'as moderately tapered,

however, which helped

would not increase

construction.

in obtaining lower weight and which

the cost with a molded type of

The wing was one piece from tip to tip, with the

fuselage resting on top of it. Inside the fuselage the wing

became the bottom of the scats for the occupants. In

construction the wing was molded in two halves - a top half

and a bottom half and then they were cemented together. The

fuselage \Y'as molded in right and left ha~ves including the

fin and then they were ceflented together. By using female

molds, the outer surfaces of the wing and fuselage were

smooth and needed no additjonal finishing. In fact, by using

a suitable colored gel~coat against the mold, the final

finish could be obtained with any color desired and no

additional painting would be required. A great deal of

research was carried on so as to make use of the best

materials available at the time and the best details in

construction.

The wing skins were one-half inch thick and comprised a

9

TAPE 26

paper honeycomb with outer and inner surfaces of layers of

fibreglass in polyester plastic. The curing was done at

about 240°F, as I remember it. Polyester plastic was used, I

believe, partly because we knew how to handle it and partly

because epoxy was just coming into the Picture at that time

and we were uncertain about being able to handle it properly,

particularly in view of its highly toxic effects on the

wor~ers, which people had not learned to overcome at that

time.

The first airplane, which was really a prototype because

it was made from molds suitable for production, first flew in

April 1962. No trouble with the plastic structure occurred

during the next 6 months of exposure and 80 hours of flight I

testing. When the external wing and fuselage surfaces came

out of the molds, they were very smooth and we had

anticipated getting aerodyna~ically smooth surfaces and

substantial laminar flow if the wings were kept clean and

polished. As time went on, however, it was apparent that the

curing had not been absolutely completed in the molding

operation and the honeycomb pattern showed through on the

surface to a slight extent, spoiling the aerodynamically

smooth surface. This detail would have had to have been

taken care of by improving the curing process. During the

entire progress of the work we had been making aging and

10

TAPE 26

weathering tests by means of samples located on the roof of

our plant in Vero Beach, l·rith maximum exposure to the sun and

humidity conditions. It was soon apparent that the polyester

plastic lost a large proportion of its strength if exposed to

the sun in unprotected condition. A good solid coating of

paint \~as needed to protect it, preferably '~ith a black or at

least a dark undercoat next to the polyester itself.

The paper honeycomb had been treated with phenfl

formaldehyde and had a sort of Bakelite composition which was

resistant to water, but not entirely '~aterproof. This

condition needed improving because if a leak in the surface

should occur and water get inside, the strength would be

1 ost. Problems such as these could have been solved by I

further development without too ouch difficulty.

Two important factors, the weight and the cost, however,

were disappointing. The weight turned out to be greater than

that of comparable aluminum alloy structure. This was partly

due to making the first design somewhat over strength because

of the unknown quantities of the material, particularly with

regard to aging. It was apparent, however, that with the

materials which we used there was no likelihood of a saving

in weight. Over the past 20 years a great improvement in the

materials has been obtained and a substantial savings in

11

TAPE 26

weight now appears possible.

The material costs, as I remember it, were not greatly

different from those for a metal airplane. The labor hours,

h o '" e v e r , w o u 1 d p r o b a b 1 y b e g r e a t e r • I n a s m u c h a s t h e m o 1 d s

that we used were suitable for production, we were in a

position to make a fair estimate of the labor hours required.

It Hould seem offhand that molding only four large pieces and

bonding them together would take mucl1 less time than cutting

and fitting and riveting and forming all of the different

parts for the wing and fuselage of a metal airplane. In

order to take care of the weight and strength requirements,

however, it was necessary to cut to size and lay up in the

molds a very large number of pieces of f~breglass cloth of

different kinds. Thus, although only four large pieces came

out of the molds, a large number of smaller pieces went into

them and they had to be cut and placed in position very

carefully. A rather large amount of hand labor was required

and it appeared that there would be no savings in cost. The

project was then dropped, at least until some future time

when improved materials became available. They are available

now and several projects are going ahead Hith them, but none

in the light low-cost trainer airplane field, because the

materials are still quite expensive. The Papoose was, to my

kno'lolledge, the first airplane in \·lhich the major structure,

12

TAPE 26

including the wing, the fuselage and even the main landing

gear legs were made of composite fibreglass and plastic

construction.

It was painful to sec the project dropped, but it is now

displayed in the museum of the Experimental Aircraft

Association in Wisconsin. The arrangements for this were

made. by Piper aeronautical engineer Landis Ketner.

Piper was now in dire need of a training airplane and it \

\vas decided to repeat the Tri-Pacer-Colt experience by

stripping a Cherokee 150 4-place airplane down to a 2-place

airplane for a trainer. The rear seats w~re removed and the

baggage area and close-out panel were moved up to that area.

The same Lycoming 0-320 engine was used as in the 150, and

although it \vas still rated at 150 hp, a higher pitch

propeller was used with it which held the rpm and power down

some and the airplane was called the Cherokee PA-28-140. The

approved type certificate for the PA-28-140 was obtained in

February 1964 and the airplane was immediately put in

production.

It had gentle flying and stalling characteristics and

served well as a trainer. With its low-wing arrangement,

13

TAPE 26

providing both a low center of gravity and a low center of

drag, as well as support for a wide tread landing gear which.

gave good stable support when the airplane was on the ground,

students were able to operate it safely under substantially

higher wind conditions than with the narrow tread high-win8

trainers. Numerous reports came in that in many cases of

high and gusty wind conditions after the training had been

stopped in the Cessna 150's and 152's, the Cherokee 140

training had gone right on without difficulty. Also, with

the nose wheel tire • • •

End of Side 1

flow SIDE 2

Also with the nose wheel tire. the same large size as those

of the rear wheels, the airplane could be operated from

relatively soft grass fields. As was brought out by my

tricycle ski experiences in Minneapolis in 1945 unde~ high

drag conditions such as snow or soft ground, the nose ski or

wheel may get at least as large a load as that taken by

either of the rear 'l'rheels. Under those conditions the tire

should be at least as large as those of the rear wheels.

Also, the nose ,.,heel is the first to go over rough terrain

14

TAPE 26

and in general appears to get more punishment than the rear

>'lheels and I have been happy \vith the full-size nose ,.,.heels.

on the Cherokees in general.

Although the Cherokee 1Lf0 appeared to make a good

training airplane vrith its larger engine, it cost more than

the Cessna 152 and the cost of operating it >vith greater fuel

con&umption was more than with the 152. It was therefore not

used nearly so widely as the Cessna 152 and some years after

I retired, Piper replaced it vrith a smaller and lower-powered

design called the Tomahawk.

The next Cherokee model change was ~ade by fitting the

regular 4-passenger model with a LycominR 235 hp 6-cylinder

0-540 engine. To increase the fuel capacity with the larger

engine, the wing tips were formed into fuel tanks and

extended 1' on each side so that the span was increased from

the original 30' to 32'. Each vring tip tank held 17 gallons,

which increased the total fuel capacity from the original 50

to 84 gallons. The 235 hp model vras available with the same

type of fixed-pitch aluminum alloy propeller as was used on

all of the other Chero~ee models up to that time. The

maximum speed was 166 mph, however, which meant that the

propeller pitch was too high for best take-off and climb

15

TAPE 26

performance. \~hen airplanes such as the Lockheed Vega

reached that speed level in the enrly 1930's the manufacture.

of controllable-pitch propellers was commenced.

The 235 hp Cherokee \'las made available \'lith either the

fixed-pitch propeller or a controllable constant speed

propeller. The model does \.,rell in short field operations,

particularly fields at high elevations, in the high plains

and mountain areas. The approved type certificate for the

Piper Cherokee PA-28-235 was received in July 1963 and the

model was immediately put into production.

It was well received by the flying public and modern

versions of the model are still being prpduced in moderate

quantities. Modern versions of the 150 and the 180 hp models

are also still in production, 20 years later.

The user of the airplane is of course the final judge,

and as reports came in from the field, our engineering

kept a record of them and minor

improvements \vere made where it seemed ~that they

would help. Maintenance improvements were made as soon as it

appeared that they were needed, and items involving comfort,

performance and appearance were brought out in the yearly

model changes. An example of the latter was changing from

16

(

TAPE 26

the old push-pull type of controls for the throttle, the '\.·.

>

mixture controls and the propeller pitch control to a.

quadrant-type of control in \oJhich they are all grouped

together in one cluster as has been the practice in larger

military and commercial airplanes with piston engines.

As I have.mentioned previously, I had done this 20 years

before with the Ercoupe in order to avoid misuse of the

throttle control by automobile drivers, for the automobiles

at that time had push-pull throttles that operated on the

dashboard in the opposite direction.

The next Cherokee model to come out,was fitted with a

retractable landing gear and it was called the Arrow. It was

powered by the 180 hp Lycoming engine. The approved type

certificate for the Piper Cherokee Arrow PA-28-R-180 was

obtained in June in 1967. Except for the retractable gear

and a change in the 180 hp engine fuel system, the airplane

was essentially the same as the fixed giar Cherokee 180. The

latter had a Lycoming 0-360 engine with a carburetor which

hung below the engine. In the retractable version the engine

was changed to the Lycoming I0-360, which had a fuel

injection system and gave roo~ under the engine for

retraction of the nose gear within the cowling. Even with

17

TAPE 26

this extra room it was necessary for us to reduce the nose

wheel size from the regular 600 x 6 to the 500 x 5. This

\vould limit the soft field operation to some extent and I did

not like to do it, but by that time almost all operations

were from paved fields or well-prepared and firm grass

fields •

. By that time the use of the 500 x 5 nose \V'heel had been

established by the fact that the Deech Bonanza, which was now

heavier and more powerful, had been using it for many years.

The 180 hp Cherokee Arro,.,, incidentally, had about the same

size, weight and performance as the original Beech Bonanza

which was first manufactured about 20 years previously, 1947.

I h a v c a 1 '"a y s a d m i r e d t h e l3 o n a n z a d e s i g n ap d 1 i k e t o t h i n k o f

it and the North American Navion as the first 4-place light

airplanes to follo\·! the general arrangement of the Ercoupe

with its tricycle gear and low wing.

By the late 1960's the Bonanzas and the Cessna 210 4-

place retractable gear airplanes had become heavier and more

powerful and therefore more costly. It did not take long

before the Cherokee Arr0\-1 outsold all of the others in that

f i e 1 d • \H t h i t s r e t r a c t a b 1 e g e a r t he . 1 C 0 h p C h e r o k e e A r r o w

is slightly faster than the 235 hp Cherokee with a fixed

gear. The Arrow was therefore fitted with a constant speed

18

TAPE 26

propeller as standard equipment. The Arrow gives more

economical performance from a fuel standpoint, but the 235 hp

fixed gear Cherokee is more of a workhorse in that it will

carry heavier loads and operate better at high altitude

fields.

The most unusual feature that we brought out in the

Chevokee Arrow was the control of the retractable landing

gear. In the period before the Arrow came out, every year

several hundred retractable geared light airplanes were

landed with the gear in the up-position. This was quite

expensive, because it usually meant replacirig or repairing an

expensive controllable pitch propeller and repairing the

bottom of the airplane nnd possibly the f~aps which may have

been down.} It happened that Pug Piper had had two of those .... -.... --~·-·- ··~··· ....

experiences himself, and he asked me if we couldn't devise a

system that would take care of that situation by putting the

landing gear down automatically, even if the pilot forgot to.

N-t:I"L eo+ ~--h-.a-v-c·--me..n-.t--t-o-n ed-a--e-o·upl e-··of-··s-e-n~

~-~~--Th~se gear-up landings \ver'~1\riiJ~ even··~·~~~;;~--~~;; pilot had a great deal of warning by flashing red lights and

squawking horns to tell him that the gear was still up,

although the throttle was back and power off in preparation

for a landing.

19

TAPE 26

Such an automatic back-up system for the pilot would

have to sense both the airspeed and the engine power. With

our Cherokee Arro'"' which had a landing speed flaps down in

the low 60 mph range, this meant that if the pilot \olas coming

in approaching a landing in a power-off glide and the gear

was still up, it should come down automatically and lock when

the·airspeed got down to about 100 mph. On the other hand,

during a take-off run .,.lith full poloTer, the maximum angle of

climb occurs at about 85 mph and the landing gear should be

retracted and remain retracted throughout the climbing range,

that is at airspeeds of 85 mph and above. Previously the

Beech Bonanza had been fitted for a short time with a device

which would accomplish this type of purpose by sensing both

the airspeed and the en3ine @Bnifold pressure, but its use

had been discontinued.

It occurred to me that the propeller slipstream velocity

is increased by the application of pol'ler, and if I could find

a spot within the slipstream area which with the airplane

flying in full throttle climb at 85 mph "'ould nive a local

airspeed reading of slip,htly over 100 mph, I could get the -p\tot-s-t~tic.

e f f e c t i v e p o ,., e r w i t h a s i n g 1 e p..i.-t..o-s-t...a. t ~€ a i r s p e e d s e n s o r

alone, and have a very simple arrangement. The Arrow was

still in the design stage, so I then took a Cherokee 180 and

20

TAPE 26

,/

flew a number~ of tests with the aid of Clarence Monks,

ex p 1 o r i n g_ ~ u i t a b 1 e 1 o-c a t i on s f o r an a i r s peed s ens o r i n the .

slipstream. We were loo~ing for a place which would give the

same airspeed rea-ding on a separate indicator with the

airplane flying at 85 mph and full throttle, as with the

airplan~ flying in a glide with the propeller completely

throttled and a reading of 105 mph.

He found a couple of suitable locations, but selected

one that was lr:ell protected by being just outside the

lefthand side of the fuselage and a couple of feet above the

middle portion of the wing. The only door and the walkway

were on the right-hand side of the airplane.

I located a pitclstatic sensor at that point similar to

the one used for the indicated airspeed instrument for the

Cherokee airplane, but lar~er, so that a greater amount of

air could be used to move a diaphragm which opened or closed

a hydraulic valve. Yhen this valve was open, the gear would

fa 11 down by the p u 11 of gravity and 1 o c k in the "do,., n"

position suitable for landing. The usual retraction and

extension of the gear by the pilot is done by hydraulic

actuators which are operated by an electric motor driving a

gear pump which can be run in either direction. An electric

switch on the instrument panel, the handle being in the form

21

TAPE 26

4_f_ . ..u.H.!. ... {

of A. wheel and tire, is moved to an "up" position to force

the gear to retract and to a "do~;1n 11 position to force the·

gear to extend. The entire operation is carried on in the

standard way with blinkin3 light and squawking horn if the .. • • .J ·tJ ( ·. f d

throttle is moved back to the l~·~z~;i'~:~,~~~~-~~~~;~f':-~ i\~~:"~·h;•nt. ·I'

usua 1 sq ua~ switches arc n t tac hed to each of the \vhee 1 s and

will prevent the gear from being retracted while the airplane

is an the ground with its weight on the wheels.

Thus in ordinary operation, the pilot operates the gear

just as in the case of any ordinary retractable gear. In

case of malfunction and the gear will not go down when the

pilot calls for it by puttinu the switch down, the pilot has

an emergency control lever which will open the valve, the

hydraulic valve mentioned previously, and the gear will fall

down of its own accord and lock in place. If he is making an

ordinary landing and forgets to put the gear do\vn, ho\vever,

the automatic feature will open that valve and the gear will

come down and lock by itself.

There are t\oJO occasions under ,.,hich it is desirable to

override the automatic , . .~:

feature . .,. having the gear come down.

The emergency extension lever, which incidentally is located

between the forward portion of the two front seats, also

functions as an override lever to eliminate the automatic

22

TAPE 26

extension function. When placed in the downward position, as

mentioned previously, this lever causes the gear to extend.

and lock. When held in the upward position, it eliminates

the automatic feature and places the gear under electrical

control just as in the case of all ordinary retractable

landing gears. Hith the lever in the "up" position, stalls

and slow flight can be practiced with the gear retracted.

The . "up" position to ho 1 d the gear retracted is a 1 so used in

full power climbs at high altitudes, where the indicated

airspeed is lo\ver than the true airspeed and uith the

automatic feature, the gear may tend to come down within the

climbing range nnd to reduce the climb performance.

As the Arro\v \vas first produced, the, pilot had to hold

the lever up to keep the gear retracted under these

conditions or get a co-pilot or passenger to hold it up for

him. This \vas done so that \·rhen the maneuvers \vere finished,

the lever would go down to its neutral position again and the

automatic feature would be ready in case it was needed for a

landing in which the pilot forgot to lower the gear. The

airplane was produced with this arrangement for several years

and as I mentioned previous 1 y, soon became the best-se 11 ing

retractable geared airplane in the world.

After a time instructor pilots expressed a desire to be

23

TAPE 26

able to lock the gear in the "up" position for the practice

of slow flight and stalls. Also, after a pilot who.

apparently did not know enough about the system to hold the

override lever up and keep the gear retracted during a climb

at high altitude, crashed at the 9,000' elevation at the

north rim of the Granll Canyon, the NTSB (Nationa 1

Transportation Safety Doard) demanded that Piper supply a

means of locking the override lever in the "up" position.

This was accomplished, as I remember it, within a year or two

after I retired in 1969.

I should have mentioned before this occurred that

insurance companies had allol'led a reduced premium for

retractable geared airplanes fitted with ~he automatic back­

up system. All in all, the system has worked well over a

period of many years. I know of only three cases in which

gear-up landings were made, although I am not sure that I

have all of the information. In one case, the pilot having

forgotten to lol.,rer the gear, landed (It a high airspeed well

in excess of 105 mph and the gear naturally did not come dol'ln

automatically. In the other two cases, the pilots had left

the override lever in the locked "up" condition and the

airplanes acted like ordinary retractable gear airplanes.

The best measure of the success of the system is that it is

still in use on the Arrows and in addition, has been

24

TAPE 26

incorporated in a retractable geared model of the Cherokee 6

of higher horsepower and performance. This model will be

discussed later.

I should have mentioned previously that the original

Cherokee Arrow, the PA-2S R-180, was approved in June 1967

and production started at that time. In addition, a 200 hp

version was approved and production started in January 1969.

H'The production of most of the Cherokee PA-28 series has

continued for the 14 years since I retired in September 1969,

mostly with minor improvements as time \-rent on. The length

of the fuselage has been increased by 5", \vhich gives more

leg room for the rear passengers.

During my last year at Piper we did some preliminary

investigation to\vard improving the climb by increasing the

span and \vithout requiring a strengthening, at least a

substantial strengthening, of the inner portion of the wing.

This could be done by tapering the outer half of the wing,

the portion beyond the flaps, so that the tip cord was ~

.smaller than the root cord, and the load at the tip would be

r e d u c e d • T h i s c h a n g e ''a s f i n a 11 y m a d e t o t h e 1 5 0 h p m o d e 1 i n

1973 and it was designated the PA-28-151. The span was

increased to about 35' and the plane had better climb and

flatter glide characteristics. The change was well received

25

TAPE 26

and by 1978, all of the Cherokee models still in production

were fitted with the tapered outer wing panels. These

included the PA-28-161, 181, R-201 and 235. Now in 1983 most

of them are still in production, but have been given names

such as Warrior, Archer and Arrow.

I should have said back a bit when speaking of the

ArrQw, that after it had. been in production a few months and

the automatic landing gear back-up system had been well

received, the sales department thought that the company

should have a patent on it, if possible. Up to that time

Piper had no patents whatsoever. It happened that I had

anticipated this possibility and had prepared a description

and mailed it to myself and then filed it away unopened so I

that the orioinnl date could be verified as stamped on the

sealed envelope. A year or more later I ran across the

letter unopened in my files and, in my usual absent-minded

manner did not recognize it, and opened it, breaking the seal

and spoiling the record. Fortunately this did not matter,

however, because in the patent office search, no significant

p r i or a r t ba ~ was f o u n d an d a v e r y g o o d p a t en t w a s

obtained in my name and assigned to Piper (#3511455 and dated

Hay 12, 19 7 0) •

I have just gone dol-ln to the Piper plant in Vero Beach

26

TAPE 26

and obtained the latest informatin on the PA-28 models that

are still in production. The smallest one now is the PA-28-.

161 called the Warrior II. The suggested list price for this

model is just under $40,000 in 1983, as compared with just

under $10,000 when it first came out in 1961. The model has

been spruced up a bit, but most of this difference represents

inflation. When the new model is fitted with the usual

amount of instrumentation and new e 1 cc tronic gear, it se 11 s

for any\·rhere bet\veen ~50,000 and $70,000. Under these

conditions, the production rate has dwindled to a small

proportion of its former value. The 180 hp model, the PA-28-

181, is now called the Archer II. It makes a very

satisfactory airplane and one that Dorothy and I have taken

three trips with this last summer.

The 235 hp model, the PA-28-236, is now called the

Dakota and the retractable Arrow, the PA-28 -R-201, is now

called the Turbo-Arrow IV.~~~

End of Side 2

END OF TAPE 26

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