I did my IFR training in a PA-235. Often the missions would have four people on board: the student pilot, the instructor and other two student pilots also taking the IFR course and learning from observing the other student's IFR lesson. During one of those flights I was in the back, going over approach plates in anticipation of what was going to be done. We were IMC (in cloud), and suddenly the engine started sputtering, just about quitting. It took about 10 milliseconds for us three to kind of yell to the pilot in the left seat, "CHANGE TANKS! FUEL PUMP ON!" He did as told (not that he'd have to be told, but you never know) and the engine sputtered for a few more seconds and then roared on, as if nothing had happened. The student + instructor had forgotten to manage the fuel, were merrily flying along in one single tank, and let it run dry. Having the engine almost quit in IMC was one of my scariest moments flying.

The PA-28-236 Dakota is a plane to strive for. The lower 2400 RPM redline takes a bit getting used to, but the plane is quiet, and performance is impressive... Fuel capacity was dropped from 84 to 72 Gals for some reason, but fuel management with two tanks instead of four much easier. Interesting and relaxed presentation. Thank you. Enjoyed it.

I really enjoy your videos! I am confident that nobody at Piper, nor Cessna, know their product lineage as well as you. Watching your channel is very similar to "Jay Leno's Garage". Thank you for sharing your love of airplanes and wealth of knowledge. There are plenty of people doing the "buy this plane, it's perfect" routine and lots of flight instruction type videos, but you're the only one I know of who explains the nuances of model year variations and model evolutions. That's information that is fascinating to myself and can save people from mistakenly purchasing the wrong plane.

Excellent explanation of the differences in the various PA-28 models.

2:40 that poor prop rod on the underside of the cowling never gets used. As a piper guy with time in many different "cherokees" I'll say this was well done

Love your videos. Love the comparisons and examples, enjoy the talk on features. In the market for my first plane, and I have been devouring your videos

Another very informative video. As a Cessna pilot, I’ve always found Piper nomenclature confusing, but you’ve done a great job explaining the PA-28 series. Many thanks Mark, I always enjoy your videos!

This is a really great video. These Cherokees are great little airplanes. Unsung hero’s in the aviation world. The further I get into my aviation career the more I realize how great they are.

I have owned a 1980 236 for 13 years. I learned some new things today!

This is your best video yet! Thanks!

Can’t thank you enough for the time you take for these Mark.

Man I could listen to you teach anything and it would all go in. Relaxed with a bit of humour, and evidently youre not just parroting something you've read you clearly understand all the differences. Thanks for posting.

The -1 has nothing to do with the fuselage, but solely the wing. The fuselage stretch happened somewhere around 1973 or 1974. The -720 in a Queen Air was an STC mod and not original IIRC. And I believe the term you’re looking for in lieu of “dented” is “corrugated.” Lots of crazy differences throughout the run. Great video!

Wow; this is my kind of channel, specific data, years, even serials and registration patterns are here. Thank you

Thanks Mark I always enjoy your videos and all the information. Your doing a great job!!

Another belter of a video, thanks Mark

Top Video once again! Loving the content this channel keeps dishing out!

I had a 1967 Cherokee 140. Was a wonderful little plane.

Back in the early 70’s when I was a young lad I collected up all the brochures I could find on light planes. I don’t remember why, but I always preferred Cessna to Piper. My best friend liked Pipers- I think he thought the low wings were cooler. I’ve flown in Cessna planes but never a Piper. Today if you gave me an airplane I’d be thrilled with either brand.

Thanks for the tips. I’ve had cracks in the same places. Also enjoyed seeing the baffle mounting components. My 140 has the split nose bowl cowling that was installed by a previous owner and it makes serving the engine sooo much simpler. I highly recommend it!

Excellent! I thought I knew the Cherokee line, but learned quite a bit! Thank you!

This is one of Mark's vids that I will come back to every once and a while simply because it's so good. Gobs and gobs of info and well presented....Mark at his best. Thx again!

Thanks to you, Sir, for the instructive explanation about Piper models in the P.A.28!!!

Great video, I learned a lot!

That's a great explanation. I love the Warrior. Such good memories

This is an awesome video! Ive flown the Warrior II, III, and Archer II. I never really knew the exact differences. Cheers M8!

Awesome information. I thought I was very familiar with the Cherokee airframe until I watched this. well done !

really enjoyed this video, thank you! (I fly a 1976 Warrior with the O-320...love it)

A Great Youtorial For Anyone Looking To Buy. Thank You For Sharing.

I always look forward to your videos. I've loved planes all my life and trained in the Piper Warrior. Only flew a short time as I'm 71 now. Maybe you could answer a lifelong question, why don't Pipers have a second door? If I ever purchased a small plane, it would be a Cessna with two doors. One door is a pain and would be troublesome during an emergency exit,I think. Thanks so much Mark, Merry Christmas. Ted in Sebastian, Florida

The early Cherokee 150, 160, 180 had baggage doors with no 3rd side window and the metal cowling. Some very early ones had no step. Also the 73 & 74 Cherokee PA 28 180 had a longer Hersey bar wing with the longer fuselage & wider stabilator. They where called Challenger in 73 & Archer 74.

Hey, great job keeping all those numbers straight in your head!

Hi Mark. Most interesting. Flown a few different piper models and not been aware of some of the details you mentioned.

Great video about not-so -easy defined Piper model lineup. Would like to see non-turbo Dakota one day. I always flew Pipers but manage to find out few things in this video that I never new before, like spring-loaded ailerons or fiberglass tip tanks. Thanks for the great work.

Very nice information. Subscribed

Informative... Thanks

Sorry I'm late, but another very informative class from Skywagon University. I started in a Tomahawk, 1982. Never flew another piper, but I always admired the 235's performance. Thanks Mark!

EXCELLENT!!! Thanx

Mark I love those 180/ 185 in the hangar but the 235 Piper is always been my favorite low wing aircraft

Excellent! As always, learning is easy because the narrator makes the effort to understand what people out there (like me) don't or can't know. Please don't take it personally, but you have to be British or American to rave about Hershey chocolate...even if the comparison with the wing shape fits perfectly, of course. Best regards from Switzerland, where Hershey chocolate would have as much chance on the market as the Boulton-Paul Defiant had against Luftwaffe fighters :)))

Great vid. Maybe I can convince my CFI to bring his Super Decathlon up.

Huh! I never knew what that '-1' signified! Thanks, Mark! I had 100 hours in my brothers 1965 Cherokee 180C years ago. The 180 was a neat niche against Cessna, right between the 172's and 182's of that era. It was a bit faster and carried more than a 172, maybe not as much as a 182, but more economical with just the 4 cyl O-360 and less maintenance with fixed prop. I ended up buying my 172, I just liked the easier in&out with the doors on each side, plus that particular Cherokee was a maintenance nightmare, but when most things were working, it wasn't a bad machine!

Owned a '73 Piper Cruiser (140); traded up for a '75 Warrior. All the difference in the world with the tapered wing...very easy to fly. However, landing on a hot day, I would float down the runway for an extended amount of time. Great video explaining the Cherokee lineup.

In the 60s I learnt to fly in a Musketeer and when I went back in the mid 90s I did a few hours in a warrior. I simply couldn’t believe just how much climb performance the Piper had over the Beech …….you could do literally 5 min circuits in it because it climbed so quickly. That wing was amazing.

Oups, sorry I should have listen to the end...you just answered my question with regarding to the Saratoga.

Good video. However the 3rd window was not part of the (1) designation. The (1) designates solely the tapered wing. Although other tweaks were made as well like the stretch.

thank you

WHEW!!!...My heads about to explode! Fantastic explanation as always! Piper could have done much better with the names. Great planes, but a mess in identifying what is what.

Wow - who knew! Nice job.

My Pvt check ride was in a 1961 PA-22-108, the Piper Colt. The Piper Colt was, basically, a stripped down version of the Tri-Pacer. 2 seats and no flaps 🙂

Nice vid, just saw the 235 added to your site a few days ago. If only I had a slightly higher budget....

Good Video, for those Cherokee fans the best reference book out of print is called the Indians, it explains a great amount of detail, for example the 140's were almost all 150 HP. It makes ramp spotting easy.

The "transition planes" like pathfinder I believe were long fuselage still with Hershey bar wing not short fuselage with tapered wings as you mentioned.

Is there a difference in the cabin widths at the front seats between the 235 and a Warrior? I have a lot of experience in Warriors and Archers, but I’ve never been in an older Cherokee.

Are there 235 like the one you show with tapered wings? If yes, to what effect to the performances?

Piper missed out on make a sports sedan with the Cherokee series. There needed to be a PA28R-235/236. A 540 powered Arrow is a dream of mine.

Maybe I missed that: What do you think, roughly how much can the tapered wing compensate for the more powerful engine of a 6-cylinder Piper due to aerodynamic advantages?

It wouldn't be a Skywagon video, without Marks phone going off... 😆

I quite possibly missed it, but when was the 3rd window added … what model and/or year? Thanks Mark!

Thank you, these Pipers have far too many models. I will be purchasing one however. I personally prefer the low wing. Flew the Seneca for my Multi training and loved it. Unfortunately, the budget doesn’t allow for a multi, but a 235 would be perfect. I have been looking at the Archers/PA 28s and have not seen any six cylinders.

Would like a video on the Arrows. I'm in the market and their really aren't that many videos on the Arrows family as a whole that I can find.

You should do a video on the Grumman AA5 series - Traveler, Cheetah, Tiger. If you get one for sale (reasonable) in good condition - please let me know.

Sorry, posted the last comment to the wrong video. But, I do enjoy all your airplane reviews😄

The first 1975 Warriors had the Balanced Ailerons for 1 year...

Mark, you had it right at 10:30 … 180 = Challenger and 235 = Pathfinder. I’d heard the reason for abandoning the Challenger name was legal pressure from Dodge since they used (still use) the same name for a car. Don’t know if that’s true though.

Enjoyed the video, as always. My question is this....what's lurking under the car cover? Something good I'm thinking.

Is there a PA-28-180 with straight wings and an extra window (3 side windows on each side and 2 windshields) please? Thanks

Old video, so you might not see this, but you said the 180 and 235 share the same airframe. Why is the VNE different on the two planes?

There are NO short fuselage tapered wing Cherokees! They actually got longer fuselages and KEPT the Hershey bar wings for a few years. The 180 became the Challenger (which had a Hershey Bar wing that was lengthened!) then Archer (1975) which ALSO HAD A HERSHEY BAR WING. In 1976 the Archer got a semi-tapered wing... Archer II- The 235 became the CHARGER, then PATHFINDER (the plane I own) and then DAKOTA. You also stated that all Hershey bar Cherokees have a certain size tail,.. There are two different sized STABILATORS for Cherokees with Hershey Bar wings. When the Fuselage was stretched, they got the bigger stabilator excepting the Arrow which got the bigger stab only when the semi-tapered wing was added (Arrow 3) not when the fuselage was lengthened. It's confusing I know.

Great video. I didn’t know the wing differences between the aircraft type ending in a 1. How do you remember all that info!?

Pay attention… There WILL be a test later.

My 67 has same dash panel fyi

Does it have a autopilot

-140 has 150 horsepower so “the number” is not always horsepower.

The early 140s and 180s had a baggage door.

So was my 2006 Saratoga a 301 or a 300 Lance? How do you pronounce L A N C E? Just kidding; I remember. It is easy to get confused though, especially with the PA 28s. You do a great job Mark, but its even more confusing than when my wife told me she was leaving me for a WOMAN. They got the Saratoga. Would you actually want to do a video on a 195 if I can get up there with it? LMK Geoff Paul

This video was great apart from one glaring mistake. Hershey chocolate is not delicious, its nasty. 🤣

Turn. Your. Phone. Off. This is the 2nd video with your phone going off.

Sorry, what? I thought there was a 260 and 300 Cherokee 6.

I can haul 3 200 pound passengers and still be within CG limits