Piper History Questions

[BroomstickPilot]

Hi Guys,

I have two questions somebody may be able to help me with.

First, does anybody please know whether there has ever been a published history of the development of the Pa28 series, especially the history of the Pa28-140 Cherokee.

In regard to the short wing Pa22 Pacer/Tripacer/Colt series, I believe the wings were basically Cub wings from which a panel had been removed thus shortening the wing. Anybody know why Piper's decided to shorten the wing rather than leaving it as it was? After all, the Pa22 series would already have had a heavier wing loading than the Cub by reason of being side-by-side two seaters with bigger engines. And surely retaining the original wing would have simplified manufacture and kept costs down?

Regards,

BP

[fernytickles]

I have a good friend who is a fountain of knowledge on things aviation. I sent him a link to your post, and as he is not a Ppruner, I am copying his reply below. Hope this helps answer some of your questions.

There is a book called "The Piper Indians" that talks about the Cherokee
series. Not sure if it's still available, but I'm sure a copy could be
found somewhere.

"In regard to the short wing Pa22 Pacer/Tripacer/Colt series, I believe
the wings were basically Cub wings from which a panel had been removed
thus shortening the wing. Anybody know why Piper's decided to shorten
the wing rather than leaving it as it was? After all, the Pa22 series
would already have had a heavier wing loading than the Cub by reason of
being side-by-side two seaters with bigger engines. And surely retaining
the original wing would have simplified manufacture and kept costs down?"

The "Short Wing" Pipers share the same airfoil as the "long wing"
Pipers, but the wings are not structurally identical. The wings were
shortened on the Vagabond to save cost. Less parts and material, and a
bit less labor, equals less cost to build. The shorter wings were
retained on later designs because higher horsepower engines provided
good performance with less wing area (which resulted in less drag at the
higher speeds these aircraft cruised at).

The fabric covered Piper wings are very labor intensive to assemble, so
the simplified construction of the short wings along with less material
and parts count equated to less cost to build. Also, the airplanes took
up less ramp and hangar space, which as another benefit.

That's the very short version of the answers to his questions. Hope
this helps!

[Level Attitude]

If you type PA28 in to Google then the first item on the list is
the wikopedia entry which gives a good synopsis of the
development history of the aircraft and its variants.

Ditto for PA22

[BroomstickPilot]

Fernytickles: Many thanks! That information is most useful. Would you please kindly convey my thanks to your friend.

Level Attitude: Thank you for your response. Actually, Wikipedia was my first port of call and as you correctly say all the facts are there. However, I am more interested in the people involved and the thinking behind the design of the Pa28 series. I imagine these would be much more likely to be found in a book -if there is one that is.

BP.

[taybird]

"The Taylorcraft Story" by Chet Peek tells the story of the original Taylor Cub, Taylorcraft's partnership with Piper and how they parted ways. This gives an insight into the reasons for the immense success of the re-badged Piper Cub, and why Piper might then want to develop that into faster side by side variants.

It doesn't cover the genesis of the PA28 series, but it does give an interesting insight into people involved in the earlier stuff from a different perspective. It might be of interest to you.

[gasax]

You also need to recall (or know) that Piper built 'long wing' versions of the short wing Pipers. The Pa12 and 14 had the long wings although set at a slightly lower angle of attack to the fuselage and were 3 and 4 seaters.

Having been involved in the rebuild of a couple of short wing Pipers and watching a long wing - you can certainly appreciate the overall economies of the short wing. Having flown a couple of hundred hours in short wings - they may not be attractive but they certainly work.

As for the Pa28 - well much more modern but frankly nothing like as well mannered or forgiving and expensive to repair...... The difficulty it that it spawned so many variants - which have such differing characteristics and performance.

[fernytickles]

I'm about to go & partake of some turkey with him, so will pass on your thanks. He does have the link to this thread also.

[G-APDK]

If you are looking for a potted history of the Cherokee (and all the post war Pipers), The General Aviation Handbook by Rod Simpson (ISBN 1-85780-222-5) provides details. This was published by Midland Publishing in 2005

There is also a book titled Piper Aircraft - Author Roger Pepperell (ISBN 978-085130-378-9) published by Air-Britain which is a comprehensive history of Piper Aircraft.

G-APDK

[IFMU]

I have an old book called "Mr. Piper and his cubs" which goes through a lot of Piper history including Cherokees as I remember.

IFMU

[BroomstickPilot]

Very many thanks for your replies to one and all.

BP.

[Sir George Cayley]

A man called Thorpe designed the PA28 wing. Not many people know that.

SGC