Throughout its years of operation, Piper Aircraft has been known to manufacture some of the most effective record-setting aircraft ever designed. One such model is the Piper Cherokee, which originally hit the market somewhere between 1961 and 1962. It was built and designed by the company for flight training, personal use, as well as air taxi services. Being a light aircraft made it suitable for any of those purposes, and it was certainly one of Piper’s best selling models.

The Piper Cherokee was also referred to as the PA-28, and is a member of a family of all metal, unpressurized single engine aircraft with the capability of seating four people. A significant structural feature of the Piper Cherokee was the fact that it had a single door on the pilot side of the aircraft. This door allowed access to the aircraft by stepping on the wing to enter. While some saw it as an inconvenience, others marveled at it because it was quite a unique feature at the time.

Piper manufactured several variations in the Cherokee family, from the Piper Cherokee 140 to the Piper Cherokee 300. The numbers were attached to the name based on the type of engines used in each aircraft. Therefore, for example, the Piper Cherokee 180, model number PA-28-180, came with a mid-sized 180 hp engine.

A six seat variant of the Piper Cherokee was also created and referred to as the PA-32. Earlier versions of that aircraft were called the Cherokee Six. Although it was initially popular, it was not one of Piper Aircraft’s biggest sellers.

The original Piper Cherokee was also called the PA-28-180 and just about 11,000 units of this 180 hp aircraft were built. Following that model, the Piper Cherokee 235, or PA-28-235, was put out in 1963 with more horsepower thanks to the 235 hp Lycoming O-540 engine inside. Just under 3,000 units of this aircraft were manufactured.

Then in 1964, the Piper Cherokee 140, or PA-28-140, was introduced to the market as the bottom end of the Cherokee line. It was mainly designed for training, and although it was a 140, several of the 10,000 units manufactured actually came with a 150 hp engine.

The three models of the Cherokee had fairly similar operating statistics, between the maximum speed and the service ceiling. They also housed the same number of passengers and crew, and had the Cherokee Six as its distant family member for Cherokee lovers who needed more passenger space.

The Piper Cherokee stood its own ground in the general aviation industry, although the model is no longer manufactured. Nonetheless, any general aviation enthusiast will readily recognize the name if it is ever mentioned in that type of arena.