Currently I'm flying a Cherokee 180, and it does pretty well short-field when loaded lightly, though with the wheelpant coverage I have,
I'd rather not do much rough field stuff with her. I have, however, seen a Cherokee Six at our FBO with some surprisingly large rubber, so
I'm guessing there's been some thought on the matter.

As I'm really enjoying the 'kee, which is a rental, I'm attracted to the bang-for-the-buck of some of the lesser PA28 models, and have read some
interesting mods which seem to make it a decent short field machine.

The most obvious concern, if there's a bunch of FOD (gravel, etc.) would be the wings and flaps. Fortunately, most of the little fields I'd care to
use around here are well maintained grass without a bunch of junk in it. I do like the ability to make an emergency landing in a short space, though,
even if I do ding up the sheetmetal a little.

One site that seems to have a little on the subject is http://www.pipermods.com/

One of these days.......

I'm glad someone else asked. I've been looking myself. Seems like a great time builder that can haul some serious poundage and still operate from some small strips here in AK.

Rah, Brian... that wouldn't look half bad.

What I was considering, with my mild airplane mechanickin' background, picking up a fairly simple project, and waging a war on
weight with it. Hell... I won't need a full-IFR bird for quite a while yet anyway. Between some weight loss and a few minor mods,
I think I'd be able to fly a pretty respectable Arkansas backwoods bird. I'd be just fine with a 172 if a good deal came my way, but
it seems the Cherokees go for quite a bit less... all else being equal.

Those airplanes have some of the toughest gear ever put on an airplane. I've never liked em much cause they aren't as easy to see down from as a high wing, but the whole Cherokee series is a good, honest, and pretty capable class of airplanes. The Sixes in particular are great backcountry load haulers.

All of them are pretty tough, though. You are going to suffer some prop damage on unimproved strips, because of the proximity of the prop to ground, but....

MTV

All I have to add to that is it is too bad that Piper didn't build a high wing to compete with Cessna. Way better QC over there at Piper back in the day.

gb

I know where...

...there is a dandy early 60's Cherokee that can be had for a very, modest price. It was donated to the charity for which I do volunteer flying. I ferried it home from Glens Falls, NY to St. Louis last month. New tires, recent white paint, old interior and a ferry permit. It had set for 6 years. I'd never flown one before and was very impressed with the airplane and it's performance. Only thing that took some getting used to was the hand brakes. Solid airplane with about 900 hours on the engine. It would make a great machine with a little tender loving care.

You can email me at [email protected]

Just a thought.

bob

Another good thing about the Kee's are that when all the others are tied down and you are worried that they are going to blow away you should go and look and see if you set the brakes on the Cherokee.
I agree with MPV heavy duty under carriage, put a big tire on the front and pump the strut up an extra inch or 2 and you will have plenty of prop clearance.
We had big tires on the 206's all the way around and the props were toast when the engine ran out.
Besides that most of them have a Lyc. in them, the 235 Cherokee is a real hot rod with just a few mods.
Hey as long as you are in the air it's good.
GT

I fly a Cherokee 180 as well.



It won't be anyones first choice for Backcountry work but its a great plane for a small family and its easy on the wallet. I just feel blessed to have any airplane right now. My friend Adam flies his Cherokee 140 all over the Utah/Arizona Backcountry with a tired 150hp. engine!! Check out these-

http://www.the-adam.com/adam/bryce/utahback.htm and http://www.the-adam.com/adam/bryce/utahback.htm

He just did Brown's Rim and Fry Canyon this last week. I have only had my plane on dry lake beds so far but they will do some challenging strips at the hands of a skilled pilot.

Way back I had a Cherokee 140/150 horse.It was a great airplane and rugged.It did as well getting in and out as any Cessna of the same power.It was a 68 with Hershey bar wing.I used to keep the struts a little higher than normal.With a 6.00x6 on the nose it had pretty good prop clearance.Someone makes wing and tail extensions for that old wing.I bet it would really improve the short field performance.Hmmm,maybe even a Borer prop
It was a fun airplane and endeared me to manual flaps.Land full stall with the yoke at the stop, dump the flaps and lean on the brakes.
If I remember correctly I paid $6800 for that plane in 1977.It was worth every penny.
Bill

Cherokees all the way! I fly a 1965 Cherokee 180C and absolutely love it! I really haven't done a lot of backcountry stuff with it but I am heading up to central Idaho tomorrow with it. She sure hauls a load and is a joy to fly!

I had a 182 for 7 years and now have a Bonanza and am always landing off pavement. With the V Tail I have no tail issues, a big change from the 182. The tail of the 182 got so beat up I had to put the rubber abrasion strips on it. I haven't noticed any flap damage so far, thought I would. Even though I had bigger tires on the 182 the Bo has more prop clearance, I have the strut pumped up a little more than normal. So go for it. Learn your plane and have fun.

A stripped down Dakota would be the way to go for me. Lots of power in a little package.

Okay, I came to find out what the success rate was for a Cherokee 140 on off airport strips. I just partnered with 3 friends and we purchased a 1966 Cherokee 140 for time building. It does have wheel pants so I assume those should be removed before landing on grass strips? Maybe not but because I am a new pilot, I dont really know. What do you guys think?

I started a group here called "Ozark Pilots" (find it under community --> Groups) and I would like to be able to network with other local pilots here in the Ozarks region (Southern Missouri, Northern Arkansas, Western Oklahoma) and would like to start working on my off airport landings but I wanted to get more information about using this Cherokee 140 before I get started.

Any tips you guys can give would be greatly appreciated.

Here is a picture of the plane
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =1&theater

Spacer:

http://vimeo.com/69551581

The above is one of a bunch of videos (I mean bunch, probably better than 100) posted by a guy named Adam from the Phoenix area.

He has a ton of videos of his Cherokee in UT, AZ and NM backcountry strips.

Also has a website http://www.the-adam.com

Gives you an idea of what can be done.

Regards, Larry

Nice plane! Cherokee's were on my short list before I bought my PA22, always loved how they fly. As far as wheel pants go, I've been landing my Tri-Pacer on lots of grass, gravel, and dirt strips and the wheel pants are not an issue. I'll eventually take them off just to make inspecting the gear easier but I was told by an experienced pilot that I shouldn't be landing on anything that requires the wheel pants to be removed for a while yet anyway... and I've found that to be true. When these planes were made grass strips probably outnumbered pavement. For now I wouldn't worry about it and just enjoy the extra few mph.

I was in a Cherokee 180 partnership for a while. One partner took it into the Idaho backcountry strips on Elk hunting trips each year. Stock tires. The wheel pants were long gone before I joined the partnership.

Put about a 5 or 6 inch length of radiator hose around the front strut with hose clamps to hold the nose high and keep the strut from collapsing. it keep the prop out of the dirt and makes it look like a tail dragger when its parked.

I always thought Dave Calkins wife's Cherokee 140 was a cool example of the breed.



now modified with 10 inch wheels:

BRD wrote:I always thought Dave Calkins wife's Cherokee 140 was a cool example of the breed.



now modified with 10 inch wheels:

Awesome! That looks bad ass!

Anybody know what kind of performance a Cherokee 180 with a STOL kit would have? Mainly interested in take-off distance or anybody who has flown one with it.