Why did Piper change from the overhead and door vents to the later floor vents? Having learned in Cessna 172s the wing vents were nice. However in my 1969 Cherokee 140 the floor vents don’t seem to cool you as good has the Cessna 172 vents. I have never flown an older Cherokee with the overhead or door vents but seems they would do better than the floor vents. If the answer is to decrease drag I would question what fraction of a percent of drag was reduced.
Cherokee floor vents
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MajorTurbulence
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My 1980 PA28-181 has floor vents that are very powerful and useful to cool me off when hot. The roof vent alone or supplemented by the fan also works well. Haven’t seen any door vents on my model.
Jim_R
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My '73 PA28-180 has overhead vents (fed by a vent in the vertical stabilizer) and floor vents (fed by vents in the wings). On the ground I use a Kool Scoop in the side window. In terms of air movement, those have served me well. The only thing I've ever wished for is cooler air on hot days--I never felt like I needed more flow from the vents I've got.
Some PA28 (and larger cousins) have overhead vents that are/were part of the air conditioning system. My plane had those, but since the a/c and its fan were removed before I got the plane, I have no idea how much benefit that system added. Some planes have had the a/c system removed but the fan still in place, which I think might help with ventilation on the ground but I suspect makes little difference once you're in the air and have ram air feeding the rest of the vents.
Some PA28 (and larger cousins) have overhead vents that are/were part of the air conditioning system. My plane had those, but since the a/c and its fan were removed before I got the plane, I have no idea how much benefit that system added. Some planes have had the a/c system removed but the fan still in place, which I think might help with ventilation on the ground but I suspect makes little difference once you're in the air and have ram air feeding the rest of the vents.