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muleywannabe

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Cherokee235
My partners and i purchased a piper 235. Two of us are in training and one is a pilot. Our CFI is well versed in pa-28 aircraft. I am sure it will take a lot of time to transition from a c172 to this beast but we have plenty of time to learn. Can you share some advice?
 
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muleywannabe said:
My partners and i purchased a piper 235. Two of us are in training and one is a pilot. Our CFI is well versed in pa-28 aircraft. I am sure it will take a lot of time to transition from a c172 to this beast but we have plenty of time to learn. Can you share some advice?
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Not until you care to share some pictures! Congrats.
 
What year 235?

After flying a 172, the one thing you will be amazed at is climb rate. That 6-cylinder engine pulls like a tractor, compared to the 4 in the Cessna.

After that, differences are subtle. You'll love not having the world disappear when turning base-to-final, but at first you won't like not being able to see the ground-to-wheel relationship. You'll soon get used to feeling for the runway with your butt.

You'll learn to carry a bit of power into the flare. If you really want to grease the 235 on, you'll land with 2-notches of flaps, not 3. That O-540 out front makes the 235 a bit "stabilator challenged", being a nose-heavy beast, so 2 notches and a wee bit of power prevents you from flopping the nose down too hard.

Otherwise, you'll love the 235's power and lifting capacity. Throw a few speed mods on, and you'll have a 140 knot, fixed-gear Cherokee.
 
I fly a 235 that I bought into 5 hours into my training. I was flying 140's and 160's prior to that. It's not a huge transition...have to get used to the power of course...cool thing is you get your high performance endorsement during training...or as my CFI called it, "The Right Rudder Endorsement". :)

Big thing transitioning from high wing to low wing, especially to an airplane with more power, is dealing with ground effect. If you bring the 235 in too fast you'll float halfway down the runway. Learning the numbers is key.

Also, the glide ratio for a 235 is low. When you cut power, you are coming down. Practice your emergency outs to get a feel of how much time you have.

Only downside, if you can even call it that, I have with the plane after flying it for ~150 hours is the fuel consumption. Expect 12-13 GPH real world. It will effectively double your fuel cost during training compared to a 152/172 or a Warrior type Piper but you are probably like me and wanted to do your primary training in the airplane you are going to be flying when there's no CFI in there with you.

Best thing about the 235 is it's a mule. Check the numbers out - it will carry as much as it weighs empty. Even with full fuel you have around 800lb's left for butts and bags. One of my partners has flown the plane non stop from Austin to Colorado with 4 dudes and the back filled the gills. Pretty impressive platform. My CFI is an old timer and said the when the 235's came out in the early 60's they could carry more than the early LearJets. :)

Enjoy it man - if you ever have any questions feel free to reach out. We do a lot of owner assist maintenance, etc... so happy to help in whatever way I can.

And yes, this thread is useless without any pictures. :)
 
well I tried to upload pictures but forgot I have to store it first on a website, then re-post. I will get some good pictures this weekend and post them up after I fly. Can I email the pics I have right now to one of you and have you repost?
 
Jay Honeck said:
What year 235?

After flying a 172, the one thing you will be amazed at is climb rate. That 6-cylinder engine pulls like a tractor, compared to the 4 in the Cessna.

After that, differences are subtle. You'll love not having the world disappear when turning base-to-final, but at first you won't like not being able to see the ground-to-wheel relationship. You'll soon get used to feeling for the runway with your butt.

You'll learn to carry a bit of power into the flare. If you really want to grease the 235 on, you'll land with 2-notches of flaps, not 3. That O-540 out front makes the 235 a bit "stabilator challenged", being a nose-heavy beast, so 2 notches and a wee bit of power prevents you from flopping the nose down too hard.

Otherwise, you'll love the 235's power and lifting capacity. Throw a few speed mods on, and you'll have a 140 knot, fixed-gear Cherokee.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the info. I would love to have your contact info for future questions and just for learning the aircraft more. My CFI and I pulled it out of the hangar wednesday evening and then fueled it up so it would ready to go this weekend. I taxied around and you could feel the power!!! I am sure it is going to take a lot of right rudder!!!
 
kenjr said:
I fly a 235 that I bought into 5 hours into my training. I was flying 140's and 160's prior to that. It's not a huge transition...have to get used to the power of course...cool thing is you get your high performance endorsement during training...or as my CFI called it, "The Right Rudder Endorsement". :)

Big thing transitioning from high wing to low wing, especially to an airplane with more power, is dealing with ground effect. If you bring the 235 in too fast you'll float halfway down the runway. Learning the numbers is key.

Also, the glide ratio for a 235 is low. When you cut power, you are coming down. Practice your emergency outs to get a feel of how much time you have.

Only downside, if you can even call it that, I have with the plane after flying it for ~150 hours is the fuel consumption. Expect 12-13 GPH real world. It will effectively double your fuel cost during training compared to a 152/172 or a Warrior type Piper but you are probably like me and wanted to do your primary training in the airplane you are going to be flying when there's no CFI in there with you.

Best thing about the 235 is it's a mule. Check the numbers out - it will carry as much as it weighs empty. Even with full fuel you have around 800lb's left for butts and bags. One of my partners has flown the plane non stop from Austin to Colorado with 4 dudes and the back filled the gills. Pretty impressive platform. My CFI is an old timer and said the when the 235's came out in the early 60's they could carry more than the early LearJets. :)

Enjoy it man - if you ever have any questions feel free to reach out. We do a lot of owner assist maintenance, etc... so happy to help in whatever way I can.

And yes, this thread is useless without any pictures. :)
Click to expand...

I figure my fuel costs will be a bit more but not too bad because I was renting for $110 wet before and at 13.5 gallon average for the 235 will cost me at my home base about $72.90 an hour plus engine and avionics reserve which will total right at $95 an hour. Saving me about $15.00 an hour. not a lot by any means...but thats $750 saved over 50 hours. Plus the benefit of driving literally 10 minutes to the airport instead of 50 minutes is a huge benefit that cant even be measured. I would love your contact info as well to get great info about the plane and its characteristics etc. The gentleman we bought it from had a very vast knowledge of the plane, great guy! He taught my partners and I a bunch during our test flight and pre flight. Its amazing the amount you learn.

Can you share your traffic pattern airspeeds and flap configurations? I have been reading different ones and would love to hear what you guys do.

thanks!
 
I like 100 on downwind, 90 on base and 85 short final, bleeding airspeed off until touchdown which puts me around 65 but once I cross the numbers I don't really look at my speed.
 
Congrats,your going to enjoy it ,much more airplane than a 172.
 
Jhernandez04 said:
I like 100 on downwind, 90 on base and 85 short final, bleeding airspeed off until touchdown which puts me around 65 but once I cross the numbers I don't really look at my speed.
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My CFI just got done flying today, he said the same thing. the Cessna 172 was 80 downwind, 75 base, 70 final I think. So a lot more speed to bleed off in the 235. Did you find training in it to be a lot more faster pace or did you start directly in your 235?
 
muleywannabe said:
My CFI just got done flying today, he said the same thing. the Cessna 172 was 80 downwind, 75 base, 70 final I think. So a lot more speed to bleed off in the 235. Did you find training in it to be a lot more faster pace or did you start directly in your 235?
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I've never flown another plane.


You try flying the pattern at 172 speeds and your controls are going to be mushy, real mushy.

The 235 can carry a bit more speed because it slows down very fast, a little slip and your back to where you want to be. If you aren't proficient at slowing it down, you will float a bit which isn't a huge deal if your on a 3,500ft+ runway. With the said I will come in slower for the shorter (2500ft) runway and if I don't hit my aim point within reason I'll do a go around, as I get more hours my go arounds are less frequent but don't be scared to do one, it's perfectly acceptable.
 
Below the Reply box are two radio buttons, one for Post Quick Reply, one for Go Advanced. Pick Go Advanced.

About a third of the way down the Go Advanced is Manage Attachments. That will let you upload from your PC
 
Jhernandez04 said:
I like 100 on downwind, 90 on base and 85 short final, bleeding airspeed off until touchdown which puts me around 65 but once I cross the numbers I don't really look at my speed.
Click to expand...

Yeah. And That's in MPH, folks.

With the CS Prop, 16" for slow flight, 11-12" on downwind.
Pattern work, reduce to 20" when turning crosswind or you're going to zoom right through pattern altitude.

All of this I worked out my own when I was a student.
 
mikea said:
Yeah. And That's in MPH, folks.

With the CS Prop, 16" for slow flight, 11-12" on downwind.
Pattern work, reduce to 20" when turning crosswind or you're going to zoom right through pattern altitude.

All of this I worked out my own when I was a student.
Click to expand...

Lol yes, MPH for sure.

mine is also a fixed pitch prop.
 
Jay Honeck said:
You'll love not having the world disappear when turning base-to-final, but at first you won't like not being able to see the ground-to-wheel relationship. You'll soon get used to feeling for the runway with your butt.
Click to expand...

:confused: Whoa Honeck, are you seriously saying you're in the habit of landing a high-wing by looking at the wheels?
 
RoscoeT said:
:confused: Whoa Honeck, are you seriously saying you're in the habit of landing a high-wing by looking at the wheels?
Click to expand...

Lol! Not exactly.

But those wheels, and their relationship to the ground, were always available in my peripheral vision. No-can-see in a low-wing plane, which is a difference when transitioning from a Cezzna to a Piper..
 
I did some pattern practice last night with my CFI. Great times, I learned a lot about the aircraft. Definitely faster but not horrible, I did two unassisted landings, the Piper 235 likes to float some but we had a long runway so it was not an issue.
 
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