Light · ICAO P28B

Piper PA-28 Cherokee 235/Dakota

The Piper Cherokee 235, and its later Dakota development, is the big-engined member of the PA-28 family, fitted with a 235-horsepower Lycoming O-540 rather than the 150-180 horsepower fours used in the Cherokee/Archer, giving noticeably higher useful load and climb performance. The Dakota, certified in 1978, combined that engine with the tapered semi-Fowler-flap wing shared with the Warrior/Archer series, distinguishing it from the earlier straight-wing 235 Charger and Pathfinder. Production ran until 1994, and its roomy cabin and load-hauling ability kept it popular for personal and utility flying.

Piper PA-28 Cherokee 235/Dakota, example photo from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Spotting973 · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Did you know?

The PA-28 family's big-engined member runs a six-cylinder O-540 where smaller Cherokees use fours, and the Dakota added tapered wings.

Specifications

Length7.1 m (23 ft)
Wingspan9.1 m (30 ft)
Height2.2 m (7 ft)
Maximum passengers3
Persons on board3
Maximum take-off weight2 t
Range668 NM (1,237 km)
Maximum speed122 kt (226 km/h)
Stall speed52 kt (96 km/h)
Service ceiling12,700 ft (3,871 m)
Optimum ceiling15,000 ft (4,572 m)
Rate of climb820 ft/min (4.2 m/s)
Take-off distance518 m (1,699 ft)
Landing distance520 m (1,706 ft)
Fuel capacity250 l
EnginesLycoming O-320-E2A
Units built288

Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.

In CatchFlights

In CatchFlights the Piper PA-28 Cherokee 235/Dakota starts as a Common catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you.

A catch counts for the manufacturer Piper, the PA-28 Cherokee 235/Dakota family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.

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