Light · ICAO PA38

Piper PA-38 Tomahawk

The Piper Tomahawk was a two-seat trainer developed to compete directly with the Cessna 150. Its low wing and T-tail gave it a different feel from the high-wing Cessna, while its deliberately spin-capable handling made it useful for training. The type was produced for only a few years.

Piper PA-38 Tomahawk, example photo from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Alan Wilson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Did you know?

Pilots nicknamed the Tomahawk the 'Traumahawk' for its abrupt, wing-drop stall — a trait Piper built in deliberately to teach spin recognition.

Specifications

Length7.3 m (24 ft)
Wingspan10.4 m (34 ft)
Height2.4 m (8 ft)
Persons on board2
Crew2
Maximum take-off weight0.8 t
Range500 NM (926 km)
Maximum speed110 kt (204 km/h)
Stall speed49 kt (91 km/h)
Service ceiling15,000 ft (4,572 m)
Optimum ceiling10,000 ft (3,048 m)
Rate of climb718 ft/min (3.6 m/s)
Take-off distance250 m (820 ft)
Landing distance450 m (1,476 ft)
Fuel capacity110 l
Engines1x Lycoming O-235

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-38 Tomahawk starts as a Uncommon 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-38 Tomahawk family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.

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