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Aviation History
1967
1967 - 1739.PDF
FLIGHT International, 3/ August 1967 331 IN THE AIR By Neil Harrison: Number 222 of the series PIPER PA-U-300 CHEROKEE SIX (One 300 h.p. Lycoming IO-540-K fuel injection piston engine driving an BOin diameter two-bladed constant-speed pro- peller) Span, 32ft lOin; length, 27ft 8in; height, 7ft 11 in; wing area, 174.5 sq ft; total standard fuel capacity, 70 Imp gal; basic empty weight (standard six-seat), 1,7381b; basic empty weight (standard all-freight), 1,6681b: empty weight as tested (six-seats full panel, 2i VHF, ADF. autopilot etc), 1,8731b; gross weight, 3,4(X)lb; wing loading, I9.5lb/sq ft; power loading, 11.3lb/h.p.; basic empty weight (six- seats) as percentage of gross, 51.1 per cent; basic empty weight (freighter) as percentage of gross, 49 per cent; empty weight as tested percentage of gross, 55 per cent. Performance (owner's handbook figures at gross weight except where stated) Maximum speed, 174 m.p.h. at sea level; best 75 per cent power cruising speed and fuel consump- tion, 168 m.p.h. at 8,000ft and 13 Imp gal/hr; best 55 per cent power cruising speed and fuel consumption, 154 m.p.h. at 15,000ft and 10 Imp gal/hr; observed cruising speeds at 5,0O0ft, 151 m.p.h. TAS (75 per cent power), 121 m.p.h. TAS (55 per cent power); indicated stalling speeds, 70 m.p.h. (clean), 63 m.p.h. (full flap); take-off to 50ft (flaps 25° un- factored distance at ISA, S.I., still air), 1,400ft; rate of climb (ISA, s.l.), l,050ft/min; service ceiling, 16,000ft; landing from 50ft (flaps 40" unfactored.distance), 1,000ft. PIPER CHEROKEE SIX 300 STRETCHING a design, by which are meant such devices aslengthening the fuselage and raising the permitted operat-ing weights, is the favourite recourse of transport air- craft builders faced with the need to improve the operating economics of their product. The Piper Cherokee Six, introduced nearly two years ago and recently made available with more power, is probably the most outstanding example of the stretching process applied to a light aircraft. The raison d'etre in this case was to effect a break-in to the commercial market The Cherokee tribe started out at the beginning of this decade as a pair of 150/160 h.p. all-metal four-seaters made with a minimum of components for mass production at least cost. The basic type has appeared as a cheap two-seat 140 h.p. trainer, and in various power brackets up to 235 h.p.; the most recently announced development of the private-owner-orientated range being the 180 h.p. Cherokee Arrow with a retractable undercarriage. Realising the weight-lifting potential in the big, fat wing and the highly efficient light-alloy structure led Mr Fred Weick and his team at the Piper development centre to perceive the money-making possibilities of the type. Although many detail parts, and the general appearance, of the Cherokee Six are like that of its smaller namesakes, very little of the actual airframe is the same. The biggest change is in the fuselage—which has a wider and longer parallel centre section with essentially the same tailcone as before. The inhabited area is 4ft wide and 13ft long and will take no less than seven adults, mostly in comfort—three are squeezed side-by-side in the centre row, but the rest have luxurious and generously proportioned arm chairs. Quickly cleared of all seats but the pilot's, the 110 cu ft cabin becomes an ideal freight hold for loads up to 1,3001b. Access is gained by a normal-width over-wing door to starboard, and by a 3ft-wide full-depth door at the port rear side. An optional cargo door turns the latter into a 5ft-wide opening. To give an idea of the really bulky loads that can be carried, using this optional door, the brochure shows three 45-gallon oil drums aboard. Except for certain increases in sheet gauge, the Cherokee Six has the same wing as the four-seaters. The leading edge integral fuel tanks located close inboard are of the same capacity as before, but glass-fibre wing-tip tanks, holding 14 Imp gal each, both increase the wing span and contribute to wing bending moment relief. The Cherokee Six is available with a choice of powerplant —the 260 h.p. Lycoming O-540-E, which costs £8,614 basic delivered in Britain, or the 300 h.p. Lycoming IO-540-K at £9,796. Both are six-cylinder air-cooled engines driving constant- speed two-bladed propellers, but the latter has fuel injection. The aircraft flown for this report was a well-equipped Cherokee Six 300, G-AVFS, belonging to CSE Aviation Ltd, of Kidling- ton Airport, Oxford, Piper distributors in Britain. The six-seat demonstrator was fitted with most of the options available, including the cargo door, full blind-flying panel of instruments, Vi VHF nav/com Class 1 electronics by King and Bendix ADF, Autocontrol III autopilot, electrically driven, ielevator trim, undercarriage fairings and external power socket. The empty weight was 1,8731b (1351b over basic) and the price tag £10,366 (£570 of extras). The most amazing thing about the Cherokee Six 300 is that, despite an above-average power-to-weight ratio, a low wing- loading and all the tremendous roominess already mentioned, Stretched to the limits for money-making appeal. The Piper Cherokee Six is the cheapest six-seater sing/e on the market OXFORD AIR IRAINlNG SCMOOt
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