Piper Cherokee 140
Planned as a replacement for Piper’s high-wing rag-and-tube Colt, the Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee arrived early in 1964. The all-metal, low-wing aircraft was primarily intended for use as a trainer, competing…
âA Piper And A Sunsetâ by Cory W. Watts – CC BY-SA 2.0/Flickr
Planned as a replacement for Piper's high-wing rag-and-tube Colt, the Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee arrived early in 1964. The all-metal, low-wing aircraft was primarily intended for use as a trainer, competing with the Cessna 150. It might not have won that battle, but it did grab market share, and for good reason. The entry-level Cherokee 140 has a reputation for reliability and easy handling.
The 140 is powered by the 4-cylinder Lycoming O-320 engine, originally rated, unsurprisingly given the name, at 140 hp. The two-seat design was updated just a year later, becoming the 140-4, which could be configured as a four-seater. The update also bumped the engine on the 140 up to 150 hp. More than 10,000 Cherokee 140s---with the vast majority being the 150 hp version---were manufactured before Piper stopped production in 1977.
The 150 hp 140 cruises at a blazing 108 kts and will travel a respectable 465 nm. It can haul around 950 pounds useful load, a decent figure for a 150 hp airplane, but many owners look at the 140 as a good-sized two-seater with a large luggage bench in back. For a nice used 140, the price can be as low as $21,000.
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