Piper PA-38

Piper PA-38 Tomahawk
Type:	Trainer aircraft
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Piper Aircraft Corporation
Commissioning:	1977
Production time:	1977 to 1982
Number of pieces:	2,484

The Piper PA-38 Tomahawk is a two-seat light aircraft produced by the US aircraft manufacturer Piper Aircraft Corporation . It was designed as an all-metal aircraft with a nose wheel landing gear, T-tail unit and wings in a low-wing arrangement. It is powered by an air-cooled four-cylinder, four-stroke boxer engine with a carburetor and magneto ignition .

The Tomahawk was developed primarily for the initial training of prospective pilots.

development

Before development began, Piper asked US flight instructors about their ideas of an ideal trainer. The widely used training aircraft Cessna 150 and 152 were known for their very good-natured spin behavior and accordingly also for the difficult initiation of an intended spin . The Cessna 150/152, like most training aircraft, were designed in such a way that they practically emerge from a spin on their own.

The Tomahawk, on the other hand, was written into the specification sheet to be able to spin. The wing profile of the Tomahawk (Nasa GA (W) -1 Whitcomb) therefore requires certain control commands in order to exit from the spin.

The tail unit in a T-arrangement was typical for its time . Until the appearance of Diamond Aircraft , the Tomahawk was the most modern design on the training aircraft market.

production

The first year of production was 1977. The aircraft was built until 1982, when production stopped, 2,484 Tomahawk had been made.

The Tomahawk II, which was manufactured from 1981, was equipped with improved cabin heating and windscreen defroster, improved elevator trim, improved noise insulation and larger 6-inch wheels, as well as other improvements.

Flight characteristics

A Slovenia registered Piper PA-38-112 Tomahawk

The Tomahawk has earned a rather bad reputation with some pilots over the years. Investigations by the NTSB have shown, however, that the Tomahawk has a lower accident rate than the Cessna 150/152. The Tomahawk has a higher proportion of accidents that were caused by the unintentional initiation of an "excessive flight condition". Piper has improved the spin behavior through various measures, especially on the Tomahawk II.

The Tomahawk does not have any surprises in store as long as the flight speeds according to the flight manual are adhered to. The T-tail is z. B. only at about 35 to 40 kn IAS is there sufficient air flow to be sufficiently effective. This must be taken into account during take-off and landing.

The spin can be released according to the standard procedure according to the flight manual. The tomahawk goes into a fully developed spin quite quickly and loses a lot of altitude in the process.

When extended, the landing flaps mainly provide increased air resistance and only a little more lift , which is particularly evident from the stall speeds that differ by only approx. 3 knots (49 kn CAS with extended and 52 kn CAS with retracted landing flaps).

When cruising, there is a certain unrest around the vertical axis . In flight, the very good all-round visibility and the spacious cockpit are an advantage.

The good economy for an aircraft of its time (consumption around 23 liters of Avgas per hour at 90 knots IAS) and the good range are further pluses.

Thanks to the cowling , which can be easily opened on both sides , the engine is easily accessible, which facilitates effective pre-flight checks .

Technical data (PA-38-112 Tomahawk)

Three-sided view

Parameter	Data
crew	1
Passengers	1
length	7.04 m
span	10.36 m
height	2.77 m
Wing area	11.6 m²
Empty mass	512 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	758 kg
Top speed	255 km / h
Service ceiling	4,000 m
Range	867 km
Rate of climb	219 m / min
Area load	65.38 kg / m²
Engines	a 4-cylinder boxer engine Avco Lycoming O-235 -L2A (Bendix magnetos) & -L2C (Slick mags), 112 PS (85 kW)

Web links

Commons : PA-38 - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Photos at airliners.net