Our Warrior, N56832
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Owned by The Flight Partners:
Rudi Freysinger
Dick Olson
Jeff Thompson
Tom Wyckoff

1974 Piper Warrior (PA-28/151)
Based: DuPage Airport (DPA)

Specifications / Equipment:
(written for non-aviation-types)

Engine: 150hp Lycoming 4 cylinder air-cooled, horizontally-opposed (like a VW), 320 cubic inch displacement; it burns 100-octane Aviation Gasoline ($5.50 per gallon at this writing {1/08}).
Seats: 4 (However, an airplane's capacity has nothing to do with how many seats it has. The airplane is "full" when its total weight reaches its certified maximum. Ours can carry 3 average adults and full fuel tanks or 4 adults and about half fuel).
Landing Gear: Tricycle (fixed)
Instruments: IFR Equipped (we can fly it in the clouds)
    Michel MX170 Nav/Com (a two-way radio for talking to the ground and other planes and a navigation radio that tells us where we are) with glideslope (lets us land when we can't see the runway until the last minute)
    King KX170B Nav/Com with localizer (as above, but without the "up/down" information)
    King ADF (Navigation radio that "points" to radio stations)
    King Audio Panel (Lets us switch between radios)
    4-place Intercom (Lets us talk to passengers)
    Lowrance GPS (Satellite navigation instrument that actually draws a map of where we are and how to get where we want to go)
    1-axis Autopilot (Lets us fly "hands off" sometimes)
    King Transponder (Tells ground radar who we are)

Performance:
    Fast Cruise: 133 mph (try that in your S.U.V.)
    Stall: about 45 mph (The wings stop flying at this speed. It's also the speed you touch down when landing)
    Maximum Altitude: 12,000 feet (That's more than two miles UP - we normally fly between 2,000 and 8,000 feet)
    Maximum Range: about 450 miles (That allows a "reserve" fuel supply)

If you'd like to know more about learning to fly, or owning your own airplane, we'd be happy to share our experiences with you. E-mail us by clicking on our names at the top of the page. Click here for answers to the question we most frequently hear about "small airplanes".