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Direct cost
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Mission Profile
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Estimated Ownership Costs
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About the Piper 28T Arrow 4
Type certificated 1978 Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet
Overview
The Piper Turbo Arrow IV (PA-28RT-201T) is a four-seat, retractable-gear single and the turbocharged, T-tailed top of the Cherokee Arrow line. Introduced in 1979, it pairs the Arrow IV’s distinctive T-tail and semi-tapered wing with a turbocharged 200-horsepower Continental TSIO-360-FB that holds full rated power well into the teens and lifts the service ceiling to 20,000 feet. The result is a Cherokee that cruises near 170 knots up high - genuinely fast for the airframe - while keeping the docile low-speed manners and deep parts support of the PA-28 family.
The trade for that altitude capability is complexity and cost: a turbocharger to manage, retractable gear on top of it, and an expensive engine to overhaul at its 1,800-hour TBO. Heat management becomes a daily discipline. For a pilot who regularly flies high - over weather, terrain, or long legs where thin-air speed pays off - the Turbo Arrow IV delivers performance no normally-aspirated Cherokee can match. The honest case against it is cost: two systems to feed, a turbocharger and retractable gear, push direct operating cost to about $192 an hour and the TSIO-360 to an expensive overhaul at 1,800 hours, well above a fixed-gear Cherokee. Pilots who fly high and often turn that premium into real capability at the 172-knot cruise; everyone else is mostly paying to carry the turbo and the gear.
Key Features for GA Buyers
- Turbocharged high-altitude cruise. The TSIO-360-FB holds rated power into the teens for a normal cruise around 172 knots and a 20,000-foot service ceiling - well beyond any normally-aspirated Cherokee.
- T-tail, retractable, constant-speed. The Arrow IV airframe with retractable gear and a constant-speed propeller: a complex-endorsement aircraft with real travel capability.
- PA-28 support depth. Despite the turbo systems, it shares the broad Cherokee parts-and-maintenance network and a large owner community.
- Strong useful load. About 1,237 pounds of useful load carries people and bags even with the turbo and gear weight.
Trade-offs
- Turbo-plus-retractable upkeep. Two cost centers stack - the turbocharger system and the retractable gear - so per-hour maintenance runs well above a normally-aspirated fixed-gear Cherokee, and the TSIO-360 overhaul is expensive.
- Heat management. Turbocharged operation demands disciplined leaning, gradual power changes, and cooldowns; abuse shortens cylinder and turbocharger life.
- T-tail low-speed handling. The high stabilator is less effective at low airspeed, so rotation and the flare need attention until the tail becomes effective.
- Useful load with full fuel. With 77 gallons aboard, full-fuel payload tightens like any four-seat single.
See Also
- Piper Cherokee Arrow III – the normally-aspirated retractable Arrow: simpler and cheaper to run, lower and slower without the turbo. Compare
- Piper Turbo Dakota – the same turbocharged engine in a fixed-gear Cherokee: less speed and cost, no complex endorsement. Compare
- Cessna 177 Cardinal RG – a comparable 200-horsepower retractable single, high-wing and normally aspirated. Compare
- Cessna T210 Turbo Centurion – the turbocharged retractable step up: six seats and far more power and payload, at higher cost. Compare
Featured in our buying guides
Technical Specifications
Dimensions & Weights
- Height
- 8 ft
- Length
- 27 ft
- Parking area (ft²2)
- 1,468 ft²
- Max Takeoff Weight
- Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 2,900 lbs
- Max Landing Weight
- 2,900 lbs
- Useful Load
- 1,237 lbs
- Fuel Capacity
- Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 77 gal
Performance
- Cruise Speed
- Source: third-party reference 172 KTAS
- Never-Exceed (VNE)
- Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 193 KIAS
- Max Structural Cruise (VNO)
- Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 152 KIAS
- Approach Speed
- 73 KIAS
- Stall, Clean (VS1)
- 60 KIAS
- Range
- 695 NM
- Service Ceiling
- 20,000 ft
- Rate of Climb
- 940 fpm
Engine
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Sources
Where the figures on this page come from. Piper 28T Arrow 4 specifications are traced to published references; estimated values are flagged inline next to the figure.
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