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Payload vs. Range
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Range
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En route
Fuel burned
Direct cost
Fuel cost
Tanks run dry about past before at this burn.
Mission Profile
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Estimated Ownership Costs
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About the Piper Turbo Dakota
Type certificated 1978 Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet
Overview
The Piper Turbo Dakota (PA-28-201T) is a four-seat, fixed-gear, turbocharged single and one of the rarest members of the Cherokee family - Piper built it for a single model year, 1979, before discontinuing it. It mates the Dakota’s semi-tapered wing and fixed landing gear to the turbocharged 200-horsepower Continental TSIO-360-FB, the same engine as the retractable Turbo Arrow IV. The combination gives a fixed-gear Cherokee genuine high-altitude legs: a 20,000-foot service ceiling and a cruise near 154 knots up high, without a retraction system to maintain.
Its rarity is the catch. With fewer than a hundred built, the Turbo Dakota is hard to find, and the turbocharged engine is expensive to maintain and overhaul whether the gear retracts or not. A buyer gets the turbo’s altitude performance and fixed-gear simplicity in one airframe - an unusual pairing - but accepts a thin parts-and-knowledge base specific to the variant and the running costs any turbo single carries. The Turbo Dakota answers a narrow want: turbocharged, 20,000-foot reach with fixed-gear simplicity and no complex endorsement. The pilot it suits has already made that unusual choice, and is willing to hunt down one of the fewer than a hundred 1979 airframes ever built and to live with the thin, variant-specific parts and knowledge base that comes with it.
Key Features for GA Buyers
- Turbocharged and fixed-gear. An unusual pairing: the TSIO-360-FB’s 20,000-foot ceiling and roughly 154-knot high cruise without a retractable-gear system to maintain.
- Cherokee handling and cabin. The familiar four-seat PA-28 cabin and docile low-speed manners on the semi-tapered Dakota wing.
- No complex endorsement. Fixed gear and a 200-horsepower engine mean neither a complex nor a high-performance endorsement is required.
- Strong useful load. About 1,321 pounds of useful load is generous for the class.
Trade-offs
- Rarity. Built only for 1979 (fewer than 100 airframes), examples are scarce and variant-specific maintenance knowledge is thin.
- Turbocharged upkeep. The TSIO-360 turbo system and its expensive overhaul push maintenance well above a normally-aspirated fixed-gear Cherokee; heat management is a daily discipline.
- Fixed-gear speed penalty. Without retractable gear it gives up cruise speed to the Turbo Arrow IV on the same engine.
- Useful load with full fuel. With 77 gallons aboard, full-fuel payload tightens like any four-seat single.
See Also
- Piper Cherokee 235 – the normally-aspirated fixed-gear hauler: more payload and a simpler engine, no turbo altitude capability. Compare
- Piper Cherokee Arrow III – the retractable, normally-aspirated Arrow: complex endorsement and retractable speed, no turbo. Compare
- Piper Turbo Arrow IV – the same turbocharged engine in a retractable airframe: faster, more complex and costly. Compare
- Cessna 182 Skylane – the classic fixed-gear four-seat hauler, normally aspirated and far more common. Compare
Technical Specifications
Dimensions & Weights
- Height
- 8 ft
- Length
- 25 ft
- Parking area (ft²2)
- 1,363 ft²
- Max Takeoff Weight
- Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 2,900 lbs
- Max Landing Weight
- 2,900 lbs
- Useful Load
- 1,321 lbs
- Fuel Capacity
- Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 77 gal
Performance
- Cruise Speed
- Source: third-party reference 154 KTAS
- Never-Exceed (VNE)
- Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 169 KIAS
- Max Structural Cruise (VNO)
- Source: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 140 KIAS
- Approach Speed
- 62 KIAS
- Stall, Clean (VS1)
- 62 KIAS
- Range
- 729 NM
- Service Ceiling
- 20,000 ft
- Rate of Climb
- 902 fpm
Engine
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Sources
Where the figures on this page come from. Piper Turbo Dakota specifications are traced to published references; estimated values are flagged inline next to the figure.
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