Piper PA-28-161 Warrior II "N374FT"
Vs.
DreamFleet Piper Archer II

By Evan Levesque (13 April 2004)

The PA-28 Cherokee

Up until the design of the Piper Warrior, all of the Cherokee series had the same, constant chord "Hershey Bar" wing. While this was suitable, (Piper again used a constant chord wing on their later Tomahawk trainer) it was somewhat inefficient and that was keeping the Cherokee design from achieving its full potential. Piper redesigned the wing into a semi-tapered design that gave more performance on a smaller engine. In 1974, when Piper re-winged the PA-28-160 with the "Warrior" wing, a legend was born. Although original versions of the Warrior had 150 horsepower engines, a 160 horse version soon replaced the less powerful motor. The Warrior met with such success that the company also re-winged the PA-28-180 Cherokee Archer I with the new wing design and tagged it the Archer II.

Aside from the different engine, the Archer and Warrior only differed in equipment fits, max weights and cowl shape. For the most part, they fly about the same way. Along with these changes, the fuselages were lengthened, more windows were added and interior details refined. So many flight schools were buying Warriors that Piper created a designated training version of the Warrior, the Cadet. The Cadet lightened the Warrior airframe by removing the rearmost windows over the baggage area, the baggage door itself, and in some models, removing the back seat. As a testament to the design, almost every Piper aircraft to date, including the Seminole and the Seneca V, have design aspects (most often the semi-tapered wing) in common with the Warrior and Archer. Even the Saratoga HP and Saratoga TC have their roots in the Cherokee line. Later versions of the Cherokee include the 235 HP Piper Cherokee Pathfinder, which has since been renamed the Dakota. Later, Piper swept up the wheels and created the Arrow II. Since, the Arrow had been modified as the Archer II with the "Warrior" wing. The current Arrow is the Arrow IV and the Archer has been updated to the Archer III.

My first taste of flight came in a Piper Cherokee. When I was six, I wanted nothing more that to be a pilot. When I found out that my dad's friend owned a plane, I begged for just one flight. My "Uncle" Bill's PA-28-140 still has a special place in my heart, but I am now flying myself thanks to the hearty financial aid of my grandma. Eight years later, I am taking flying lessons at DSA in Henderson, Nevada just south of Las Vegas. DSA (Desert Southwest Airlines) had three Piper Tomahawks and I have accumulated 20.2 hours in that type. Even though the Tomahawk was a good trainer, I always looked longingly at the Piper Warrior II's that were parked on the ramp as I taxied past, their wings catching the sunlight and just screaming performance. (OK, maybe I exaggerated a little, but it is a sporty looking plane.) This past summer, I finally got to fly it, and was surprised how easy it was to fly. Compared with the slippery Tomahawk, it could fly itself. I was happy as a clam when I first called up the tower in "Warrior 374 Fox Tango". Then, as a long time FS fan (I first learned about Flightsim with FS5 when I lived in Saudi Arabia) I decided to take the payware plunge. The Archer! is my first payware add-on. Here is my comparison of the real Warrior II N-374FT to DreamFleet's Piper Archer II.

I am going to be extremely meticulous just to show how accurate the DreamFleet Archer comes to reality. You will see many RPM settings noted, but these are for general reference. Please keep in mind that no Flight Sim aircraft, or even two 'real' examples of the same type, fly exactly like the same, and that in FS the "feel" of flight is missing. In addition, although the Piper Warrior has 20 less HP than DreamFleet's Archer, I believe that this is a fair comparison as the Archer II and Warrior II have similar characteristics.

Archer! Installation

Pre-Flight

1. The stuff in the tank is indeed avgas, not Jet A.
2. That it is the correct octane, denoted by color, 100LL (low lead) is blue.
3. That there is no water, Jet A, or debris in the fuel supply.

After the wing is checked, the right side of the cowl of our Warrior (or the entire cowl in the case of the Archer) is opened and oil level is checked. On the other side of the cowling, the brake fluid level is checked and replenished if necessary. The pre-flight continues in this manner until you end up right where you began, behind the right wing.

...and in Flight Sim

The Archer II in Flight Sim does not require much of a pre-flight, but one can be done anyway for the sake of realism. The first thing that I notice here is that the door hinges, key holes for the door and baggage door, and even the fuel vent tubes are actually there in 3D! It is obvious that DreamFleet took some time on this beauty. Another thing that is immediately obvious is that the DreamFleet Archer is much better equipped that 374FT is. The simulated plane has wheel pants, spotless interior and glare protectors near the wingtip nav lights. There is not much to compare here, but everything looks in order. Even the cowl comes off so you can check oil and general condition of the Textron-Lycoming O-320 (sorry, O-360 for the Archer) that lives inside. This is a good time to look at the outline of DreamFleet's creation. I notice only a few discrepancies and maybe it is I that is mistaken.

1. The nose up sit of the aircraft is not defined enough. I realize that this depends on how the oleo struts are charged but all the Warriors that I've flown have a very pronounced nose up sit on the ground. (The more I fly the plane, the less I notice it, but I have listed it anyway for the sake of argument).
2. From the front, the DreamFleet reproduction has too round of a fuselage.
3. When the aircraft is on the ground, the nose wheel is sometimes buried up to its hub. This may be the cause of issue one.
4. The virtual cockpit is too dark unless you keep the dome lights on with the color set to white. This isn't a big deal in FS2004, but in FS2002, where you can't hit the dome lights switch from the VC it is a nuisance. I like to fly from the 2D panel with panel lights only; it is more realistic.

Taxi And Run-up

"Clear Prop!"

Once we wait for a response, and do not receive one, the key is inserted into the mags switch and turned to the 'start' position. If the engine doesn't start in 30 seconds, you should let off the starter and try it again. Pumping of the throttle does help as the aircraft does have an accelerator pump, but it is not recommended. When the engine coughs to life, the key should be released and it will spring back to the both position. At this time, we test the annunciator panel lights, and put our seatbelts on. Time to call Henderson ground.

"Henderson Ground, Warrior 347FT, at DSA parking, request taxi to the active, departure southbound for the practice area."

"Warrior 374FT, Henderson Ground Roger, Cleared to taxi runway 17R, Wind is 220 at 8, altimeter 30.31."

"Clear to taxi 17R, Warrior 4FT."

After clearance is received, we begin the short taxi to Henderson's runway 17R. In real life, there are two runways although only one is duplicated in Flight Sim. Low power settings were used in order to keep the taxi speed under control. 374FT would creep forward and maintain taxi speed at idle. The Warrior taxies easily with very light pedal forces, and a nice centering feel. Taxiing is made easier by the fact that the nose wheel is connected directly to the rudder pedals; it is not free swiveling like the nose wheels on Cessna aircraft. The only drawback to this is that the rudder cannot be moved on the ground when the aircraft is stationary. Once the aircraft is rolling, taxi speed can easily be maintained with low power settings. Once we are at the run-up area, the aircraft is maneuvered into the wind and the parking brake set. I keep my feet on the toe brakes just in case, however because at 2000 RPM we would be shooting off into the dirt on the side of the runway if the parking brake came off. Once facing into the wind, the throttle is taken up to 2000 RPM and the mixture leaned to peak. (Henderson is hot and high in the summer). We check the suction, which should be steady at five. The mags are then checked one at a time, with the correct drop being in the area of 150 RPM or less. Carb heat gets the same treatment and then the power brought back to idle to see if she still runs. The reason for staying in carb heat as little as possible while on the ground is because the air going into the engine is not filtered when carb heat is on. Thus, it is possible for dirt and other contaminants to get into the engine and increase wear. Then the entry door is closed, along with the DV window, as in the 105-degree summer weather we taxi with the door and DV window open for obvious reasons. At this time, the DG is set according to the magnetic compass on the windshield frame, and the attitude indicator is caged. The final item here is to check that the elevator trim is about neutral and the rudder trim is centered. Once the run-up is completed, we straighten the craft behind the hold short line and call Henderson Tower.

"Henderson Tower, Warrior 374FT, holdin' short runway 17R, southbound departure."

"Warrior 374FT, Henderson Tower, roger, hold short runway 17R, traffic is a Twin Beech on short final."

"Roger, holding short 17R, 4FT."

The Beechcraft is over the numbers and touches down about 1/4 the way down the runway. At this time, the tower calls us up again.

"Warrior 374FT, position and hold."

"Position and hold, 374FT."

The "position and hold" command tells me to center up on the runway, but to stay stationary on the brakes. This way, once the Baron is off the runway I am all ready to begin my takeoff roll. Once the Baron exits the runway, we get takeoff clearance.

"Warrior 374FT, cleared for takeoff, southbound departure approved."

"Cleared for takeoff, 4FT."

...and in Flight Sim

Once we complete the virtual pre-flight and close the cowl and the doors back up it is time to start the engine. A nice touch here is that the creators took some time to create a VERY nice panel that is fully functional and can be used for all flight operations. Another thing that took me by surprise is that when the starter is manually engaged with a right click on the mouse, the pilot calls "clear prop" and waits for a response before cranking the starter. (I wish all real-world pilots were this responsible.) The engine takes a while to catch which is much more realistic that the engines on the default planes which cough up in about a second. After the engine is warmed up, I reach down to pull the flaps back up and hear the WRONG sounds. This is just an observation, but to me, the flap sound is more like that of crank down flaps like those on Pilatus Turbo Porters and DeHavilland Beavers, not the simple "click" of the Johnson Bar flap lever. Can somebody clarify this for me? This is easily forgotten though as the engine sounds settle into the deep, throaty sound of an aircraft engine at idle.

There is a definite possibility that the Archer and Warrior handle different on the ground, but I noticed a couple of discrepancies.

1. The turning radius is too large for an Archer.
2. The aircraft takes almost full power to start moving, and needs about half throttle to keep taxi speed.

I am not sure if the first item is accurate or not, but number two I am sure of, even the Tomahawks would taxi at idle.

The run-up goes smoothly except for a Microsoft fault, which creates an excessive drop in RPM when testing carb heat. This is a Flight Sim bug, not an issue with the Archer. The mags check good and within limits. As this Archer is better equipped than most the planes that I fly, the EGT is the gauge to watch when leaning the mixture, not the tachometer that I usually use. Due to limited panel space while maintaining the pilot's eye view, the EGT and suction gauge had to be misplaced. On a stock Warrior or Archer, both those gauges are on the far right side of the panel just above the Hobbs meter. On the simulated Archer, they are a dual gauge located beside the Century 21 autopilot. This is a good placement for it on the 2D panel and it corresponds in the virtual cockpit. In the real Warrior, and presumably the Archer as well there is a space for an extra gauge in the panel where DreamFleet has placed the EGT and suction. The placement of the real suction gauge can be seen in the VC because it is printed onto the panel bitmap. We snuggle up to the hold short line and call Henderson Tower on 125.1...

Takeoff and Departure

...and in Flight Sim

Once we are on the runway and have received our takeoff clearance, I power up to 1300 RPM and come off the toe brakes. The plane does not move. It starts to creep at about 1500 RPM, and the engine instruments indicate a healthy and happy engine. I ease the throttle forward smoothly and get the higher pitch sound of full throttle and RPM indications to match. It must be remembered that the Archer does have a fixed pitch prop fitted, so 2300 RPM is about all you're gonna see on takeoff. The takeoff roll itself seems to take a little longer than it should, but once 55 knots is reached, I rotate and the plane settles into a shallow climb. The elevator trim was set to neutral as per the Warrior Pilot's Operating Manual. Climb speed is easily maintained and produces a realistic rate of climb. The Archer usually gets off in about the same place on the runway that 4FT did, but the acceleration seems a bit slow. Maybe I'm just too busy in the real aircraft to notice exactly how fast or slow the acceleration is. A nice item that we have come to expect over the years is operational oleo struts. (Just a side note, do you FS5 simmer's remember when we were ecstatic when the Cessna panel started to curve down toward the left side instead of going straight across the bottom of the screen...have we come a long way.) When the aircraft's weight is taken from wings to wheels, the struts on the mains and especially the nose wheel extend quite a bit. There is no asymmetrical 'thunk' but this sound was probably a creation of the well-used aircraft at DSA. A standard rate turn to 210 and we are heading to Jean Dry Lake bed.

Maneuvers

The first maneuver that my instructor, Jason, chose was stall series. We began with a power off stall in the landing configuration (called by some and 'arrival stall') so; I reduced the power and initiated a shallow climb to bleed off the airspeed to around 80 knots, well within the white line limits. With this, I pulled in the flaps one notch at a time until all three notches were extended. (By the way, all single engine Pipers, with the exception of the Malibu Mirage, and Malibu Meridian have manually operated flaps which are extended with a 24 inch long bar between the front seats on the floor; it comes near vertical when the flaps are all the way out.) While the aircraft settled into the new configuration, the throttle was reduced to idle and the yoke gradually pulled back until the aircraft was about 10 or 15 degrees nose up and the yoke was in my lap. A quick glance at the airspeed indicator reveals the obvious--that the machine is decelerating quickly and a stall is imminent. When the airspeed reaches forty knots, I feel the buffet begin. The nose, however, does not drop. The VSI records a steadily increasing descent rate and it is obvious from the instruments that the aircraft is in a stalled condition. With this indication and the electric stall warning blaring, I push the yoke forward and advance the throttle to full in one motion. A power on stall reveals the same thing about the Warrior II's stall, the nose does not drop. In my opinion, a real stall includes a nose drop, which is the fun part of the maneuver. The Piper Tomahawk and most of the single engine Cessna series drop the nose in a stall, however 374FT refuses to point earthward. This disappoints me a little, but it is most likely designed that way so as not to disconcert a pilot who stalls 150 feet off the deck. For me, the stall warning blaring that close to the ground wakes me up!

Slow flight is another important maneuver to practice, as it is one that is consistently carried out close to the ground--in the traffic pattern. I prefer to slow fly the Warrior in the configuration that I land it in, two stages of flaps and nose up trim. Slow flying changes the way that a pilot controls the plane; instead of controlling altitude with attitude and speed with power, one controls airspeed with attitude and controls altitude with the throttle. A pilot knows that he is performing good slow flight when the stall warning is blaring in his ears while he is maintaining airspeed and altitude. I would never want to hear the stall warning in the pattern, but at 5500 for maneuvers, it is satisfying.

Steep turns are also important maneuvers to practice. To perform them, a clearing turn is performed each way, and other traffic is located, if there is any...One time I hurried through a clearing turn to get to the maneuver and about halfway through I found myself close to a Cessna 310 going the opposite direction. A wakeup like that opens your eyes for a long time and I usually do a couple of clearing turns now...just in case. Steep turns are usually about 45 degrees of bank. So, advance the throttle to full, kick the plane to 45 degrees and pull. The correct method of maintaining altitude is to vary the bank angle; if you find yourself drifting low, take out some bank and pull more, and vice versa for a gradual unwanted climb. There is not really anything to describe here except for the fighter pilot feeling that one gets when performing them. For the FAA check ride, you must stay with in 50 feet either way of your starting altitude. Turns around a point and "s" turns over a road are both just a matter of learning to look outside the aircraft and control the plane with your head outside of the cockpit.

...and in Flight Sim

The stall series in Flight Simulator is set up exactly as I have described in the above section. Once the aircraft is in slow flying mode, I begin to initiate the stall. One thing that I do like about the sound file is the way that the stall warning fades in and out, like the real Piper electric ones. The flap sounds are still bugging me. The stall is reached at about 50 knots, and the nose does drop, although I suspect that this is an anomaly with FS programming as all FS aircraft, no matter the type, have a tendency to do this. The recovery is easy, initiated by shoving the throttle to full and keeping the nose level with the horizon. The airspeed crawls back up, and I stayed in the FAA regulations for altitude loss to boot.

A power on stall is about the same and once again the nose drops. As I am just getting the hang of Gmax, and am useless with .air files, I can't really criticize DreamFleet on the nose drop issue. This might also just be a quirk unique to 4FT, and not to all Warriors and Archers. Slow flight is just like in the real aircraft, and the stall warning comes on intermittently, like in the real aircraft. The stall warning is one of the best parts of the sound package. Steep turns are also just like the real aircraft in its performance. The landing panel is very useful in steep turns because it allows you to keep your head outside of the cockpit and look at the horizon. Although DreamFleet says in its disclaimer that its products cannot be used as training aids, I recommend that all Warrior / Cadet / Archer / Cherokee students purchase this product. Plus, it's a lot of fun!

Simulated Instrument

Another fun lesson in learning to fly comes with "unusual attitude recovery". I find this one of the most fun things to do under the hood, but it makes some people sick to their stomach. With the foggles on, the instructor will tell the pupil to take his hands and feet off the controls, close his or her eyes, and look down. This ensures that he cannot see anything and is relying on his senses to tell him what attitude the plane is in. After about a minute or two of chandelles and climbs and dives, (to disorient the pupil) he will give the aircraft back to the student and tell him to recover. This entails leveling the wings, adjusting power to catch the airspeed, and returning pitch to neutral. It is not as hard on a sim as it is in real life however, because once again, the 'feel' of flight is missing. A favorite trick among flight instructors is to fly in a steady bank about five or six times with out changing bank angle at all. After about the fifth turn, the student feels he is level again as the fluid in his inner ear has settled and stopped moving for quite a while, the human brain decides that you are level, when you are really in a twenty degree turn to the left. Needless to say, that is confusing when you first look at the instruments.

...and in Flight Sim

Because the feel of flight is missing in Flight Simulator, there is not any point in doing simulated instrument. However, if you want to, close your eyes, and maneuver the plane with your eyes close. Then, look up and try to resume level flight. The Cessna 172 with an IFR panel is excellent for this.

Landings...Or At Least We'll Try

"Young man was that a landing, or were we shot down?" (This one was actually said by a British Airways passenger after a particularly hard landing, saying things to this effect is very uncouth.)

"A grease job landing is 50 percent luck; two in a row are entirely luck; three in a row and someone's lying."

All of these famous quotes prove one thing, that many private pilots consider landing one of aviation's greatest challenges. Even with all of the hubbub about the best way to end a flight, landing is not very difficult. Trying to impress someone with your landing skills is. The first part of the landing actually begins in the traffic pattern, not on short final. A well-flown traffic pattern helps landings almost to an amazing degree.

"Henderson Tower, Warrior 374FT inbound 4500, for touch and goes."

"Warrior 374FT, Henderson Tower, roger, enter right traffic runway 17R, report the power lines."

"Will report power lines, 4FT."

The power lines are about two miles south of the field and are the place that I will start my descent from 4500 down to pattern altitude at 3300. This is mainly to avoid the Class B that hovers next to the power lines. Once I am situated at pattern altitude, it is time to enter the pattern at a 45-degree angle. An ideal power setting for this particular aircraft is about 2100 RPM, which maintains pattern altitude and 85 knots. Abeam the numbers, power can be reduced to about 1700 RPM and a steady trimmed descent initialized. Because of the temperature in the summer, and personal preference in the winter, I only use the first two notches of flaps for my landings. When the numbers are on a 45-degree angle behind the right wing, I turn my base and once I am settled in on my base leg, I extend the first notch of flaps. I retrim, check the final approach corridor and turn onto my final. The power has stayed at 1700 RPM ever since I set it there abeam the numbers on downwind.

Once situated on final, I try to fly the high side of the VASI. Now, you can play with the power a little bit but try not to adjust it too much or your approach will suffer. Over the fence, I drop in the second notch of flaps and trim back for the flare. The power is reduced to idle about 10 feet off the deck and the trim I dialed in over the fence starts to flare the aircraft as I start relaxing pressure on the yoke that is holding the aircraft level. The airplane arrests its descent rate and then starts to settle. If no more flare is pulled in, the aircraft will settle down to the runway nicely. If you are like me and flare too much, the plane will float up into the air, stall and bottom out the oleos when you fall to the ground. It took me about ten landings to figure out how much to flare on landing. Experience is the key to those feather light landings.

...and In Flight Sim

Once we are finished practicing maneuvers over the Jean Dry Lake, I turn to a westerly heading and begin a gradual descent to 4400 feet, the flyover altitude, so that we can check what the winds are doing. I fly over midfield and look out the pilot's side window at the segmented circle and windsock, while Jason gazes out his window at the hotel flags. It would appear that the winds are favoring 20R. A descending left turn and a quick call into the pattern puts us on the 45 for the downwind. DreamFleet's Archer takes a touch more power than 374FT does, but for FS, the power settings are EXTREMELY accurate. Once we pass the Nevada Landing hotel, I power down to about 1900 RPM, and begin a shallow descent. When the numbers are at a 45-degree angle behind the right wing, I turn my base and pull one notch of flaps in. The power is still at 1900. The final approach looks clear and I turn final. Over the fence, I can pull the second notch of flaps, and ease the power to idle slowly. The simulated Archer behaves just as 4FT did, decelerating to about 75 knots for the flare. The surprising part of this is that despite the limitations of FS, the Archer behaves exactly as 374FT did in the flare, with the characterized float, toward the end. A gentle touch of the main wheels, and I apply full up elevator to ease strain on the nose wheel. The only thing that differed throughout the entire landing was the RPM settings and the nose drop after touchdown. I tip my hat to whoever built the Archer's .air file.

Cherokee Warrior Quirks

1. Because of their "flying tail", or stabilator, design in which the whole horizontal stab moves, all of the Cherokee series have very light elevator forces, and are easy to control at approach speeds. The Tomahawk is the exception since it has a conventional elevator and stabilizer. This is countered by the light weight of the aircraft, and the T tail arrangement.
2. The Warrior stall, and presumably the Archer's as well, is very gentle. There is almost no tendency of a wing drop, like in the Tomahawk, and a slight buffet of the tail can be felt before the stall. Unlike most aircraft though, the Warrior does not drop the nose when the stall is reached, it simply hangs there. With an aft CG condition, there is a sharp tendency for the right wing to drop, and for this reason, stall strips are fitted to the outer wing sections just outboard of the taper point.
3. In the Warrior, I find the easiest way to get the correct flare is to trim back, slightly past neutral, and hold the nose level. When the second notch is dropped in, the pressure becomes easier to hold. When the time comes to flare the airplane, I can just relax pressure on the yoke and the trim flares the airplane.
4. The entire Cherokee series, including the Warrior, Archer and the Arrow III, lacks a trim tab that works in the conventional sense. Instead of moving the opposite direction as the control surface as most do, the Piper trim tabs move the SAME direction as the stab, to give the powerful elevator some "feel" to keep a pilot from over controlling in the pitch axis.
5. When the flaps are extended, the tail end of the plane wants to rise, pitching the nose down. This is no big deal, but it is unique to the Piper single slotted flaps. The highly effective flaps on Cessna singles cause the plane to balloon. (Cessna flaps are both single slotted and of the Fowler type.)

...and in Flight Sim

All of these quirks can be felt appropriately throughout the flight envelope. DreamFleet's Archer is well worth the $24.95 spent for it, and despite my nit picking throughout this article, I believe that Archer! is the pinnacle of what can be done with FS limitations. Warrior 374FT and DreamFleet's Archer share the same characteristics to the highest capabilities of Flight Simulator. My hat is off to DreamFleet!

If you are interested in learning how to fly, visit www.beapilot.com to receive a coupon for a $50 introductory flight.

Evan Levesque
evanlevesque@msn.com