PIPER PA-28-235

The Cherokee 235, a Cherokee airframe with a six-cylinder 235 hp Lycoming, a longer wing with tip tanks and a 2,900 lb gross weight. It is a load-hauler: useful load is close to 1,500 lb, which means four adults, full 84-gallon tanks and baggage all at once — a combination almost nothing else in this price bracket can manage. Owners use them for family travel, for carrying instruments and gear, and for flights where the load matters more than the speed. The type came in two bodies. Through 1972 it is the original short-cabin Cherokee 235 at 2,900 lb. For 1973 Piper stretched the fuselage, which gave the back seat real legroom, and raised the gross weight to 3,000 lb; that aeroplane was sold as the Charger for 1973 and as the Pathfinder from 1974 to 1977. The engine, the wing and the 84 gallons are common to both, so the year decides whether you get the roomier cabin and the extra 100 lb.

It is not fast for its fuel burn. Thirteen gallons an hour for 131 knots is poor efficiency by modern standards, and the O-540 is a big engine to overhaul. It is also nose-heavy: with a light cabin load it can run out of elevator authority in the flare, so loading needs attention and a check-out is worthwhile. The 84 gallons in four tanks means a fuel management routine and a fuel selector that must be understood, because tank mismanagement has caused engine stoppages in this type. As with all older PA-28s, check the wing spar inspection status. Once those boxes are ticked it is an enormously useful and underrated aeroplane.