AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2015 - 34

PILOT BRIEFING
VREF VALUE

BUDGET BUY

Vref, the AOPA partner
offering aircraft value
estimates, suggests a base
price for the Piper PA-38-112
Tomahawk of $14,000 for
the 1978 model to $16,000
for the 1982 Tomahawk II.

RECENT ADVERTISED PRICES

Listed in Trade-A-Plane at
the time this was written
were five Piper Tomahawk aircraft, none of
them the Tomahawk II,
ranging from $14,500 for a
1978 model to $27,500 for a
another 1978 model that had
half the total airframe time
(3,000 hours) compared to
the one costing $14,500.
INSURANCE COSTS

Bargain wings

HOW MANY IN THE FLEET?

Piper Tomahawk
B Y A LTO N K . M A R S H

THERE WERE 2,484 PIPER TOMAHAWK TRAINERS built from 1977 to 1982. While these roomy,
90- to 100-knot transporters have a better accident rate overall than the popular Cessna 150
and 152, that isn't the case if a spin is involved. Fatal spin accident rates were much higher
than for the 150 and 152. To solve the problem, stall strips were added to the wing's leading
edge to standardize stall characteristics.
The Tomahawk II, built in 1981 and 1982, also provided better heating, window defrosting,
soundproofing, and larger wheels for better propeller tip clearance on dirt and grass runways. A supplemental type certificate is available from Air Mods Northwest in Snohomish,
Washington, to boost the 115-horsepower Lycoming O-235 engine to 125 horsepower. With
that, you can cruise at 110 knots.
THE REAL WORLD

Connecticut Flight Academy at Hartford Brainard Airport, Connecticut, operates 10 of the
11 Piper Tomahawks based in the state. (Florida and California have the most Tomahawks
registered.) Chief Instructor Kevin Ross said the aircraft is safe and maintenance is simple. It is fun to fly, with 360 degrees of visibility and few blind spots. The school charges
$130 per hour, including fuel; expenses (including tiedown, insurance, fuel, maintenance,
and engine reserve) have not been calculated but probably amount to $90 to $100 per
hour. One of the school's Tomahawks was converted to 125 horsepower, providing a 110knot cruise.
Early models, from 1978 to 1980, have a mandatory
tail inspection that can get expensive unless there have
WHO TO CONTACT
been repairs to put the aircraft in permanent compliance.
Piper Owner Society,
N7528 Aanstad Road,
The huge rudder means it is easy to recover from stalls
Iola, Wisconsin, 54945;
and spins. "I love it. It is the most fun to fly of any of our
866-697-4737;
aircraft," Ross said. The school's other aircraft include
www.piperowner.org;
email membercare@
the Piper Warrior, Cherokee, and Arrow.
piperowner.org.

EMAIL alton.marsh@aopa.org

34 | AOPA PILOT July 2015

AOPA Insurance Services
estimates an average-cost
Piper Tomahawk flown by a
low-time pilot will cost $1,000
to $1,500 per year to insure.
www.aopainsurance.org
AIRPAC PlaneBase shows a
registered fleet of 597 Piper
Tomahawk-series aircraft.
Only 52 are either the 1981
or 1982 models.
FINANCING

AOPA Finance estimates
$240 to $250 per month on
a 6.25-percent, five-year loan
with as little as 15 percent
down. www.aopafinance.com
AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES

The biggest one came in
1983 and required inboard
stall strips (triangularshaped tubes) on the
leading edge of the wing
to alter airflow and tame
stall characteristics. Most
Tomahawks now have the
modification. There is an AD
for the empennage requiring
reinforcement brackets due
to the T-tail design.
BIGGEST PLUS

Costs less than a car.
BIGGEST MINUS

Slow.

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR

Early models have a more
costly tail bracket airworthiness directive. A few
of those have permanent
compliance, eliminating the
AD. The same AD applies to
1981-82 models but compliance is less expensive.

http://www.aopainsurance.org http://www.aopafinance.com http://www.piperowner.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2015