Piper PA-28-181 Archer

The Piper PA-28-181 Archer is a four-seat, single-engine, low-wing airplane and a member of Piper's enormous PA-28 Cherokee family, which has been in continuous production since the early 1960s. The Archer designation arrived in the mid-1970s as the 180-horsepower model in the line, slotting above the 160-hp Warrior.

The defining feature that separates the Archer from earlier Cherokees is its tapered "semi-symmetrical" wing, shared with the Warrior, which replaced the original constant-chord "Hershey-bar" wing. The taper improves low-speed handling and gives the airplane its gentle, predictable stall. Combined with a low wing — which puts the pilot above the structure and changes ground handling and visibility relative to a high-wing Cessna — the Archer is a popular way for students to learn, and a comfortable, stable platform for cross-country flying.

Because the PA-28 line is so large and so old, "Cherokee" is often used loosely to describe any of these airplanes; the Archer specifically is the 180-hp, fixed-gear, tapered-wing variant. It remains in production today, now built with modern glass avionics for flight-training fleets and private owners.

The Archer name has covered several closely related models within the PA-28-181 type:

• Cherokee Archer (PA-28-180, mid-1970s): the original 180-hp Archer on the older constant-chord wing.
• Archer II (PA-28-181, 1976–1994): the high-production model that introduced the tapered wing and a longer cabin — the version most often found on training ramps.
• Archer III (PA-28-181, 1995–2009): a refined Archer II with a restyled cowling, improved interior, and updated panel.
• Archer LX / Archer DX / current production: modern Archers built with Garmin glass cockpits; the short-lived Archer DX used a Continental diesel (Jet-A) engine.

All share the same basic airframe and the 180-hp Lycoming O-360. The figures below describe a representative tapered-wing PA-28-181 Archer II/III.