On 2005-06-03 23:43, Dave wrote:
Hi All!

OK... Piper Warrior...PA28-151

Considering purchase...

It's is a 1976 Model..

Specs, (published) say stall, dirty ( Full Flaps ) for a 1976
built is 58 knts.

...1977 and later is 44 knts!

WHAT changes were made to bring the stall speed down by 14
knts!

I have looked at both, I cannot (untrained eye) see what is
different..

Owner of the '76 says 52 knts(w/flaps) , 58 knts "clean"
(????)

Tis a huge difference... is this correct? Why? Can the 76 be
modified to get the stall speed lower?

Can any one help here?

What is the story?

Thanks in advance!

Dave

I haven't gone beyond a websearch, so I can't verify this,
but there may be a reason in the wing profile change around that time.

According to a paragraph in:
http://www.whittsflying.com/Page5.66Piper.htm

quote

When Piper went from the Hershey-bar wing to the tapered wing there was
a dramatic shift in the critical approach airspeed. The short wing
required that the pilot never allow the approach speed get slow. Arrive
in ground effect too slow and you would fall right through it. Result
was numerous fuel leaks since tanks were adjacent to landing gear. The
tapered wing gave the opposite problem. Any approach speed that was
slightly fast would cause excessive float. Short runways were the scenes
of numerous overruns.

end quote

This was said to have happened in -78, so maybe it's unrelated.

Otherwise I understood that:
Short wing (Hershey-bar) = model# ends in 0
Long wing= model# ends in 1

Maybe your -76 151 still has a short wing? confusing.


/Rolf