The Piper PA-25 Pawnee is an agricultural aircraft first developed in 1953 by Fred Weick in conjunction with the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. Piper Aircraft called for an aircraft that used welded steel tube and fabric construction and as many Cub and Tri-Pacer components as possible.
It was a totally original design. Low, strut-braced Super Cub wings were attached to a downward-sloping forward fuselage; the pilot sat high behind the hopper that had a capacity of 20 cubic feet (145 gallons., 800 pounds.); and the aft fuselage was fabric-covered. It had the PA-22 vertical and horizontal tails, and the main gear was standard-issue Piper.
Initially powered by a 150 hp Lycoming O-320-A1A. The first variant of the Pawnee was awarded a Type Certificate on May 20, 1959, at a gross weight of 2,300 pounds.