January 2015-
When I was a student pilot, I wasn’t much of a Tomahawk fan. The aircraft had a reputation for being difficult to fly well. Years later, one of my students bought one—and I got to fly the little Piper for the purpose it was intended. That’s when my opinion changed for the better.
What gave the little Tomahawk its reputation? Well, it’s not a Cherokee. It doesn’t fly like a Cherokee, and it doesn’t stall like a Cherokee. To put it succinctly, a Tomahawk’s flight characteristics are very different from its stablemates. (For more on the history and development of the Tomahawk, take a look at “Two-Seat T-Tailed Trainer: PA-38 Tomahawk” by Jennifer Dellenbusch in the May 2014 issue of Piper Flyer. —Ed.)
I really hadn’t given Piper’s PA-38s much thought until last summer when I was standing on the ramp at Vero Beach (KVRB) waiting for fuel on the way to EAA AirVenture. There I saw what looked like a brand-new Tomahawk. Since the Piper factory is on the field, I just had to ask the pilot about the plane.
Ellsworth Matott II is a flight instructor and gives dual instruction in that Tomahawk. He was gracious enough to allow me to take some pictures and was willing to talk about the PA-38’s flight characteristics over lunch. This is what he had to say.
Leighton: Tell me about this plane.
Matott: This Tomahawk belongs to a man who bought it and had it restored—new everything. He leases it back to the flight school I fly for; that’s how I met him. I’ve got about 300 hours in it now.
Leighton: Tell me what you think are the positives about the Tomahawk.
Matott: It has a spacious cabin, and I particularly like the two doors. The plane has incredible visibility with all those windows. The two doors make it easier to ventilate, too. And it is really economical. It burns about six-and-a-half gallons an hour.
I really like the fuel selector smack in the middle of the instrument panel—they put it there for a reason . The manual flaps are pretty much foolproof and maintenance-free.
Leighton: O.K., now the negatives.
Matott: Well, it is a slow climber. That’s not necessarily a negative, but here in Florida, when it’s hot, and you are heavy, it really struggles.
The Lycoming O-235-L2C is susceptible to lead fouling from the fuel. We have fine wire plugs in it, and that helps—but the secret is to teach proper leaning.
Leighton: What about the flight
characteristics?
Matott: The plane is generally easy to fly in all regimes of flight. The stalls are conventional, but it demands perfect use of rudder. You can really feel the yaw.
It won’t spin unannounced. I mean, it tells you it’s coming; again, you can feel the yaw and you need to coordinate the rudder. I can see how you might get into trouble in a power-on stall. It doesn’t have much of a Dutch roll tendency, either.
I personally wouldn’t use it for spin training, but for every other aspect of flight training, it’s a great little plane.
Piper only built 2,519 Tomahawks between 1977 and 1982, so they are fairly uncommon. It’s unlikely you will find one that’s in as pristine condition as N2346V, but the average Tomahawk can be had for around $20,000.
Michael Leighton is an 8,500-hour, three-time Master Flight Instructor, as well as an A&P mechanic and former FAA Accident Prevention Counselor. He operates an aircraft maintenance and flight training company located in South Florida and Spartanburg, S.C. You can find him on the web at flymkleighton.net. Send questions or comments to editor@www.piperflyer.com.
