DIY Speed Mods for a Piper Warrior ?

Flied Rice

Well-Known Member
How was your DIY experience adding speed mods (gap seals, flap hinge fairings, etc)?
Did it yield the advertised speed/climb rate gains?
Which mods offer the most bang for the buck, while being relatively easy for a new aircraft owner to install?
Thanks!
 
How was your DIY experience adding speed mods (gap seals, flap hinge fairings, etc)?
Did it yield the advertised speed/climb rate gains?
Which mods offer the most bang for the buck, while being relatively easy for a new aircraft owner to install?
Thanks!


Weight loss.

Ok, I'm only partially kidding.

In trying to get a little more performance out of my airplane (which is decidedly not a Piper) I've been amazed that I could pick up a knot or so just by making sure it was clean. That meant washing/waxing the wings, removing the tiedown rings, making sure the wheel pants were fitted properly.

The little things really add up.
 
non permanent installation of gap seals with mylar tape like on gliders

make sure your door seals well

cooling drag is a huge percentage of overall drag, not sure what you can do in the certified world as far as STCs go but sealing baffling and clearing obstructions from the top of cylinders above cooling fins

dave anders has some good kitplanes columns about drag reduction and could be some good inspiration for you

weight loss is a good one though, for speed and MPG, pull out any unused old avionics or that case of oil in the back seat, change to a lighter weight/lithium battery if you can find one for your application
 
I still have almost no desire to own a plane, but I think it’s neat to know your own machine well-enough to see that difference.

It was subtle, but noticeable. Did a before/after flight and was getting a couple extra knots TAS. In the grand scheme of things, probably doesn't matter much.

The really slippery airplanes - like Lancairs - benefit from this even more.

Where I"d be interested in seeing this is at scale; dirty, draggy 172s from a busy flight school: would the investment in keeping them clean translate into better performance and lower fuel burn? Maybe. Maybe not.
 
This is a oxymoron. Speed and Cherokee/Warrior/Archer shouldn't be in the same sentence. The speed gain will be minimal with the fairings, wing root, aileron gap seals, we're talking 5-10kts. I wouldn't call this a DIY project either, you'll be drilling holes in fiber glass which you just paid thousands of $ for. Your A&P should be coaching your every move, if you do venture down this path. If you want my honest opinion, don't mess with speed mods and get your aircraft re-rigged (aileron, flap, rudder), you'll see more gains from this than any speed mod.

My 180D trues out around 125kts with zero speeds mods. Just some food for thought. If you want to go faster, look at the earlier model Mooney or Debonair.

However, if you do go down this route, checkout Knots2u.
 
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How was your DIY experience adding speed mods (gap seals, flap hinge fairings, etc)?
Did it yield the advertised speed/climb rate gains?
Which mods offer the most bang for the buck, while being relatively easy for a new aircraft owner to install?
Thanks!

Unless you are going to go all in on such an endeavor, it wouldn't create any significant benefits for that airframe. The PA28 drag profile is what it is, you'd be spending thousands of dollars and many hours of labor to gain just a few knots. Bigger savings are proper rigging (less drag), and clean out the cabin of deadweight. Many owners carry around unnecessary junk in their airplanes which translates to weight. When flying cross country load the aircraft with an aft CG, but within limits, to help increase cruise speed.
 
make sure your door seals well

cooling drag is a huge percentage of overall drag, not sure what you can do in the certified world as far as STCs go but sealing baffling and clearing obstructions from the top of cylinders above cooling fins
I agree with this. When I worked on one of the fastest piston powered airplanes ever we spent a HUGE amount of time on cylinder baffling and cowl efficiency. Because of a misnumbered engine part we were down on horsepower (that whole story has been documented elsewhere) but the airplane was faster than it had ever been. We spent an inordinate amount of time trying to find any method to reduce drag caused by air not following what we considered it's intended path. I almost bought a Warrior a few years ago, it had a bunch of LoPresti mods poorly installed and the log books seemed shady and after actually inspecting it I decided even at the price point it wasn't worth it. I like PA-28s, most of my time is in them, I think they're a wonderful airplane. But speed should not be your goal, it'll never be fast, efficiency and taking care of the engine properly should be your ambition. If you get a couple of extra knots in cruise you should just look out at that fat wing and understand not only is it never going to slice through the atmosphere at 250 mph but also it's easy to fly and it has a "quadrant". I used to fly an Archer with air conditioning and a leather interior. PA-28s are what they are. Just enjoy it.
 
Piper air conditioning....as long as the pulleys were aligned, it'd do OK. But this maddening task often wasn't done, so you'd go about 3 hours between belt breaks.

If you're going to do a PA-28, go big, or go home. 235 or Dakota. Only problem...try finding one.

When you get into that corner of the "performance vs nice" graph, aircraft are remarkably hard to find. Since the apocalypse, I'm convinced that there is an independent network of people buying and selling, because these airplanes never, ever make the trades.
 
Most "speed mods" add complexity with no real advantage.

You want to add extra steps with any maintenance inspection?
Add "speed mods"!!!

Is 2-3 kts really REALLY going to make a difference in your life?

You want to make a piper fast?
Cut off the wings and throw it off a cliff
 
Piper air conditioning....as long as the pulleys were aligned, it'd do OK. But this maddening task often wasn't done, so you'd go about 3 hours between belt breaks.

If you're going to do a PA-28, go big, or go home. 235 or Dakota. Only problem...try finding one.

When you get into that corner of the "performance vs nice" graph, aircraft are remarkably hard to find. Since the apocalypse, I'm convinced that there is an independent network of people buying and selling, because these airplanes never, ever make the trades.
The best Cherokee I ever flew was a 235 with a 250 conversion. Took it to 12.5k’ one time, and every checkin with a new controller they verified aircraft type. :bounce:

I did fly a nice 180 a few times, but the owner spent 3-4x the time flying it just cleaning it.
 
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