Recently I completed my complex endorsement in a Piper Arrow III. This plane had been relocated to the airport nearby so, I was interested to give it a try. My real interest in flying the Arrow is the hope that it will be utilized less than the C172’s and I would be able to do more cross country flights. The complex rating was more of an added bonus.
I was a bit intimidated at the thought of adding additional workload in the cockpit. I spent a few days prior to my first flight reviewing the POH to learn the new procedures and systems. Thankfully, I had completed my primary training in a Piper Warrior which is part of the same family as the Arrow consequently there were a lot of similarities. The biggest differences i found studying the book were speeds, constant speed propeller, and retractable landing gear. Below is the chart of speeds used for the Arrow.
| Speed | KIAS | Speed | KIAS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VNE | 183 | Vs0 (DN, 40°) | 55 | |
| VNO | 146 | Vs1 (UP, 0°) | 60 | |
| VA @ 2750 lbs | 118 | Vr | 65-75 | |
| VLO Extend / VLE | 129 | Vx | 78 | |
| VLO Retract | 107 | Vy | 90 | |
| Final Approach | 75 | Max glide (UP, 0°) | 79 | |
| En Route Climb | 104 | VFE | 103 |
While there are some additional speeds to learn, namely landing gear speeds, they are very manageable while flying. The gear extend (VLO Extend) and the max gear extended (VLE) are the same at 129kts. With an en route cruise speed around 135kts, it doesn’t take much to slow the plane down to an acceptable speed to drop the gear. On approach, I’m usually more around 80kts to the threshold. One thing that a big shift is the sink rate of the Arrow. In the Warrior and especially the 172, pulling the power out well before crossing the threshold made for a nice float into a soft landing. Doing the same in the Arrow feels more like you turn into a brick. I keep power in to maintain a steady descent rate down to the runway but don’t pull back to idle until right before the flare. Far later than I would in a Warrior or 172. This sink rate is very apparent when practicing short approach power-off landings. It took me several times to get the feeling for how fast I’d lose altitude.
I’m really looking forward to flying the Arrow more. Shortly after completing the endorsement I was able to log about 5 hours of cross country over 2 flights. The picture above is from my first trip to Knoxville. The additional speed and availability have me excited to explore some new destinations and hopefully make my first overnight trip.