But I got a checkride in a Cherokee 180 Saturday.
If flies nice, stall easily, turns sharper that my 182, climbs nicely (it isn’t very heavy) and other than the unique characteristics of the Hershey Bar wing, it ain’t a bad flyer. Pull the power back and it drops like a rock. Makes for easy spot landings.
Not an airplane I would buy, but it is fast enough that it could be a spare for me to use next time my Cessna is tits up.
I mean, It doesn’t carry much, and it is narrow and the front seat is too low and all that, but at the end of it, it is big enough for two people, flies just a tiny bit slower than my plane, and is a great way to get somewhere fairly quickly….
Sadly, no autopilot in this plane though.
But it doesn’t suck.
Plus I got 1.2 hours of flight time.
Also a very stable ride. Trim it and it stays on course. Cessna vs. Piper is like the difference between driving a sports car and a sedan. You’re driving the sports car all the time while cruising along smoothly in the sedan. Get checked out in a Warrior; bigger and faster with similar flying qualities.
While my 182 is down, I fly (rent) a Warrior with a 150HP engine. Nice, but not the Cherokee 180. Nor as nice as the 182.
Better than nothing though.
172 and Warrior: 90-110 knots
Cherokee 180: 130 knots
182: 144 knots (and a GREAT payload).
I liked the Cherokee with the Hersey Bar wing better than the warrior with the tapered wing.
But I like my 182P better.