BALES EVAN B· ICAO24 a24626· last seen Jul 2026

N2459A is a Piper Tomahawk PA38, a single-engine piston aircraft operated by BALES EVAN B. SkyMeter has tracked 1,056 flights totalling 1,298 hours of airtime via ADS-B across 2 callsigns. The most frequent segment is KCOI to KTIX. Service window in our records spans 408 days. Of those flights, 86 (8.1%) carry at least one detected incident: a go-around, unstable approach, stall warning, or runway excursion. The Piper Tomahawk PA38 has a 34 ft wingspan, a maximum takeoff weight of 1,670 lb.

About the Piper Tomahawk PA38

The Piper PA-38 Tomahawk is a two-seat, single-engine trainer that became one of the most recognizable flight school aircraft of the 1980s. Introduced in 1978, Piper designed the Tomahawk specifically to compete with Cessna's dominant 152 in the primary training market, featuring a distinctive T-tail, a wide cockpit with excellent visibility, and NASA-developed GA(W)-1 airfoil that provided docile stall characteristics ideal for student pilots. Powered by a 112-horsepower Lycoming O-235 engine, the Tomahawk offered straightforward systems and forgiving handling that made it popular with flight schools across North America and beyond.

Production ran until 1982, with approximately 2,500 aircraft built before Piper shifted focus to other models. The type earned a reputation for durability in the training environment, though its T-tail configuration required pilots to understand its unique spin characteristics compared to conventional-tail trainers. Today the Tomahawk remains a common sight at flight schools and flying clubs, valued for its low operating costs, parts availability, and the wide-open cabin that reduces the claustrophobia some students experience in tighter cockpits.

SkyMeter has tracked flights across airframes and operators, with the largest observed operator.

FLIGHTS
1,056
all time
FLOWN HOURS
1,298
tracked time
📍
AIRPORTS VISITED
125
unique
📡
CALLSIGNS
2
278 routes
📅
SERVICE PERIOD
5/27/2025 → 7/9/2026
first → last
INCIDENT RATE
8.1%
86 flagged

Top routes

By flight count

10
21
18
18
17
15
10
9
8
7
5

Flight numbers

Most-flown by this airframe

2

Aircraft specifications

Piper Tomahawk PA38

Engines
Single Piston
Vref (approach)
60 kt
MTOW
1,670 lb
Wingspan
34 ft
Length
23 ft
Wake category
Light

Recent flights

Newest 50 operations of N2459A

50
7/9/2026
54m
△ Low approach-stability score
7/7/2026
46m
△ Low approach-stability score
6/25/2026
2h 12m
△ Low approach-stability score
6/11/2026
2m
△ Low approach-stability score
5/31/2026
2h 33m
△ Low approach-stability score
5/28/2026
38m
△ Low approach-stability score
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