N858PU

N858PU is a Piper Cherokee, a single-engine piston aircraft operated by TRUSTEES OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY, ATTN CHIEF INSPECTOR. SkyMeter has tracked 1,306 flights totalling 1,100 hours of airtime via ADS-B across 2 callsigns. The most frequent segment is KLAF to KLAF. Service window in our records spans 338 days. Of those flights, 68 (5.2%) carry at least one detected incident — go-around, unstable approach, stall warning, or runway excursion. The Piper Cherokee has a 35 ft wingspan, a maximum takeoff weight of 2,440 lb.

About the Piper Cherokee

The Piper PA-28 Cherokee is one of general aviation's most successful designs, introduced in 1960 as Piper's answer to the Cessna 172. Built around a low-wing configuration with a single piston engine and fixed tricycle gear, the Cherokee family became a training and personal-flying staple across six decades. The original Cherokee 140, 150, 160, and 180 models—all grouped under the P28A designator—offered pilots an affordable, stable platform with docile handling characteristics and a roomy cabin that seated four adults. Piper built more than 32,000 PA-28 variants over the years, making it one of the most-produced light aircraft in history. The type's simplicity and ruggedness earned it a reputation as a forgiving trainer, and thousands of pilots earned their private certificates in Cherokees.

The PA-28-180 Cherokee, the most common variant under P28A, cruises around 125 knots on 180 horsepower, with a range of roughly 600 nautical miles and a service ceiling near 15,000 feet. Its Hershey-bar wing—a constant-chord design without taper—sacrifices some efficiency for predictable stall behavior and ease of manufacture. While later PA-28 models adopted tapered wings and fuel-injected engines, the early Cherokees remain ubiquitous on flight lines worldwide, prized for low operating costs and straightforward maintenance. The type's longevity is a testament to Piper's original design philosophy: build a simple, honest airplane that works.

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