PA-28-235 Best Glide Speed

KCMO235KCMO235
in General Discussion

Greetings All,

I am looking for some sort of authoritative guidance/document to verify the best glide speed of my 1964 Cherokee 235. I'd like to verify best glide is 95 MPH as I am working with my avionics shop to properly set up SmartGlide and the Vg reference on my airspeed tape in my Garmin G3X and GTN650xi.

I have looked in the Owners Handbook, AFMs, and TCDS and do not see Vg defined. The plane came with aftermarket checklists that differ. The general consensus is that Vg is either 90 MPH or 95 MPH, but I would like a definitive answer.

I did try searching the Forum and did not see an answer.

Thoughts?

Appreciate the help!

Comments

  • empanninempannin

    Hi,

    I would set it up for 95 mph. The actual speed is also a function of weight and also if you want minimum sink speed or most distance.

    image.png
    https://flighttrainingcentral.com/2022/07/best-glide-speed-keep-it-simple-or-extract-the-most-performance/


    Eric Panning
    1981 Seneca III
    Hillsboro, OR (KHIO)

  • KCMO235KCMO235

    Yep - I've got the math all set up to compensate for operating at less than max gross weight.

    I see a test flight in my future - calculate the Vg based on both 95 and 90 MPH adjusted for actual weight, and then see which produces the lowest sink rate.

  • empanninempannin
    edited October 12

    Hi,

    There is going to be an ideal speed but looking at the graph it is also fairly flat in sink rate. I would bias towards more distance (faster glide) as it is more likely you are farther away 600 fpm vs 700 fpm making a difference.

    Eric Panning
    1981 Seneca III
    Hillsboro, OR (KHIO)

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