N780FM

N780FM is a Piper Cherokee Arrow, a single-engine piston aircraft operated by IOLAIRE AVIATION INC. SkyMeter has tracked 804 flights totalling 565 hours of airtime via ADS-B across 2 callsigns. The most frequent segment is KFME to KFME. Service window in our records spans 450 days. Of those flights, 108 (13.4%) carry at least one detected incident: a go-around, unstable approach, stall warning, or runway excursion. The Piper Cherokee Arrow has a 35 ft wingspan, a maximum takeoff weight of 2,758 lb.

About the Piper Cherokee Arrow

The Piper PA-28R Cherokee Arrow is a retractable-gear variant of Piper's ubiquitous Cherokee line, introduced in 1967 to offer pilots a step-up platform with better speed and efficiency than the fixed-gear PA-28. The retractable landing gear, constant-speed propeller, and fuel-injected Lycoming engine (typically 180 or 200 horsepower depending on variant) give the Arrow a 20-knot cruise advantage over its fixed-gear siblings while maintaining the Cherokee's forgiving handling and sturdy construction. The Arrow became a staple of flight training programs worldwide, particularly for commercial and instrument rating students transitioning to complex aircraft, and remains popular in the rental and club fleet today.

Piper produced the Arrow in several iterations: the original Arrow 180, the Arrow II and III with the 200-hp engine and longer fuselage, and the turbocharged Arrow IV, spanning from the late 1960s through 2009, with brief production resumptions in recent years. The type's combination of 135-knot cruise speed, 700-nautical-mile range, and relatively modest operating costs made it a sweet spot for personal cross-country travel and time-building. While not breaking any records, the Arrow carved out a niche as the accessible complex single: easier to insure and maintain than a Mooney or Bonanza, yet offering retractable-gear experience that opened doors to higher-performance aircraft.

The PA-28R remains a common sight at general aviation airports across North America and Australia, where it serves flying clubs, flight schools, and private owners who value its blend of performance and practicality. SkyMeter has tracked flights across airframes and operators, with the largest observed operator.