Making Our $10,000 Piper Cherokee 180 Look NEW Again (For DIRT CHEAP)

[@michaeldesilvio221]

I stopped flying years ago when the TSA started fondling everyones junk. Since then my brother bought a Beachcraft Bonanza and he flew me across the country with it. Now I'm hooked on getting an old Cessna and flying again.

[@christophergagliano2051]

Looking good, here's my suggestions: 1) polish or paint the propeller black 2) purchase a stainless steel screw kit for all the removable fasteners (This will replace the rusty looking ones) 3) lightly sand then polish the moniker "Cherokee" on the side of the aircraft.

[@JRAviation]

Good ideas!

[@rondaroushy651]

Propeller balancing and and hardware is (and I can’t emphasize this enough) extremely critical, doing as much as a light coat of paint can add balance issues, and planes aren’t like cars where you can just change hardware it has to be certified parts, hardware, etc by or allowed by the manufacturer. And they don’t usually offer the prettiest looking hardware haha

[@christophergagliano2051]

@@rondaroushy651 under FAA rules you don't even have to be a certified mechanic to paint a propeller. I think the same thing goes for exchanging hardware as these are cosmetic items.

[@rondaroushy651]

@@christophergagliano2051 Holders of a Pilots License may perform the [limited] preventative maintenance actions listed in 14 CFR Part 43 , I do not see an action there that states the painting of props, in fact the only thing I do see listed under part 43 is simple pre-flight inspection items of props. Piper themselves quote "while many owners do touchup and filing, it is not precisely legal and should be done by or under the supervision of an A&P/IA" Now, a PPL can replace NON structural fasteners, however, every fastener has a purpose they are not cosmetic items, and they still need to manufacture approved. As cool as it would look, all I can say is to always follow manufacture guidelines and of course the rules of the FAA

[@rickwiggins283]

A tip I saw on another channel is to regularly wipe down the prop with a few dabs of engine oil. Keeps it a bit shinier and maybe adds a little corrosion protection.

[@petetofani4896]

The painted blue "Cherokee 180" badges are driving me nuts. I'm sure they are originally chrome. You should upgrade them.

[@georgek.1498]

Yes, I’d love a tour

[@dougpartington1843]

Cherokee 180, having a 4 place would be more practical for me. It came out great!

[@davidlee4576]

My wife and I have been looking for a time builder airplane. Your experience has been extremely positive (and therefore encouraging). Gives me hope for finding the right plane when we finally buy. Cherokee 180 would be my choice primarily for the higher utility value.

[@kmg501]

Chris is a man of excellence and the cinematography of his work really made this pop. And I'm not joking, both of you took it to another level. The plane is gorgeous.

[@retiredleo3679]

Owned and flew family in my 1965 Cherokee 180 for 30 years. Never any big ticket issues. Low maintenance costs and easy to fly. Biggest costs are annuals, hangar and insurance.

[@4life409]

Never did an engine overhaul in 30 years? Is TBO 2000hrs on this engine?

[@retiredleo3679]

@@4life409 No Overhauls and yes the TBO is 2000 hours. Used primarily to fly to second home on weekends. One hour flight.

[@JRGarage]

$20,000 paint job and down for 2 months… or $600 detail and down for 4 hours?? 🤔

[@LockinProfits]

Looks good !

[@stefan.m0000]

Just à polish??

[@Airplanefish]

Please tell me $600 was the gratuity you gave him? And not the total you paid him.

[@minnesnowtan9970]

@@Airplanefish No tax on tips!

[@FILA23WHITEPRODUCTIONS]

@@Airplanefish 600 dollars for 4 hours of work is great! He has an edge over i bet 99% of detailers in his area because of this job.

[@TheIndyspace]

Cherokee 180 for me...a lot of family history with the classics. Very high utility with reasonable costs. 😊

[@robertlewis3712]

You guys did great on this one. I’m happy you guys took the chance. Nice Job I would take the 180. Keep it, train, get your PPL and flip it.

[@davidh3566]

20 years ago, I owned a 1967 Cherokee 180 in South Carolina. Paid 40,000 and sold it several years later for 35,000 (engine was run out). You did fantastic on this price and it cleaned up nice!

[@ChrisShortyAllen]

The 180 is superb. Carries passengers and looks smart. Would keep it as it is cheap and affordable to run. The polish and coating will improve performance very slightly but not enough to notice.

[@TheCookofthehouse]

I prefer the Piper cherokee its a great plane, maintenance is not suposed to cost an arm and a leg and I enjoy long distance flights. My grand children would love the "small retro plane" for sure. I don't miss any of your videos. Thanks for publishing. Best regards, Mário (Lisbon, Portugal)

[@rogerreimer6787]

I love the Cherokee 180 I have about 10 or 15 hours on them they are a nice plane I am 77 may be too old to fly but love planes they are a bit more sluggish to fly then the 160 but they can carry a lot of stuff. Both planes look great. Love you show and love when you interact with the lovable nut in Jimmy's world.

[@goneflying140]

Nice job guys!! These old single stage Cherokees buff up beautifully. I did mine with a Rupes buffer and a stage 1 compound from JAXWAX. It looks amazing, and everybody on the field is coming to me and wanting me to detail their airplane.

[@JRAviation]

Right?!? It makes a huge difference. I’m sure yours looks great!

[@1shARyn3]

Your hail dents are non-issues. About 20 years ago, I flew a rental that literally looked like a golf ball --- 172 --- but it flew just great (looked like crap, but flew great)

[@taylormade2826]

Like a golf ball😂😂

[@fisherh9111]

Full airplane tour? Yes please!!

[@boogerwood]

Beautiful! This has been a cool project. 1) keeping a great bird flying and 2) ALWAYS a fan of a great buy/restore story!

[@richardgabel33]

Cherokee would be my choice. Nicely done. Looks good for $10K. Is this to be sold ? How much ? Thanks for taking us along. Stay safe.

[@yyzttr]

I'd take either one...But I used to fly a Cherokee 160 at the flight school and I loved that plane! It broke my heart when a hail storm totaled it and the insurance company refused to sell it back. I used to curse at the struts sticking up had a nasty tendency to just drop (sometimes asymmetrically) while taxiing but that thing was a blast to fly. I'd take the Cherokee definitely.

[@MrNutt-xu7qe]

Cherokee for the family for sure.

[@StraightTail56]

You can do a lot with a good polish. I did that with my 1956 172. The paint was super chalky and came off on your hands when you touched. Now she shines good and looks great.

[@Morpheen999]

I would love that Cherokee!! It looks awesome!! Keep up the good work man!!!

[@terrydaniel9736]

Another great video. I like the 180 personally. I would really like to all your planes. Great job guys.

[@jhaedtler]

You want the hail dimples. It will fly faster. Just like a golf ball!

[@JRGarage]

Is this true? haha

[@rogerreimer6787]

Meth Buster proved that ....

[@minnesnowtan9970]

So instead of Prop Clear you yell "Fore"? Is it good for a plane to hit a flag and fall in a hole?

[@jonfelty6063]

Both planes look incredible! You are so business savy! Great job on managing the risk/reward you do it so well! Video grand tour of all the planes please!

[@stevefridell4555]

They must be downright scary with their car deals.

[@andrrwprice7281]

Red pinstripe tape might do a job for you. If it works the other colours, not the blues, could be retaped also. Piper could be offering the blues as a spares item, although I'm guessing they would ask an arm and a leg for them! Worth looking into methinks!!

[@MrJohnBos]

Amazing how the paint came back, from 20 feet away she has great ramp appeal. I would definitely invest in a stainless steel fastener and screw kit. Not sure if the paint correction will add a few knots to the true airspeed, think of a golf ball with dimples. The dimples make the golf ball go further but I'm not sure if the dimples help it go faster. Interesting question. I'd definitely take the Cherokee 180.

[@Captain-d7e]

Definitely the 180!! Your guy did an excellent job polishing the planes, I’ll bet you gained some knots just from the cleaning!😬

[@46bovine]

I’m impressed with your, for lack of a better term, cheap restoration. Very nice. The machine needs some good avionics.

[@cseivard]

Cinematic goodness? Agree!

[@philmil99]

Just got my PPL 2 months ago. Wish I could come across some of the deals you come across. Would love to have the Cherokee 180. Fits my flying needs almost 100%. Much better paint and paint job than most 180s of that vintage.

[@alfredneuman7665]

When I was in a flying club in the early 70's, I'd earn flight and instruction hours washing and waxing the Cessna's, I also learned how to clean and polish the plexiglass windows, oh btw the freshly cleaned and waxed C172 would pick up at least four knots, one club member said seven but I thought that was a stretch, it had a lot of parasitic drag from antenna's added on as the instruments were upgraded.

[@oregonbytheseaholt492]

My first plane was a 140 and it was a great family plane. Then there was the Mooney, a 320 and finally the B55. Sold the B55 to support a business that turned out to be a waste of money. Now, can't afford to buy another so I look at what you, and others, do as a way to keep the dream alive.

[@davidduganne5939]

Dang! Those look great! The 180 Cherokee is a solid plane for 2 with baggage, especially in the high SW elevations in the summer.

[@joluisaponte]

Would love the Cherokee for that time building. Nice job on the shine.

[@DKofDAH]

A plane you can actually use and not worrying about every little dust particles, rain or similar. Nicely done

[@chennemeyer]

Wow, its looks great, almost prefer the semigloss look, but with clear sharp color, very nice

[@martycantu2086]

Please keep me in consideration when you decide to sell, I love Cherokee, did my flight training in a 140 and love the ease of their flight characteristics. Love your channel, very entertaining and educational in the aviation world 👍👍

[@jacksmith8002]

I like these Sunday afternoon/night video releases

[@miloswanson9646]

You're making my new Cherokee 180 look great! 😉 When can I pick it up? 😁 My sisters live in the Phoenix area...

[@miloswanson9646]

AND it'd be one hell of a training X-C, flying that Cherokee back to Cleveland OH! 😂🤪😏

[@JoeRoscoe_DFW]

I owned a '68 140 and always wanted to upgrade. I never saw a 180 of this vintage look this good.

[@jamesclifford5351]

Would love to have the Cherokee 180 ! They fly so well ! Yes show the collection!!

[@garymuszynski1141]

Tour would be cool !

[@tassi13827]

In 1967 we bought a 1965 Cherokee 180 for $8,500. Got my private, commercial, and instrument in it. Great trainer.

[@alanstearns4445]

The Cherokee is always a good choice but I have a soft spot for the 601.

[@michaelsmith2017]

Honestly, I'd take either one. I'm closing in on finishing my PPL and want to buy a time builder but I'm not exactly rich. The Zodiac would make sense from a maintenance perspective since it's experimental but the Cherokee is tried and true. The one knock against the Cherokee is the potential wing spar AD. I assume I'd be flying solo 95% of the time so having more that 2 seats isn't that big of a deal.

[@JRAviation]

Good assessment!

[@djwilliams4714]

Airplane and car tour would be great, even the ones not on video yet!

[@soggybottom3463]

Hang on to that Cherokee. No brainer, yep and way preferred by me. Beautiful work by Christian, well done guys 👍👏👏👏🤗🤗

[@carlstevee5992]

I’d really love this Cherokee 180 it would literally change my life a dream to own my own aircraft just got my license would love to train others with this baby she’s definitely a beauty

[@louferrao2044]

For training purposes, the Cherokee is a keeper.

[@23aviatorguy]

It would keep the Cherokee 180 for sure

[@PhoenixPlays42]

Great video guys, keep up the good work!

[@ehrenkrause9861]

I like the older four-seater. Reminds me of the old sedans when I was a child

[@RedFormanDad]

Id love to have that 601Xl. Nice little airplane. Id have like 18 hrs just flying her back to Maryland.

[@skycarl]

Cherokee for sure. Nice job on both.

[@KutWrite]

Yeah. It's in the certified category.

[@PbpLOL25]

Get everything up to date on maintenance and have your friends do a fly in and have all your planes or at least most lined up next to each other on the ramp!

[@vladrosca6785]

this thing is so beautiful. i cannot imagina buying a plane for such prices in germany, or even in europe

[@codyhargis7852]

Absolutely need the full fleet in one video!!

[@olumayokunfowowe6640]

Awesome. I’ll go for the Cherokee 180.

[@Durandalski]

Wow, I thought for sure it needed a paintjob, but it turned out great! I've actually seen way worse paint on Cherokees. Personally I would want the Cherokee. I trained in Cherokees and the ability to carry a third person would make it a perfect family cruiser. Hell, if I had the cash in hand I'd offer to buy it when you're done. You should definitely keep it until you finish your license, the Cherokee 180 is a fantastic trainer and it will be easier to learn in than the Zodiac since it won't toss around quite so much in wind. I've watched some LSAs landing in wind and it looked rough.

[@richthompson3326]

Cherokee came out fantastic! WIll be a good plane for someone!

[@davidburleson2533]

Cherokee 180 but its such a hard choice, both look great!

[@piperwarrior5705]

I did the youtube to mp4 and watched on my viewsonic projector in1080..The paint was reflecting the walls..great job..Will have to try it on my piper p28 cadet.

[@JRAviation]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed!

[@Conn653]

I can tell you from ancient experience, YES, a properly waxed plane will perform better. Waaaaay back in high school(1968), when I was learning to fly, a great guy - Jack Wilcox - had an Apache. He started waxing and polishing the plane. Only finished the left wing before darkness took over. He said that, as a treat, he would take the plane around the patch a few times before going home. He had trouble keeping the plane flying straight as it wanted to veer to the right. He normally flew 24 squared on both engines. He had to back the power off to 22 squared on the left engine, just to fly straight. After he finished polishing both wings, he was able to fly at 22 squared on both engines to maintain the same airspeed that he used to fly at on 24 squared power settings.

[@piperdakotaflyr]

Looks great. I would paint the Cherokee 180 logo on the cowl in red when you do the strip.

[@Squirel]

I loved this Cherokee from the moment I saw it and thought it was a great deal. This paint polish proves there was a real lady hiding under the dirty rags. I would hang on to it for sure so you and Christian can gain some hours/experience at minimal cost. Would love a "gramd tour" of your current fleet.

[@ryannelson7734]

Collection tour!! I’d prolly want the Cherokee solely because of the four seats.

[@thomascook5788]

Ready to buy the PA28-180 for my PP training. She looks good...

[@publicclammer]

Keep the 180 and I just betcha it becomes your favorite "daily driver" and the most useful bird in the flock!

[@nancydesrosiers6582]

Cherokee is a keeper, nice job.

[@whathasxgottodowithit3919.]

That is an amazing job, it looks a really nice aeroplane now.

[@styrain9981]

100% 180. Both look great!

[@cyrilvankeirsbelk7299]

Piper Cherokee 180 hands down. 4 seats and you don't have to worry about who built it.

[@moseskelly2886]

I've seen all three videos and now on the fourth and latest. I think the paint low key looks phenomenal, beautifully done, and stunning. I honestly could have said more. I bet that the paint can get brought back to life. I'm pumped up for this plane's final look.💯🤙🏽😎 I knew it, I was confident thar this planes final looks would be spot on.👌🏽 I'd say for me it's a hard choice between the two aircraft, they are both amazing. If I really had to choose I might just have to go with the Piper Cherokee 180 vs the Zodiac 601 SLSA. Ps. I really think you should keep the Piper Cherokee 180 and show the whole plane collection. 😎💯

[@brian_atc]

Night and day, fantastic result!

[@garymuszynski1141]

Zodiak in a heartbeat !

[@tymeryder7264]

Keep, a fun little plane.

[@leeoldershaw956]

The 180 is not necessarily just a time builder but a reliable cross country family IFR good payload plane. Cessnas versus Pipers? You can board the Cessna out of the rain and sight see better. The Piper is easier to land and taxi in high winds. The 0 360 is almost bulletproof. You can floor it and speed modestly or throttle back for economy. I flew a 180 Mooney C 853 m in 6 hours for 36 gal.

[@grimgg33]

100% I'm in love with the 180

[@golfbravowhiskey8669]

That would take that Zenith any day over the Cherokee Although I may be a little biased because I had a 601 for about 10 years. Amazing little planes.

[@mesprojects674]

I would keep the 180. It’s a fantastic trainer while also having enough carrying capacity for 4 adults, decent speed for some cross country work. I wish I would have purchased a 180 rather than a 140/180 converted as the carrying capacity is only 50 pounds more than a stock 140, even though it can climb at like 1200 fpm…

[@TheFlyboy0751]

I’m a Cherokee guy, always enjoyed flying them.

[@adriennefoley2906]

Looks amazing

[@petesheppard1709]

Now you need to spruce up the instrument panel and especially the glare shield. I'd take the Cherokee without question!

[@alrad5686]

Plane looks great. I'd keep it a while and enjoy it. Reasonable to fly, unlike the Citation and others.

[@skipallen3309]

Even as I was watching the first video I was thinking that it it was my plane I would do just what you did. Just a suggestion, I'd even see if I could find a local sign shop with and "old school" guy and talk to him about touching up the red stripe. Accomplished guys can do that free hand without even taping anything off.

[@egonrott7202]

Cherokee 180 for sure .... good job 😊

[@EthanCorley]

I work over at the FBO. I have to go fuel planes back behind your gate every once in a while, I’m just now realizing that.

[@jerryv9138]

I would take the 'Hershey Bar' winged Cherokee... ANY DAY of the week!!! Ok..... I'm biased..... I have about 120 hours flying both the Hershey Bar and the newer 'angled' winged Cherokees. BOTH are fun aircraft!!! =)

[@jimp.7286]

180. The 601 has many pros but mostly for the person who built it. The small, cracked stripes? Not the bigger blue ones. I'd repaint the small ones if allowed. Or, adhesive vinyl striping over the old colors. Is that allowed? Probably not. I really don't know. Small details show like crazy on something that nice though. Same color or maybe a more modern neutral black, grey, or silver striping. As others noted below, fix the badges asap. Note; look at the love for the old 180 here. It's looks so nice, it could've been built just a few years back. Nearly timeless in a way. Mull that over.

[@jamesclark7248]

What's the procedure for applying the red stripe paint after the ceramic coating has been applied?

[@johncarr950]

What about using some Red detail stripping as the alternative to painting it?

[@edwardstephens247]

Great job, guys. Looks amazing!

[@danpage6044]

Both airplanes look fantastic but take your time and touch up all of the little accent stripes on the Cherokee. That will really make that airplane shine. The base white and the blue looks great but redoing the finer lines will really make the plane look great and it will not take that much time. That little bit will really be a return on investment.

[@DK-ew4fx]

Did the Auto pilot work??? if you tried it in the video series, i missed it....thanx....sweet plane, sweeter deal....

[@danharris6449]

I have a lot of Cherokee time good solid flyer. Cherokee or sure.

[@charlescashell5645]

I like the Cherokee, it looks great!

[@chadjennifermatter2892]

Looks amazing. How did flight controls look if you could see possible hail damage on wings?