Night Fox Aircraft

01/22/2026

N698FL

On this day in 1960, a modest little airplane took to the air for the first time. It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t trying to be fast or futuristic. It was built to be useful. That airplane was the Piper PA-28 Cherokee, and it would go on to become one of the most familiar shapes in general aviation.

Back then, Piper had a problem to solve. Cessna was dominating the training and personal flying market, and Piper’s own Comanche was more airplane than many pilots needed or could afford. The answer was something simpler. An all-metal, low-wing design that was cheaper to build, cheaper to maintain, and easier to fly. The goal wasn’t glamour. It was accessibility.

You can see that mindset baked into the Cherokee’s design. Fixed landing gear. Straightforward systems. A wing that favored predictable behavior over aerodynamic beauty. The famous “Hershey bar” wing didn’t win style points, but it made stalls gentle and training safer. The stabilator gave the airplane a solid, planted feel that generations of students would come to trust in the traffic pattern.

As the years went on, the Cherokee grew up without losing its personality. More powerful versions appeared for pilots who wanted real cross-country capability. Retractable-gear Arrows gave students a first taste of complex aircraft. The airframe stretched into the Cherokee Six for families and utility flying. Warrior, Archer, Arrow. Different names, same DNA.

Flight schools quickly figured out what Piper had built. The Cherokee could fly all day, take student abuse, and not demand constant attention from maintenance crews. Private owners liked it for the same reasons. It was honest. It didn’t pretend to be something it wasn’t. It just showed up, started, and did the job.

That’s why the Cherokee still matters more than six decades later. It’s not remembered for breaking records. It’s remembered for breaking pilots in gently – maybe even some of you reading this. First solos. First night flights. First real trips somewhere. The PA-28 didn’t just teach people how to fly. It helped make general aviation feel reachable. And 66 years in, that may be its greatest accomplishment of all.

01/15/2026

AZ Legislation - Prohibition on ADS-B–Based Fees

As you probably know, legislation was recently introduced in the US Senate and House to prohibit the use of ADS-B to collect fees from aircraft owners and operators. Unfortunately, these bills known as the Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act (S.2175 and HR.4146) are making slow progress towards passage.

Aviation Safety Advisory Group (ASAG) member CJ deVries has been working with the AZ Legislature to introduce state legislation to prohibit the use of ADS-B to calculate, generate, or collect fees from aircraft owners or operators while operating in Arizona airspace. He has made great progress and HB.2210 was introduced to the AZ House on 9 January 2026 - https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/57leg/2r/bills/hb2210p.htm

Please sign this electronic petition to show your support of this legislation: "We, the undersigned, respectfully express our support for legislation prohibiting the use of Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) system data to calculate, generate, or collect fees from aircraft owners or operators while operating in Arizona airspace."

Enter your name, city and digitally sign using a stylus or your finger.
Here is the link: https://adsb-for-safety.netlify.app/

Thanks to CJ and ASAG for getting this important legislation moved forward and showing your support by signing the petition.