Find the best PA-28 add-on for X-Plane, including a free Cherokee, XP11/XP12 compatibility, exact variants, licences and installation fixes.
Yes. A genuinely free PA-28-180 Cherokee C is available for X-Plane 11 in our downloads library; it is freeware, not a demo, trial or cut-down paid licence. We have not verified a native X-Plane 12 freeware PA-28. For X-Plane 12, the best all-round choice is vFlyteAir’s supported PA-28-140 Cherokee build.
Gibt es eine kostenlose Version?
Yes—the X-Plane 11 PA-28-180 Cherokee C is a genuinely free aircraft rather than a time-limited demonstration. Freeware still remains the author’s copyrighted work, so the included licence controls redistribution and modification even though the download costs nothing.
Free PA-28 options for X-Plane
- Aircraft and source: The verified no-cost option is the PA-28-180 Cherokee C in our X-Plane freeware aircraft library.
- Supported simulator: Use it with X-Plane 11. It is not presented as a native X-Plane 12 aircraft, and loading it in XP12 would not establish compatibility.
- Cockpit and systems: Expect a simpler analogue cockpit and less system depth than modern commercial packages. Do not assume that every circuit breaker, failure, avionics mode or aircraft-specific option is simulated.
- Installation location: Place the extracted aircraft folder inside
X-Plane 11/Aircraft/, optionally under a user-created general-aviation subfolder. - When it makes sense: It is a reasonable choice for casual circuits, basic navigation and learning the broad low-wing Cherokee layout. Choose payware for close procedural matching, deeper avionics or dependable X-Plane 12 support.
The free model represents a PA-28-180 Cherokee C, not a Cherokee 140, Warrior or Arrow. Its power, handling and checklist should not be judged against figures for those other PA-28 variants.
Tell me more: which Cherokee, Warrior or Arrow should I choose?
Choose by airframe and cockpit workload rather than treating every aircraft carrying a PA-28 designation as interchangeable. Paid prices and regional taxes change, so we distinguish £0 freeware from commercial licences instead of quoting a figure that may soon be wrong.
| Aircraft | Exact variant and systems | Price/licence type | Availability | XP11 | XP12 | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free PA-28-180 Cherokee C | PA-28-180; fixed gear and fixed-pitch propeller | £0; freeware | Available in our library | Yes | No explicit support | Casual flying and basic Cherokee familiarisation |
| vFlyteAir Cherokee 140 Original or Modern | PA-28-140; fixed gear and fixed-pitch propeller, with panel differences between editions | Paid; commercial licence | Commercial editions listed | Yes, with the matching build | Yes, with an XP12-labelled build | Best all-round Cherokee choice and fixed-gear procedural practice |
| vFlyteAir PA-28R Arrow III | PA-28R-201 Arrow III; retractable gear and constant-speed propeller | Paid; commercial licence | Commercial edition listed | Yes, with the matching build | Yes, with an XP12-labelled build | Gear, propeller and complex-aircraft procedures |
| Just Flight PA-28-161 Warrior II, developed with Thranda | PA-28-161 Warrior II; fixed gear and fixed-pitch propeller | Paid; commercial licence | Legacy commercial XP11 listing | Yes | No explicit support | Matching an XP11 Warrior II cockpit and performance profile |
| Just Flight PA-28-181 Archer III, developed with Thranda | PA-28-181 Archer III; fixed gear and fixed-pitch propeller | Paid; commercial licence | Legacy commercial XP11 listing | Yes | No explicit support | XP11 Archer III familiarisation |
| Just Flight PA-28R Arrow III, developed with Thranda | PA-28R-201 Arrow III; retractable gear and constant-speed propeller | Paid; commercial licence | Legacy commercial XP11 listing | Yes | No explicit support | Complex-aircraft procedures in X-Plane 11 |
Why is the vFlyteAir Cherokee 140 our top paid choice?
The vFlyteAir PA-28-140 is the best default for pilots seeking a straightforward fixed-gear Cherokee with more cockpit and system detail than the freeware PA-28-180. Select the Original or conventional-panel presentation for an older training aircraft; choose a modern-panel edition only when its avionics resemble the aeroplane you want to practise.
The older Cherokee 140G or Aspen E1000 product label describes a glass-panel package, not a separate Piper airframe variant. We do not recommend assuming X-Plane 12 support from that name alone: use it only when the exact product page and supplied download explicitly identify an XP12 build.
Choose the vFlyteAir Arrow III only when retractable-undercarriage and constant-speed-propeller management are part of the goal. An Arrow is not a faster substitute for Cherokee or Warrior training; its speeds, checks, drag changes and workload differ.
The Just Flight Warrior II, Archer III and Arrow III were developed with Thranda, but they are not separate Thranda-branded PA-28 products. Their established listings are for X-Plane 11, so we do not count them as supported X-Plane 12 alternatives without an explicit compatibility statement for the exact package.
Which PA-28 add-ons have explicit X-Plane 12 support?
For X-Plane 12, use an XP12-labelled vFlyteAir PA-28-140 Cherokee or PA-28R Arrow III build. Do not infer support merely because an XP11 aircraft appears in the XP12 aircraft selector or reaches the runway.
An older model may load while retaining broken lighting, incorrect materials, silent sounds, obsolete datarefs or non-working scripted instruments. Resaving its .acf file in Plane Maker does not update plug-ins or repair systems code and may make a clean reinstall necessary.
Keep XP11 and XP12 copies in separate aircraft folders, and verify the precise simulator generation before purchasing or updating. Our guide to checking whether an add-on genuinely supports X-Plane 12 explains which compatibility claims are meaningful.
Is a PA-28 add-on realistic enough for training?
A well-matched PA-28 is useful for cockpit familiarisation, checklists, radio work, navigation and procedure rehearsal, but an ordinary desktop installation is not an approved training device by itself. Matching the exact variant, panel and avionics is more valuable than choosing the aircraft with the longest feature list.
Compare performance only after setting the correct weight, centre of gravity, power, weather and propeller configuration. A mistake we see constantly is comparing the freeware PA-28-180 with Cherokee 140, Warrior or Arrow handbook figures and then blaming the flight model for the difference.
Controller setup matters as well. Calibrate the yoke or joystick, set sensible response curves and remove duplicate axis assignments before assessing rotation, flare or stall behaviour. The Arrow requires a propeller-control axis or another reliable way to operate the blue lever; a fixed-pitch Cherokee does not.
How do I install and troubleshoot a free or paid PA-28?
Both freeware and payware should be installed as complete aircraft packages under the correct simulator’s Aircraft folder. Our detailed X-Plane aircraft and mod installation instructions cover extraction and folder placement; the checks below address PA-28-specific failures.
- Confirm the simulator generation. Match the download to X-Plane 11 or X-Plane 12 before copying files. A free XP11 aircraft may rely on version-specific scripts or plug-ins even if its basic model opens in XP12.
- Perform a clean extraction. Remove or rename the previous aircraft folder, then extract the full new package. Overwriting an old installation can leave obsolete scripts and preferences behind.
- Check the folder level. The folder directly beneath
Aircraft, or beneath one optional category folder, should contain the aircraft’s.acffile and its associated objects, textures and sounds. - Leave local plug-ins with the aircraft. Do not move bundled components into
Resources/pluginsunless the documentation specifically requires it. Confirm that each plug-in supports the simulator generation and operating system in use. - Inspect
Log.txt. A blank panel, dead switches or missing avionics often points to a plug-in that failed to load, a blocked component or a missing dependency. Payware may also require its documented activation step. - Remove conflicting assignments. Check throttle, mixture, propeller, toe-brake and parking-brake controls for duplicates. Do not assign a propeller axis to a fixed-pitch Cherokee and expect it to change RPM independently of power.
- Use the aircraft’s starting procedure. Fuel selection, mixture, priming, magnetos, battery and avionics power can all prevent a start or leave instruments dark. A cold-and-dark cockpit is not by itself evidence of a failed installation.
If an XP11 freeware plug-in has no XP12-compatible build, moving it into the global plug-ins folder will not solve the problem. Run that aircraft in X-Plane 11 or replace it with an explicitly supported XP12 package.