The Cherokee family is the low-wing half of the training fleet, and after fifty years there are a great many sitting on tie-downs with expired annuals. Most donations follow a medical, a partnership that dissolved, a flight school that reorganized, or an inheritance. A typical donation is a 140, 180, Archer or Warrior with a mid-time O-320 or O-360, an original panel with one upgrade, and an annual a year or more behind.
What moves the number on a Cherokee
Wing spar AD compliance. The 2020 spar inspection AD applies to certain Cherokee-family aircraft based on factored service hours, and it is the first question a buyer asks. If it has been complied with, the logbook entry is worth finding. If it has not, that is common and does not stop the donation — it changes who buys the airplane.
Engine time and overhaul type. Lycoming O-320 and O-360 variants carry a 2,000-hour recommended TBO. Field overhaul versus factory reman matters, and so does how long it has sat. Approximate numbers are fine on the first call.
Avionics and ADS-B. ADS-B Out compliance and a current transponder check widen the buyer pool considerably on a trainer. A panel that has not been touched since the 1990s is equally acceptable here.
Corrosion and the usual Piper items. We look at the wing attach area, the control cables, the fuel tank seams and the steel tube cabin frame. Outdoor tie-down history is normal on these aircraft and simply shapes the inspection.
How a Cherokee gets to us
With a current annual it flies out with our ferry pilot. Out of annual, we arrange the inspection, the logbook entry and a special flight permit through the FSDO. Where the spar AD is unresolved, or the airplane has sat outdoors long enough that a ferry would be unwise, the wings come off and it trucks. All of it at our cost, including the disassembly.
What the first call covers
What you can deduct for this aircraft
A flying Cherokee normally sells, making your deduction the gross proceeds reported on Form 1098-C. Two Cherokee-specific situations change that. An airframe with an unresolved wing spar AD, or one with missing logs, often sells below $5,000 — simpler paperwork, no appraisal required. A sound Archer or Warrior taken by a flight school as a working trainer is retained and used instead, and valued by qualified appraisal.
Where an appraisal is needed it is the donor's expense and the donor's choice of appraiser; we sign Form 8283 Section B as the recipient charity.
Rules for aircraft gifts are in IRS Publication 526, valuation in Publication 561. Nothing here is tax advice — confirm your figures with your CPA. How the deduction works · FAA paperwork
Other models in this class
Start with the N-number
We will pull the registry record before we call you back.