Piper Comanche - search results

An affordable, easy-to-fly airplane that bridges the gap between pure trainer and entry level cruiser.

The smart money says that buying a used piston twin is crazy when avgas costs seven bucks, an engine overhaul runs north of $30,000 and often a twin isn’t that much faster than a comparable single. After looking at the stunning collapse of piston twin prices in this century, we’re tempted to simply say the smart money is right and let things go. The problem is, it’s just not that simple.

Being able to make a trip nonstop is more than just convenience—it can be a safety of flight issue as the risk of an accident is highest during takeoff and landing. The reality is that most flights of four- and six-place airplanes are conducted with only one or two of the seats occupied and at something below gross weight. For many owners, that means that some sort of auxiliary fuel tanks can give their airplanes more range and potentially increase safety.

[IMGCAP(1)]So maybe money isn't a consideration. Youve done we'll in the market, sold your business or been promoted to senior VP and that ratty old 210 youve been flying just isn't getting it done.

And neither would a light-light twin of the sort we analyzed in the June issue. The next rung on the step-up ladder is the light non-cabin class twin, airplanes that are a bit more expensive to buy and operate than light-light twins but carry more and eke a few more knots.

These are big airplanes with performance and handling that are less tolerant of an incompetent pilot than the light-light twin. Before considering one, we encourage the prospective owner to keep two ideas in mind:...

When you tell a fellow pilot what kind of airplane you fly, the list of responses that will elicit more than casual, feigned interest is short. But the Aerostar is on it. It has a deserved rep for being blazingly fast with good range. And unlike most piston twins, it has enough power to actually climb on a single engine. But bring a VISA with high limits. The airplanes Lycomings are somewhat thirsty and although its hardly a maintenance hog, the Aerostar fleet is aging and getting expensive to maintain. But for owners who can afford it, the model is hard to beat for getting from A to B faster than anything that doesnt burn Jet A. The Aerostar is the product of famed aircraft designer Ted Smith, whose name is attached to such classics as the A-20 twin-engine bomber and the Twin and Jet Commander lines.

The low prices of piston twins can be beyond tempting. Before succumbing, do your homework on insurance, maintenance, training and realistic costs.

When Fred Weick and John Thorp set out to design a less expensive alternative to Pipers Comanche, its unlikely they thought the resulting PA-28 series would become so popular, so durable or so varied. Since introducing the Cherokee 150 and Cherokee 160 (PA-28-150 and PA-28-160, respectively), in 1961, Piper has stretched, T-tailed, turbocharged and reproduced that basic airframe tens of thousands of times. Its original "Hershey-bar" wings eventually gave way to a longer, semi-tapered design, the landing gear has been folded and many different powerplants have been fitted. While much has changed, the designs basic utility, systems, handling and reliability have remained. Three models remain in production-four, if you count the twin-engine PA-44-180 Seminole-almost 50 years later. While PA-28 Cherokees came in many flavors, the most powerful of them-the Dakota-isn't the fastest but is perhaps the most flexible. It and earlier 235-HP Cherokees take advantage of the markets affinity toward muscular four-place singles, a natural attraction proven popular enough to support two significant entries for many years: the Cessna 182 Skylane and Piper PA-28-235/236. The 182 came first and outlasted the 235/236: By any measure, its been a success. Like the Piper, it features a good combination of utility, roominess and performance. Pipers version, however, never matched the 182s popularity, even though it combines the Skylanes chief attributes: decent performance, simplicity, and common, proven components. If your needs include a big dose of horsepower pulling a simple airframe, the most powerful PA-28 Cherokee is a very solid candidate.

Speed costs money. That’s why few airplanes coming out of the factory were optimized for speed—it costs staggering sums of money to certificate a...