![]() ![]() This complex light twin has cruise speeds ranging from 160-210mph and is an original model with comfortable seating for four people. The Comanche’s cabin was well-fitted for crew and passengers, a reasonable enclosure measuring 44 inches across by 43 inches tall, more than coincidentally, wider than any of the competition.We are proud to present to the market this classic Piper PA 30 Twin Comanche with a full documented history. In fact, the low stance is a common complaint of some pilots who tend to flare high and drop the airplane in during landings. It’s a fairly simple mill, carbureted for easy starts, underworked and happy to deliver full power forever if you need it.Ĭlimbing up onto the wing is a short step, as the airplane’s oleo gear snuggles close to the ground. ![]() Another feature that made the first Comanche popular was the carbureted, 540-cubic-inch Lycoming engine that was to evolve to a 2,000-hour TBO. Specifically, the wing is a NACA 64(2)-A215 airfoil with five degrees of dihedral. One of the reasons for the Comanche’s success was simply its laminar-flow wing, a remarkable compromise between high speed and high lift. And it certainly didn’t hurt that it was less expensive than the Bonanza or most anything of comparable horsepower on the market.” “It’s far more stable than the others, it’s about the same speed or perhaps a little quicker than the Bonanza, but it will carry far more than the V-tail of the same vintage and horsepower. “I finally found my ideal airplane, a nice 1958 Comanche 250, up in Minnesota in 1983 and decided that was the one I wanted,” explains Wall. Wall knew there were plenty of new retractables available-the Commander 114, Piper Arrow and Lance, Cessna Skylane RG and Cardinal RG and Beech F33 Bonanza-but Wall was still attracted to the Co-manche 250. When he did begin shopping, he remembered the evaluation he had done at Sky Roamers and started looking for a Co-manche 250 in good shape. He didn’t start thinking about buying another airplane of his own for several years. Wall went on to become a corporate pilot for Lockheed and Disney, flying Cessna 310s, Gulfstream G1s, Learjets, Falcons and a variety of other aircraft. Eventually, the club wound up buying four Cessna 210s instead of the Comanches, and that turned out to be a big mistake.” “Everyone loved the way the Bonanza handled, but the Comanche out-climbed the Bonanza at all altitudes and out-ran it at all power settings. “The Comanche was the winner in almost every category hands down,” reveals Wall. “We decided to fly an out-and-back from Burbank to Phoenix with four people in each airplane and fuel to gross weight. On paper, the airplanes were pretty evenly matched, 240 hp in the Bonanza, 250 hp in the Comanche,” says Wall. ![]() We decided to test the two representative models available at that time. “We were looking to buy four retractables, so the stakes were pretty high. Jack’s widow finally sold the Comanche 18 months after his death, and I was sorry to see it go. I put probably 70 hours on the Comanche 250 during the next year and came to respect the airplane as a wonderful people mover. I wound up with a set of keys and a directive from the wife to fly the Comanche whenever I wished. Twenty-five years ago, a good friend who loved his pristine 250 Comanche died unexpectedly in his sleep, and his wife couldn’t bear to sell her husband’s beloved airplane. When it was all over, Piper had built nearly 5,000 Comanches of all varieties in 15 years of production, impressive, although not spectacular by the standards of the 1970s.įor some pilots, however, the first Comanche was perhaps the best. The Comanche’s tooling was ruined when the river put the Piper plant underwater, forcing the company to discontinue production of the Comanche and Twin Comanche. In 1972, the Susquehanna River that ran through Lock Haven, Pa., a few hundred yards southeast of the Piper plant, overflowed its banks and flooded the airport and the Piper production facilities. The PA-24 would evolve to fuel injection, turbocharging and even an additional 150 hp, but sadly, its production run would be cut short by a natural disaster. The Comanche was remarkably successful, selling almost 1,000 units in the first 18 months. The former was planned to compete with Mooney’s wood-wing and tail Mark 20A, the latter with Beech’s successful V-tail, along with the dark horse Bellanca 260 and Meyers 200. Piper’s Comanche was introduced as both a 180-hp and a 250-hp model, sporting four- and six-cylinder versions of the same engine. The Comanche was conceived in the late ’50s when Piper and the rest of the industry was playing catch-up with the premier four-seat retractable, the Beech Bonanza. ![]()
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