Piper Comanche
| PA-24 Comanche | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| PA-24-250 | |
| Role | Civil utility aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Piper Aircraft |
| Designer | Howard "Pug" Piper |
| First flight | May 24, 1956 |
| Introduction | 1958 |
| Status | Production ceased |
| Primary users | Private aviators Flight schools |
| Produced | 1957-1972 |
| Number built | 4,857 |
| Unit cost |
$17,850-$36,890
|
| Variants |
Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche Piper PA-39 Twin Comanche Ravin 500 |
The Piper PA-24 Comanche is a four-seat or six-seat, low-wing, all-metal, light aircraft of semi-monocoque construction with tricycle retractable landing gear. Piper Aircraft designed and developed the Comanche, which first flew on May 24, 1956. Together with the PA-30 and PA-39 Twin Comanche, it made up the core of the Piper Aircraft lineup until 1972, when the production lines for both aircraft were wiped out in a flood.
The Comanche is a four-seat (or, in the 260C series, a six-seat), single-engined, low-wing monoplane. It is an all-metal aircraft with a retractable landing gear. Two prototypes were built in 1956 with the first being completed by June 20, 1956. The first production aircraft, powered by a 180 hp (134 kW) Lycoming O-360-A1A engine, first flew on October 21, 1957. In 1958 it was joined by a higher powered PA-24-250 with a 250 hp (186 kW) Lycoming O-540-A1A5 engine; this model was originally to be known as the PA-26 but Piper decided to keep the PA-24 designation.
In 1964 the 400 hp (298 kW) PA-24-400 was introduced. The following year the PA-24-250 was superseded by the PA-24-260, featuring the Lycoming IO-540D or E engine of 260 hp (194 kW). The 260 was also available as the Turbo Comanche C with a Rajay turbocharger and was introduced in 1970.
Production of the Comanche ended in 1972 when torrential rains from Hurricane Agnes caused the great Susquehanna River flood of 1972, flooding the manufacturing plant and destroying airframes, parts, and much of the tooling necessary for production. Rather than rebuild the tooling, Piper chose to abandon production of the Comanche and Twin Comanche and continue with two newer designs already in production at Piper's other plant in Vero Beach, Florida: the twin-engined PA-34 Seneca and the PA-28R-200 Arrow.
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Wikipedia