piper comanche engine upgrade

Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, Restoring a Piper Interior (Comanche Restoration Series Part 3), Rebuilding a Piper Engine in a Comanche (Comanche Restoration Series Part 5), Piper Avionics: Digital Autopilots 5 Years Later, Evolution of the Piper Panel (and What It Means to You Today), https://www.facebook.com/PiperOwnerSociety?fref=ts. The Comanche 180 can climb at 700 to 900 FPM after using more than 2200 feet to clear a 50-foot obstacle. [parts], [*parts The fifth and sixth seats, when available, are suitable only for children or the smallest of adults. Get it approved in advance.. As with a car stereo or home theater setup, you can get help with the wiring harnesses, and Piehl, who didnt farm out very much in this restoration, did use one of those services. I would prove that time and again in my Comanche 250. O.E.M. Supports diversity (top and bottom antenna). Counter rotating with Tip Tanks, complete interior 2021, lots of upgrades and STC's. More Info. Two-piece system, requires WAAS GPS input, compact. Thats the Trio Pro Pilot autopilot, which also has a growing STC list and some smart features as standard. Youll need a reliable unit for the long term. I used the company Approach Fast Stack to build the wiring harness for the entire panel, he said. Greg was flying during this flight, with his friend Joe Cumbey co-piloting, and (not seen) dog Beau is piloting from the back seat. Garmin Budget Glass Cockpits Remember when a basic. The idea is to arm you with enough knowledge to talk the talk with your avionics shop when they make suggestions for a package. Here that sucking sound? The International Comanche Society has been an invaluable resource for me. Walter Sykes, (561) 278-1964. Youll need them for support, including software and hardware upgrades as the systems mature. Standalone ADS-B Out and In, wireless Bluetooth connectivity with Flight Stream 110/210. Upgrading a Comanche Panel: Photo Gallery. Read about the 1959 Piper Comanche that was restored to pristine condition, and what you can learn from the process. Insurance will vary with a pilots experience. So to help sort it out, in this article well offer an around-the-bases look at the most popular new avionics configurations-from entry-level (for basic aircraft) to higher-budget (for go-places higher-end machines). (Set of Two) 2430WT, Gear Lobe Fairing Kit. Garmin will upgrade it to the GTX330ES, which has ADS-B Out, but requires a WAAS GPS input. Since its important that the flight controls are properly rigged (while ensuring the landing gear and landing gear doors are retracted fully and fit flush) this should be the first step before any aftermarket mods are installed. This is part five of seven parts. Unlike the G3X Touch, the TXi displays have full TSO approval, plus the system is deeply compatible with analog third-party systems, including legacy autopilots. The extra 10 GPH the big-engined Comanche 400 burns yields only about 10 to 15 extra knots. Mon-Fri:9:00am 5:30pm specials*] Your Garmin dealers most likely top recommendation for a lower-end EFIS upgrade might be Garmins $2249 G5 display, of which there are two. My engine is carbureted. Money back guarantee on all modifications. If you find the right person and keep them happy, youll be happy. 24WR $445.06 Add to Cart sku: 24WF 24RS, Wing Root Fairing Kit. After years of distance-traveling in my airplane (to places I never would have visited if it werent for my Comanche), I believe a full-featured autopilot is perhaps the most useful avionics system you can buy. Any thoughts or ideas? It's a pricey and time-consuming effort that many Belvoir Media Group, LLC. The MAX, which is available in one-, two- and three-screen versions (just like the original Evolution), is designed as a drop-in replacement for the older displays. All upgrades get a fresh two-year warranty. Four of those involved inflight breakups-the clean Comanche airframe will smoke through Vne in short order once the nose is down or in a diving spiral. Greg Piehl, who lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, with his wife Debbie, spent three years restoring and upgrading their 1959 Piper Comanche 250. If your instincts are telling you that formal training is in your future, limit your flying to decent weather. That may or may not even out the distribution, and you don't get much fuel flow reduction, either. Connecting the G5 directional instrument to third-party autopilots and earlier GPS navigators requires the $699 GAD29B nav interface module. Most of my flight time is in single-engine Cessnas. Top Efis Upgrades Of all the avionics upgrades, planning a primary flight display retrofit is perhaps the most difficult. There could be major panel work involved, and it might not work fully with your autopilot. It mounts just aft of the nosewheel well and helps the existing cooling air turn parallel to the belly of the airplane in a more efficient pattern, yielding a 3-MPH speed gain. There were eight LOC events in IMC or dark night conditions. There could be major panel work involved, and it might not work fully with your autopilot. The big engine gives these airplanes excellent climb performance, as much as 1500 FPM. Their excellent build quality with total corrosion proofing before assembly and compound curve panels meant that the underlying cost structure was greater than emerging designs from either Piper or its competitors. The Piper PA-24 Comanche 180 first flew on May 24, 1956, the first of what would become one of Piper Aircraft's most successful single-engine series. The TXi is also available with Garmins EIS engine indication system and is available in multiple screen configurations. However, with care (and thats important), costs will be more than manageable and once a system or component is properly repaired, it can be expected to stay that way for a while. Garmin GTX 345 ADS-B Transponder. Continentals are easy to hot start, full throttle, mixture rich, hi pump till you get flow, 1,2,3,4, off. Engine SMOH: 998. To many pilots, Piper's Twin Comanche represents an apex of light twin design. Depending on the model and mods, it seems like a Comanche can have a never-ending supply of fuel tanks. Subscribe today to read the entire series, which chronicles: What You Will Learn in This Article: Rebuilding a Piper Engine in a Comanche. There are mixed reviews from owners on maintaining a Comanche. It'll start in a couple of blades. I subbed out a lot of the work the crankcase, the crankshaft, the rods, all the internal components to a specialist. Models: 421C. Its also time for our ADS-B buyers guide, and it follows this article. PA23-250 Aztec. Keep it on the centerline! Also featuring longtime pilot and electrical engineer Jim "Griff" Griffin, these advice videos feature tips from longtime pilot and CFI Mike Jones, avionics consultant Bob Hart, insurance and business . After 34 years, the first flight of N6494P took place at Zephyrhills Airport, three days before leaving on a trip to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, just in time for AirVenture in July and August 2021. Still, there were some notable improvements over early models. The Comanches have a speed wing so its not a comfortable ride in moderate or greater turbulence, so slowing it down softens the bumps. Piper Comanche PA-24 Models. wheaton] [CP They gave me a guy to call at Lycoming, and he said, I cant tell you the color of it, its proprietary. If you already have a healthy and modern transponder and you dont plan to fly high, Garmins GDL82 UAT solution sells for $1795-the second cheapest. LYCOMING, BENDIX IGNITION, Rocky Landsverk is the Editor and Publisher of the Piper Owner Society and PIPERS magazine. Tuned through the IFD-series navigators. At long last, this 1959 Comanche that was disassembled and trailered . Still, the respected International Comanche Society (ICS) reports the best way to learn to land-and fly-this machine is to get some dual from an expert in the type, not the local flight school unless they have a Comanche expert on hand-and some schools even have Comanches. Garmin's G500 retrofit avionics system ranks as one of the best values in aviation, offering a host of advanced capabilities for under $20,000. Top Avionics Upgrades: Choices For All Budgets, Shopping For A Seaplane: Pick A Price Point, Sun n Fun 2023: Superior Custom Instrument Panels. For dual installations (maybe an IFD550 and IFD440), the connections are independent for redundancy, but have full synchronization. The trick-as it is with any older aircraft-is finding a shop or technician experienced in the type. Ive found that landing gear bungees generally need replacement at every annual inspection. ((navigator.appName == "Microsoft Internet Explorer") && This means in those applications there is limited rewiring required. Click here or above for a free download: Cherokee guide OR free digital issue. The Comanche 180 was introduced in 1957, and the PA-24-250, the 250 HP version, followed soon after in 1958. Rocky Landsverk is the Editor and Publisher of the Piper Owner Society and PIPERS magazine. Consider that the airplane had a tail-low stance when its weight is on the wheels. History of the Piper Comanche. Ask someone about the Piper Comanche series and youre likely to get a comment along the lines of with that laminar-flow wing and low ground clearance, its a mutha to land-you float and float in ground effect, then it pays off and wham! It has excellent technical advisors and sponsors a Comanche pilot proficiency school covering major systems and is complete with an optional checkride, which will be a flight review. Photos of this 1959 Piper PA-24 Comanche Review by Jack Fleetwood ( www.JackFleetwood.com ). The basic, bare-bones G3X Touch with a 7-inch screen is $7995. Contrast that with the G3X Touch, which essentially requires a Garmin navigator for its digital data bus interface. By then, Piper was already established in Vero Beach, Florida, but neither the single nor the Twin Comanche variants made the transition to Vero. L3 Avionics product sold by Aspen. A competent tech can generally rig a cabin door in an afternoon. Suite A & B Well hammer out the difference in the upcoming market scan. assembly. Were told one way to smoothen those landings is by adding the Knots2U wing root fillets, which eliminate the vortex striking the stabilator when flaps are used. PA23, PA23-160 Apache. Requires WAAS GPS input, tablet interface requires Flight Stream wireless Bluetooth module, Garmin Pilot or ForeFlight app. Not many vintage singles in its class can match that. Installation of the This issue (April 2022), the Comanche restoration moves to the interior, where Greg replaced almost everything inside the hull. Recurring ADs on any aircraft can run up the cost of operation, and Comanches are no different. No, its not complicated but a review of service difficulty reports (and the NTSB accident reports) indicates its a top sore spot, along with general airframe corrosion and engine/ prop issues. By the time these models were introduced, the Comanches production run was about to end without warning, so this variant is comparatively rare. The good news is that lots of shops can work on them (although as the accident reports show, pick one that knows the model well), parts are available and market prices are steady, yet reasonable. The 250 and 260 are better performers. With the primitive indicating systems associated with many of the airplanes in the field, too often a pilot is faced with the dilemma, Now where did I put that fuel?. With a gross weight significantly lower than later Comanches, cabin payload with full standard fuel (60 gallons) is about 660 pounds-think three-person airplane. Speed gains are reported to be from 5-10 MPH.