Is This Piper Classic For You?
The Comanche does not get a lot of press and is not a very flashy aircraft. It is burried behind the likes of the Beechcraft Bonanza, Piper Malibu & The Cessna 210. The biggest reason is, the Comanche is not in production and hasn't been since 1972.
But if you have not considered the Comanche as one of your airplane buying options, you really need to as it is a great aircraft that has a HUGE following! Over 4,000 were built from 1957 until 1972 when a flood destroyed the manufacturing plant.
There were a few evolutions of this aircraft over the years. It all started with the 180 which stood for 180 hp. Then came the 250, the 260, the 260TC - Turbo Charged version and then finally the 400.
As you can imagine with the continued increase in horsepower the speeds kept going up along with the fuel consumption. As far as performance specifications go, the 180 will cruise at about 150 knots and burns about 8 gallons of fuel per hour. The 400 will cruise at about 185 knots and burns about 21 gallons of fuel per hour.
The 180 is fairly fuel effecient and has a great cruise speed where as the 400 is somewhat of a gas pig. That has something to with the fact that there were only 140 model 400's produced.
The advantage you have with this aircraft is that it is a retractible and has pretty good power/fuel burn ratio (other then the 400). Also, you might find that it is a bit better of a value as far as prices go compared to the competiors...
Remember - this aircraft is also one of those that has a very loyal following. The majority of Comanche owners are sold on this aircraft and usually never move away from it. So you might have to dig real hard & wait a few months until the right one comes on the market. You'll also want to move quick as the good ones don't stay for sale very long.
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Happy Flying!
James David
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