} facilities and look us over. Call your Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), he said. This assumes that you have wheelpants on the airplane; if you don't, subtract 2 knots. Piehl said, he gave me a lot of advice like where to find parts, and I subbed a lot of work to him, such as magnafluxing connecting rods and checking all the gears, and that inspection is required for a complete overhaul. SE 51 WE Installation of two Rotor-Master (Rajay) P/N 600573-00 or 600576-00 (or any combination thereof) Turbocharger on Avco Lycoming Model IO-720-A1A and IO-720-A1B engines. 30RS $399.40 Add to Cart sku: 24RS Rudder Gap Seal Kit. But if you want to connect the new displays audio output feature, your shop will need to wire it in to the audio panel. [home] We ran about 83% of our expense being fuel, and that was through two engine cycles. -Jim Griffin, Be prepared to spend 25% of the cost of purchasing your plane on maintenance. Garmin GTN 750 Touchscreen GPS/Nav/Comm. There were eight runway loss of control incidents, low, we think-and one of them involved a student pilot. That number is high, and we dont have a hypothesis to explain it, although we saw that three were at night and one of those hit power lines more than two miles short of the runway. Tuned through the IFD-series navigators. Market Scan With more than 2000 built, there are usually plenty of Twin Comanches to pick from in various stages of repair, restoration and upgrade. Learn how to repair plastic trim here. There are no downloads available of this content. [ag aircraft] Theres also an AD on the vertical fin attachment (AD 75-12-06). This rebuilding a Piper engine article is from Greg Piehl, who lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, with his wife Debbie, spent three years restoring and upgrading their 1959 Piper Comanche 250. Garmin GNC 255A Nav/Comm. Slow it down in the last few hundred feet to land short and turn off at the first taxiway. Meanwhile, the ultimate in wretched excess, or perfection, depending on your point of view, has to go to the Comanche 400. Display compatibility with several third-party systems for ADS-B In, including Garmin GTX345, L3 Lynx 9000 Series, and FreeFlight RANGR UAT. However, while the airplane isnt intrinsically difficult to service, understand and accept that this is an old aircraft-even the newest Comanche is nearly 50 years of age. I didnt want any dealer-only installations; that was #2, Piehl said. History of the Piper Comanche. Even if youre not qualified to paint your plane yourself, you can still do most of the work. if(MSFPhover) { MSFPnav2n=MSFPpreload("_derived/comwingtips.htm_cmp_jas110_hbtn.gif"); MSFPnav2h=MSFPpreload("_derived/comwingtips.htm_cmp_jas110_hbtn_a.gif"); } The Comanche 180 was introduced in 1957, and the PA-24-250, the 250 HP version, followed soon after in 1958. Piper Comanche: - Aviation Consumer Upon shutdown, this allows the oil to drain from the hot turbos instead of remaining inside them and cooking. Throttle 1/8 mixture where you set for lean taxi, mags hot, hit the starter. Garmin will upgrade it to the GTX330ES, which has ADS-B Out, but requires a WAAS GPS input. Same as FDL-978-XVR but with internal WAAS GPS. Never created a website login before? So I sent the crankcase off to DivCo in Oklahoma City (www.divcoinc.com), the crankshaft to Rick Romans Inc. (Tulsa, Oklahoma), and Im fortunate enough that at my home airport, we have one of the finest engine facilities in the country Zephyr Aircraft Engines (Zephyrhills, Florida, www.zephyrengines.com).. TEXAS SKYWAYS HAS THIS STC. We invite you to look around and come see why we have the best made, lowest priced and best warranty of any modifications available for your Piper. Youll need them for support, including software and hardware upgrades as the systems mature. wheaton] [CP Initially the airplane was equipped with hand brakes, but after 1960 most Comanches were delivered with optional toe brakes. Its worth mentioning Garmins G500/600TXi PFD/MFD, which came out before the G3X Touch was certified. Standalone ADS-B Out and In, wireless Bluetooth connectivity with Flight Stream 110/210. We have 24 PIPER COMANCHE SERIES Aircraft For Sale. Buying (an airplane) is not as hard as dealing with it in the first few years. Its a true traveling airplane and I flight plan for 157 knots when at full throttle. Coming next month: Engine, prop, and motor mount. Dual turbochargers allow operation at altitudes up to 25,000 feet. Of all the avionics upgrades, planning a primary flight display retrofit is perhaps the most difficult. or Write for our Comanche Catalog WE LIKE ALL OF THEM, ENGINE OVERHAUL Our journey has reached the engine of Greg Piehls Comanche. Expect overruns and long downtimes. Have a website login already? Product Brochure - click here to download Note: if you have an O-360 powered PA28-140, or an early model PA28-150, -160, or -180 (1964 or earlier PA28 Theres good reason to consider going vac-less. In 1961, the gross weight of the 250 was boosted by 100 pounds. 24DF, Vortex Generator Kit, Piper PA-24 Models, Challenger Air Filter, High Performance (CP-3110). Click here. The 250 can haul 750 pounds with full standard fuel, while the 260s and 400 can lift up to 1000 pounds. There were eight LOC events in IMC or dark night conditions. All rights reserved. Its also intended as an easy replacement for the S-TEC 55-series autopilot with minimal rewiring. We dont sell anything unless it is GUARANTEED to give you increased cruise, climb & fuel economy performance. I am the second owner of 20 years. Sun n Fun 2023: Superior Custom Instrument Panels. Like the first two installments of this series, were making this article free to all website visitors. They build and 100% test the harness for installation. Lets equip and move on because the real news in the avionics market is the serious surge in competition, combined with a shift from expensive TSO approvals to STCs. What differentiates the IFD550 from the IFD540 is the IFD550s ARS, or attitude reference system. 24WF, Wing Tips. The result is essentially a Comanche 250 with a low gross weight. This is part four of seven parts. Other than accepting a heading input from Aspens Evolution PFD, in addition to Garmins G500/600 PFD, the Avidyne ARS is self-contained. Its a small panel; its wide but not tall. Pricing on the base GTX345 (without GPS) is $4995. As weve reported, the once-popular Xerion Auracle big-screen monitor has been orphaned. Adding to the competition are newcomers, with New Mexico-based Aerovonics as one example. YOU NEED!!!! I see no one else other than Robin Thomas who makes a promise that if youre not satisfied, no questions asked, you get your money back. The old boys that I learned to fly with would say that if you can shut the door on whatever you got into a Comanche, it would fly away without a problem. 2 U Mods,Weight and Balance, - WHATEVER As for price, realistically youll want to budget $10,000 or more for some installations, which makes integrated systems like Garmins EIS on the G3X Touch and TXi displays worth considering. LYCOMING, BENDIX IGNITION, Its also time for our ADS-B buyers guide, and it follows this article. The engine case is running oil temperature, which is right around 180 degrees. Youve heard it all before but well tell it to you again: If you fly above 18,000 feet, youll need an ADS-B transponder. Kudos to them-we think every retrac pilot should witness a gear swing on the appropriate model. It put the Comanches on the map. Piper Aircraft has always offered some of the best aviation values in the sky. Other than the obvious boost in confidence and reliability, getting rid of all that hardware sheds sizable weight and clutter behind the instrument panel. Garmin G5 Electronic Flight Instrument. var a=new Image(); a.src=img; return a; We like that it keeps grime and dirt away from wheel assembly. The mods that can offer the most speed include relocating the brakes to the inside of the gear forks, gap seals, wheel well slippers and wingroot fairings, both front and rear. This means in those applications there is limited rewiring required. It has a battery backup in case of electrical failure and can be paired with the $2549 G5 heading/electronic HSI instrument for dual ADAHRS redundancy. Partial plug-and-play with KT76A/C, KT78A transponders, requires WAAS GPS input. The basic, bare-bones G3X Touch with a 7-inch screen is $7995. Realistically, youll want to budget $2000 for an easy installation (including the strobe light), paperwork and flight testing, and a bit more if the light doesnt exactly bolt directly in place of the existing lamp assembly. Click here or above for a free download: Cherokee guide OR free digital issue. I used the company Approach Fast Stack to build the wiring harness for the entire panel, he said. I didnt really want to paint the engine all Lycoming gray, Piehl said. The fifth and sixth seats, when available, are suitable only for children or the smallest of adults. They gave me a guy to call at Lycoming, and he said, I cant tell you the color of it, its proprietary. General Tiger with fixed gear goes just as fast and another contemporary retractable, the Mooney M20C or M20E, will outrun the 180. Thats working out to the benefit of avionics buyers, especially ones with lower budgets. function MSFPpreload(img) Upgrade & Refurbish. *$4495 with Flight Stream 210 (built-in AHRS). With a tapered laminar-flow wing, respectable speed (big-engine models make downright impressive numbers), solid handling and lots of available speed mods, the right Comanche could be one of the most desirable vintage piston singles. So that was #1 on my list: The avionics I chose had to communicate with the other avionics., His next requirement was the ability to self-install the instruments, with the help of his A&P. 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. Diversity and the version made for helicopters. (Parts Department). And you should. When deciding on either system, ask your shop what makes the most sense from a compatibility standpoint. 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. Suite A & B With the plane on jacks, swing the gear and look for loose fits and bushings. Piper PA-46. Cabin and cowling door repairs are often neglected, so be sure to inspect them for shoddy repairs and improper cabin door seals. The airframe is essentially identical to the 250, except the 400 uses the Piper Aztec stabilizer. LJ Warren, owner of Zephyr Aircraft Engines, is a friend of Piehls. Piper Comanche PA-24 Models. Approved Aircraft List Expanded for Autopilots | Garmin Blog Theres also an extensive wireless (Bluetooth and Wi-Fi) interface for connecting the IFD to external devices, including an iPad running Avidynes IFD100 app, in addition to ForeFlight. The Piper PA-24 Comanche is a single-engined, low wing, all-metal light aircraft, with retractable landing gear and either four or six seats. This rebuilding a Piper engine article is from Greg Piehl, who lives in St. by Rocky Landsverk | Sep 9, 2022 | Avionics, Comanche Restoration Series, Upgrade & Refurbish | 0, by Rocky Landsverk | Sep 9, 2022 | Comanche Restoration Series, Upgrade & Refurbish | 0. That's why some 2,155 Twin Comanches were sold during the airplane's 10-year (1963 to 1972) production run. 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 AD list is pretty long, but most of the items are one-time fixes, followed by future inspection. In other words, our equipment had to talk with anything else installed in theairframe. 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 plane is owned by Greg Piehl and his wife Deb. In this installment, from the May 2022 issue, we move to the panel, and again we see how Comanche plane owner Greg Piehl utilized his skills and his professional workshop to upgrade his plane in a way that teaches us how ingenuity can play a role and allow you to do some of this work yourself. 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. Also, the inspector must have experience using this equipment.. contact us for horns, installation kits, horn installations in your Comanche, or ADS-B is old news. He headed back to home plate and ran the airplane dry on downwind. (parseInt(navigator.appVersion) >= 3 )) || Garmin GI 106B Course Deviation Indicator. There are so many mods available for the Comanche line that probably no two aircraft are alike today. The Piper Owner Society would like to thank the following contributors: A sampling of quotes from this first webinar. Cowlings are also offered by Aviation Performance. Theres also the $289 Hubba Hubba wheel cap, with an access door for the tires air valve. The Piper Comanche: The First Modern Piper - Disciples of Flight LoPresti did create some interesting and worthwhile aerodynamic mods for the airplane, however. The performance change has been incredibleI cant begin to explain how different the plane feels. Models: 310P, 350P. The 180, which obviously came second to its bigger brother in load carrying and was not selling as well as the 250, was dropped altogether while the 250 was upgraded to the 260. The Rajay system essentially had a second throttle wastegate control the pilot used to manually set boost at altitude. Installing a 180hp in a warrior? | Pilots of America 24WS, Arapaho Dorsal Fin. 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. If you find the right person and keep them happy, youll be happy. contact us for horns, installation kits, horn installations in your Comanche, or rebuilds of your existing Piper factory horn/torque tube/balance weight tube assembly. First, weve worked on enough Comanches to say that the airplane is perhaps one of the best built all-metal singles of its time. Well start by saying that primary monitors (ones that are approved to replace all of the OEM gauges-including fuel quantity) require a sizable installation. Its available with and without WAAS GPS and has built-in Bluetooth for sending flight data, ADS-B traffic and weather data to a tablet or smartphone running the Garmin Pilot or ForeFlight tablet apps. The ICS is extremely resourceful, with a list of qualified instructors and shops familiar with the airplane. I believe it indicated fuel injection or electric ignition. Works with a Wi-Fi module for display on tablet computers and select panel displays. 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. These days, major avionics upgrades include sourcing a new instrument panel to accommodate large flight displays. Also, as with the fuel injection system, earlier airplanes can have a turbo added. 1963 PIPER COMANCHE 250 . What kind of paint do you use to repaint a Piper engine? Piper didnt distinguish between the 180 and 250 in its serial number records, but total production for 1958 was 336, comparing favorably to the 396 J35 Bonanzas Beech cranked out that same year. The landing gear on the Comanche gets our attention. A major problem with older aircraft is the condition of the interior plastic trim. The TXi is also available with Garmins EIS engine indication system and is available in multiple screen configurations. The installation was straight-forward with no surprises. For training info, try www.comanchetraining.com. The cabin itself is roomy and comfortable with good width, if a bit drafty and noisy, say some owners. and they ran well doing the pull to rough, push to smooth method. Tony_Scarpelli, Oct 6, 2013 #7. . I've checked that leaning method with a lot of carbureted engines with full engine analyzers, and you end up right around peak, with one or two LOP and one or two ROP. In 1958, Piper introduced a 250 hp (190 kW) version using a Lycoming O-540 engine, giving the PA-24-250 Comanche a top cruise speed of 160 kn (180 mph; 300 km/h). If your instincts are telling you that formal training is in your future, limit your flying to decent weather. Speaking of logs, before buying, examine the logbooks for entries that indicate the airframe has a history of good landing gear system maintenance and repair. 2-blade. Models: 210G, 210H, 210J, T210G, T210H, T210J. Rebuilding a Piper Engine | Piper Owner Society Arch-Warrior, Inc. offers an STC to covert a Warrior to 180 HP. Turboplus was granted multiple Supplemental Type Certificates to upgrade many Continental TSIO-360 and LTSIO-360 engines to the 220HP operating limits of the Continental TSIO-360KB engine. Ya need to explore the "experimental" side of aviation Greetings fellow fliers and the A&P's that keep us flying. CHOOSE YOUR FREE DOWNLOAD: CHEROKEE GUIDE OR DIGITAL ISSUE, How to Disassemble and Transport a Legacy Piper, How and Why to Strip Your Plane Yourself Before it Gets Repainted, Restoring the Interior of a Legacy Piper: How You Can Save Money, Comanche Engine and Mounts: What Happens During an Upgrade, Comanche Reassembly: What a Legacy Piper Looks Like When Its Taken Apart. The modification was said to yield a little extra HP, and about a 1-2gph drop in cruise. Requires WAAS GPS input, tablet interface requires Flight Stream wireless Bluetooth module, Garmin Pilot or ForeFlight app. 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. Call has WAAS GPS, touchscreen, displays traffic and weather on some aspen, avidyne and garmin displays. I've yet to see one do that "happily." The navigator also sends GPS nav and course data into the displays over an ARINC 429 data stream. These mods are available for all Comanches except the 400. The 100-pound rise in gross gave the airplane a hefty 1427-pound useful load. Call or Write for our Comanche Catalog 180-250-260-400- TWIN COMANCHES WE LIKE ALL OF THEM COMPLETE AIRCRAFT SERVICE FACILITIES Pending TSO certification. Range remains one of the Comanches strong points and many have been fitted with even more fuel capacity in tip tanks and fuselage tanks to give it impressive endurance. assembly. Tail mount version. Ive seen some IAs do the six-cylinder engine conversion and sign it off with a logbook entry. By the time these models were introduced, the Comanches production run was about to end without warning, so this variant is comparatively rare. 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. We kept that in mind as we reviewed the 100 most recent Comanche accidents. I would always recommend getting a pre-purchase inspection. Finally, we felt the pain of the pilot who flew to a neighboring airport for fuel, only to find the tanks locked. What makes this system our top pick for a high-end EFIS is the number of display options and the 500-plus approved model STC. Subscribe today to read the entire series, which chronicles: What you will learn in this installment, upgrading a Piper panel. aircraft sales] [engines] To hold more fuel needed to feed it, there were optional 130-gallon tanks. AXP322 is remote version. Photos of this 1959 Piper PA-24 Comanche Review by Jack Fleetwood ( www.JackFleetwood.com ). Some years ago, there was some thought given to resurrecting the design at the hands of the legendary and brilliant Roy LoPresti, but like the Swift Fury, it came to nothing. [parts], [*parts Your Garmin dealers most likely top recommendation for a lower-end EFIS upgrade might be Garmins $2249 G5 display, of which there are two. But unless you buy one thats been particularly well-restored and cared for, getting an old Comanche up to snuff can be a pricey proposition. Piper Comanche PA-24 Models. All were zinc-chromated during assembly, for corrosion protection. The familiar Wholey Cowl (which is no longer available for Comanche singles) eliminates the Slipper mod and boosts the top speed by a whopping 15 MPH. Partial plug-and-play with some existing BendixKing transponders. The Comanche hit the market running in 1958 and in its first production year, Piper offered the 180-HP PA-24-180 (Lycoming O-360) and the 250-HP PA-24-250 (Lycoming O-540). There could be major panel work involved, and it might not work fully with your autopilot. 4 Great and Affordable Cockpit Upgrades - FLYING Magazine Its a worthy suggestion, in our view. He had just flown non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean from Casablanca on a record-setting 6,966-nm flight. rebuilds of your existing Piper factory. Cessna's owners manual has for decades had pilots run lop. There was a little bit more than that (headset jacks/wiring/soldering), but their work is of the highest quality., One other thing that Piehl stressed about this part of the project you need to coordinate the field approval before you start this process. When I purchased the new cylinders, Zephyr Aircraft Engine said, Do not install cylinders and pistons right from the factory, you want to have them blueprinted.. How can you improve the oil-change interval from 25 hours to 50 hours on a legacy Piper. Just mows through turbulence, unlike my t-wagging Bonanza. Piper Comanche. PROPELLER and TEXTRON LYCOMING. horn/torque tube/balance weight tube Accept that youll be a test pilot for a few hours. If you pull carb heat and lean the mixture from that condition, you have less power and go slower. We pride ourselves that we can make your Comanche go Faster, Power Flow Systems offers its exhaust mod for the Aviat Husky, Cessna 170, 172, 175, 177 and 177RG, Diamond Star, Beech 19 and 23 series, Grumman Americans and four-cylinder Maules, among others. The airframe dimensions are identical, but the internal fuselage structure was changed to accommodate the additional window. Any thoughts or ideas? The 180 and 250 Comanche airframes are the same and theres an STC to upgrade the 180 to the larger engine-although the 250 boasted a significantly higher gross weight: 2800 pounds versus 2550 pounds for the 180. The Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche was designed as a twin-engined variant of the Piper PA-24 Comanche. We think at least two of those pilots did change to a tank with fuel, but didnt wait long enough for it to fill the empty fuel lines between the selector and the engine before concluding that the new tank was dry as well and switching into another empty tank (or the original tank). Its a generous interface. Speed Mods: Bucks for Knots - Aviation Consumer It doesn't take much carb heat to even out distribution. Connecting the G5 directional instrument to third-party autopilots and earlier GPS navigators requires the $699 GAD29B nav interface module. I seem to remember reading something about carb heat being dangerous at cold temperatures, because it can warm intake air enough to get it into the icing temperature range. On takeoff there might be a tendency for the Comanche to wheelbarrow in crosswinds when holding the nose down to prevent the airplane from coming off the ground. It went up in January when the panel upgrade was completed. The engines are identical, but with a different propeller redline. FAA approved by STC and for all PA28-140 aircraft with Lycoming O-320 engines. Check a copy of the Comanche Flyer magazine or the ICS website www.comancheflyers.com for examples. Same as the FDL-978-RX, but with a built-in GPS. Most of us have heard horror stories about the person who built a dock or deck next to the lake without calling the Department of Natural Resources. Piper Comanche PA-24 Models. Wingtip mount with WAAS GPS, LED nav light, LED strobe light. 24RS $399.40 Add to Cart sku: 24WR Wing Root Fairing Kit. 795 Fentress Blvd For instance, its possible to retrofit (via STC) the Lycoming O-540 engine into a Comanche 180 of 1960 or later vintage; theres at least one published report of this being done on an FAA Form 337, although we dont know of any shops offering the mod without doing the full-up STC. 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. Once the dust settles, typical dual-screen G5 installations generally run around $7000. A side benefit of the standard turbo installation is that its quieter than the normally aspirated Comanche C. The -N1A5 engine, beefed up to handle the boost pressure and higher temperatures at altitude, is just as robust as the normally aspirated engine; both have a 2000-hour TBO. New aircraft models approved for the GFC 600 autopilot include: Cessna 421. Piper Comanche. Before even asking a shop for a price quote, bring them the aircraft. The trick-as it is with any older aircraft-is finding a shop or technician experienced in the type. I gave them the info on the avionics I chose, and the layout of them in the panel. List of STCs - RAJAY Turbo Products FEATURING QUALITY, RELIABILITY, and PERFORMANCE. Better yet, the Max gives existing Aspen owners an upgrade path, plus it runs upgrade promotions (currently $4995) and can upgrade your existing display or send your shop an exchange. That extra payload has to go for fuel to feed the IO-720, meaning that for flights of more than 300 miles, the 400 actually has less payload available than the 260.
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piper comanche engine upgrade