piper comanche engine upgrade

The basic airframe proved successful and wasnt changed much during its production run. After flying the new MAX system in a Cirrus (splashed with bright Florida sun), we think the new display technology is impressive-perhaps one of the most sunlight-readable PFDs on the market. 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. the North American representative In its basic form, a single G5 attitude indicator can be installed as primary. Theres roughly a $6000 greater price delta between the 10-inch G500TXi ($15,995) and the 10-inch G3X Touch. Money back guarantee on all modifications. We have 24 PIPER COMANCHE SERIES Aircraft For Sale. Same as FDL-978-XVR but with internal WAAS GPS. The straight roofline giving theComanche its distinctive crewcut looks also reduces visibility upward, although its not as bad as some airplanes and does provide welcome shade in hot climates. [general aviation] Weve covered this system extensively, and most recently in the May 2019 Aviation Consumer where we installed one in a Piper Cherokee to see if it really was the worlds easiest ADS-B upgrade as the company claims. The International Comanche Society has been an invaluable resource for me. Dont make that mistake with your plane. Piper Comanche - AOPA - Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association It tends to be nose-heavy on landing so I use a lot of nose-up trim for an easier flare. Ive found that many aircraft are compliant. Its also intended as an easy replacement for the S-TEC 55-series autopilot with minimal rewiring. 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. There were a few companies involved in this stage. Fortunately, there are a number of cost effective aerodynamic improvements that we developed that can easily add 3 to up to 15 MPH, while also improving rate of climb, slow speed handling (reduced stall speed, improved aileron control) and save you fuel. As for range, even an old 250 model with 60 gallons of fuel will generally go from Western Massachusetts to North Carolina in 3.5 hours with one hour of fuel remaining. Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche - Wikipedia Its one of our top picks for a retrofit big-screen engine display. Buy 3+ Items & Get 10% Off Your Purchase. It'll start in a couple of blades. How do you test an engine after a rebuild without mounting it back onto the plane? Aside from the engine and prop, it involves the engine mounts, some baffling, controls and the exhaust system. 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. Requires WAAS GPS input, tablet interface requires Flight Stream wireless Bluetooth module, Garmin Pilot or ForeFlight app. Tony_Scarpelli, Oct 6, 2013 #7. . If a stock Twin Comanche catches your eye, then get a . Approved Aircraft List Expanded for Autopilots | Garmin Blog } 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. 795 Fentress Blvd 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. They gave me a guy to call at Lycoming, and he said, I cant tell you the color of it, its proprietary. Remote version of the AXP340. Before even asking a shop for a price quote, bring them the aircraft. The airframe is essentially identical to the 250, except the 400 uses the Piper Aztec stabilizer. We did not find evidence that the Comanche has peculiar landing characteristics-there were only six hard landing events, well below what we would expect for an airplane that is truly difficult to land. With that as mindset, that eliminated some of the equipment on the market. Speed gains are reported to be from 5-10 MPH. 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. If youre in the market for a new autopilot, there have never been so many choices at the $10,000 price point. This is part four of seven parts. Displays TIS-B, FIS-B ATAS (ADS-B Traffic Alerting System), includes Active Traffic (Interrogates Non-ADS-B Aircraft). The 1965 Comanches are transitionairplanes in that they have the earlier fuselage mated to the later 260-HP engine, albeit with a carburetor. Theres good reason to consider going vac-less. The TXi is also available with Garmins EIS engine indication system and is available in multiple screen configurations. It offers a magazine as well as other resources and can be reached at 888-300-0082 or via the website at www.comancheflyers.com. Products from Knots2U andWebco are respected. Engine Upgrades, What is possible | Pilots of America I have over 30 years experience owning, flying, maintaining and modifying aircraft, including Piper Comanches. Engine SMOH: 998. Your Garmin dealers most likely top recommendation for a lower-end EFIS upgrade might be Garmins $2249 G5 display, of which there are two. Piper Comanche PA-24 Models. 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. Beautiful . The Rajay system essentially had a second throttle wastegate control the pilot used to manually set boost at altitude. Piper | Hartzell Propeller Inc. LoPresti did create some interesting and worthwhile aerodynamic mods for the airplane, however. There would have been a happy ending, but he stalled the airplane on short final, over the runway, and stuck a wingtip into the ground. YOU NEED!!!! And you should. 24RS, Wing Root Fairing Kit. SE 57 WE Installation of two Roto-Master Turbochargers P/N 600572-00 on Continental TSIO-520-D engine. The basic, bare-bones G3X Touch with a 7-inch screen is $7995. 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. INC. wants to extend to you an open invitation to stop in at our 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. 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.. 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 paint I use is Imron, with an epoxy primer. Unless otherwise noted, these reviews carry product pricing from the time of the original review. Correct me if I am wrong: Carb icing is less possible with FI and Vapor Lock is more likely with FI so it is a trade off in that department. First, weve worked on enough Comanches to say that the airplane is perhaps one of the best built all-metal singles of its time. And if your existing transponder is an aging non-digital (has a cavity oscillator tube) model, our advice is to ditch it and put in an ADS-B transponder. To ask questions and discuss these tips, visit our forum here. The company also offers a stainless steel dual exhaust system. Garmin G5 Electronic Flight Instrument. if(MSFPhover) { MSFPnav2n=MSFPpreload("_derived/comwingtips.htm_cmp_jas110_hbtn.gif"); MSFPnav2h=MSFPpreload("_derived/comwingtips.htm_cmp_jas110_hbtn_a.gif"); } Internal WAAS $5795, GTX345-R LRU priced the same and works on G1000 NXi, G2000, G3000, G5000. PIPER COMANCHE SERIES For Sale - Used & New 1 - 24 - Trade-A-Plane The Comanche is gentle when it comes to stalls and is stable for flying instruments. Piper Comanche: - Aviation Consumer The 250/260 is the right amount of horses so the airplane does everything well, carry 4 fat guys to Utah, takeoff and land relatively short, roomy and flys nice. Top Efis Upgrades Of all the avionics upgrades, planning a primary flight display retrofit is perhaps the most difficult. 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. Bold Warrior 180-hp Engine STC | Piper Owner Society Piper / Comanche - Barnstormers Upgrading a Comanche Panel (Comanche Restoration Series Part 4) | Piper After watching countless fuel injected flyers grind their starters into dust on the 100 degree tarmac down here in TX, I'm glad I have a carb and the mogas option. 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. Piper's most significant upgrade to the Warrior came in 1977 when a slightly different O-320 engine-the -D3G-was bolted on, offering a . Budget Buy: Comanche 260 - AOPA My performance improvements are way beyond anything I expected. // -->. We are certified to install Continental TSIO-360KB engines in your Seneca II. Most 250s had carbureted Lycoming O-540-AIA5 engines, but a small number were fitted out with fuel-injected versions of the same engine. To many pilots, Piper's Twin Comanche represents an apex of light twin design. Comanche Panel Upgrades; Comanche Engine and Mounts: What Happens During an Upgrade; Comanche Reassembly: What a Legacy Piper Looks Like When It's Taken Apart; 1959 Comanche Fully Restored; . The plane is owned by Greg Piehl and his wife Deb. For sure, the Comanches list of mods, modifiers and parts resources is long and best accessed from involvement with the ICS and its members and publications. This issue (April 2022), the Comanche restoration moves to the interior, where Greg replaced almost everything inside the hull. Expect overruns and long downtimes. Avidyne was the first with a hybrid user interface, which means you use a combination of touch and button presses. With practice and with the gear down, finals for a precision approach can be flown at 130 knots and, with the gear up, even faster. In 1972, there were two single-engine Comanche models still in production-the 260 and turbo 260. In 1966, the Comanche B, with a fuel-injected 260-HP Lycoming IO-540-D4A5, a boosted gross weight (now 3100 pounds) and two more seats, was added to the lineup, starting with serial number 24-4300. The panel is what one would expect from a circa-1960s airplane, with good space for instruments but early, unrestored models will look dated by modern standards. These webinars total hours of advice from the Piper Owner Society Editorial Board, led by Aviation Director Scott Sherer. This time, he had an old Comanche panel to use as a framework for his new panel layout, along with a photo from a magazine ad. Its big on features, small on size and works with the Garmin flight displays. I hold commercial, instrument and multi-engine ratings, have 2300 hours total time with 500-plus hours of complex time, plus Ive logged about 200 hours in my Comanche. Insurance will vary with a pilots experience. Also, the carbureted O-540 found in the Comanche 250 may be upgraded to fuel injection. install a One-Piece Windshield, our High Performance good looking Wingtips, one Piper Aircraft has always offered some of the best aviation values in the sky. The airplane carried 60 gallons, and could be modified to hold 90 gallons. If you have aging fuel senders, expect to either have them overhauled or in many cases replaced with digital senders that may prove far more accurate than older analog senders. If you pull carb heat and lean the mixture from that condition, you have less power and go slower. Click here or above for a free download: Cherokee guide OR free digital issue. The Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche was designed as a twin-engined variant of the Piper PA-24 Comanche. While we were pleased to find that the old wives tales regarding Comanche landings were untrue, we were concerned by the number of landing gear-related incidents. Last edited: Oct 6, 2013. These mods are available for all Comanches except the 400. At this point the ADS-B buy-in decision should be easy. Works with a Wi-Fi module for display on tablet computers and select panel displays. FEATURING QUALITY, RELIABILITY, and PERFORMANCE. *$4495 with Flight Stream 210 (built-in AHRS), version for helicopters. I used the company Approach Fast Stack to build the wiring harness for the entire panel, he said. Piper Warrior - Aviation Consumer 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. That engine has an 1800-hour TBO and the current Aircraft Bluebook says the overhaul is around $65,000. Greg was flying during this flight, with his friend Joe Cumbey co-piloting, and (not seen) dog Beau is piloting from the back seat. Theres also the $289 Hubba Hubba wheel cap, with an access door for the tires air valve. It's a pricey and time-consuming effort that many Belvoir Media Group, LLC. While many Comanches sport three-blade propellers, some could have old clamp-style propellers. 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. AUSTRALIAN HORN COMPRISES, Please I can put 260 hp on a Cherokee Arrow and never fly as fast as a Comanche. 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. The navigator also sends GPS nav and course data into the displays over an ARINC 429 data stream. By then, Piper was already established in Vero Beach, Florida, but neither the single nor the Twin Comanche variants made the transition to Vero. Kudos to them-we think every retrac pilot should witness a gear swing on the appropriate model. The installation was straight-forward with no surprises. In my opinion, there is no reason to own a 180 Comanche unless you are consumed with fuel range and can tolerate the vibration from the engine being so far out from the firewall. Theres also Knots2U (www.knots2u.net, 262-763-5100) that has, in addition to the wing fillet mod, a dorsal fin kit, speedbrakes and a variety of other mods for Comanches. (Set of Two) 2430WT, Gear Lobe Fairing Kit. Tuned through the IFD-series navigators. Thats more than twice the rate we expect to see on retracts-and is cause for concern for a potential buyer. Clockwise from the top: The digital Genesys S-TEC 3100 has a growing STC list and is a good value because it work with existing S-TEC autopilot servos, saving a sizable amount of installation time. The Ultimate Twin Comanche - AOPA Got an existing GTX330 Mode S unit? WE LIKE ALL OF THEM, ENGINE OVERHAUL AVCON Conversions in Udall KS has an STC to upgrade a Cherokee with an O-320 to an O-360 180 HP. This is part five of seven parts. A prop inspection (AD 2005-18-12) is the most oft-complained about, costing nearly $1000 every 500 hours or five years. WORK Laminar Flow Systems, Inc. has been manufacturing and selling these modifications since 1984 and we have thousands of satisfied customers worldwide. The Piper Comanche: The First Modern Piper - Disciples of Flight If the aircraft has traditional round gauges, do you want to get rid of the vacuum system in favor of an all-electric suite? We covered the G3X Touch in a flight trial article in the June 2019 Aviation Consumer so well just recap it here. Suite A & B 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). 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. SAVE Last Update: 04/10/2023 . Garmin GMA 35c Remote-mount Bluetooth Audio Panel. Keep it on the centerline! Depending on the model and mods, it seems like a Comanche can have a never-ending supply of fuel tanks. How to paint interior plastic trim, step by step instructions with photos. In other words, our equipment had to talk with anything else installed in theairframe. 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. Cabin and cowling door repairs are often neglected, so be sure to inspect them for shoddy repairs and improper cabin door seals. contact us for horns, installation kits, horn installations in your Comanche, or Accept that youll be a test pilot for a few hours. In fact, the IFD100 app essentially adds a second IFD550 display/control set on the tablet. One on the landing gear (AD 77-13-21) mandates replacement of landing gear bungees every 500 hours or three years to prevent landing gear collapse after manual extension. Throttle 1/8 mixture where you set for lean taxi, mags hot, hit the starter. 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. Log in and start reading now. You might hear some say the Comanche is tough to land smoothly, and that it floats when in the flare, and then drops on. This is a great airspeed for 160 hp and roughly 10 gph of 100LL. // -->