The Piper PA-24 Comanche is an American single-engine, low-wing, all-metal monoplane of semimonocoque construction with tricycle retractable landing gear and four or six seats. The Comanche was designed and built by Piper Aircraft and first flew on May 24, 1956. Together with the PA-30 and PA-39 Twin Comanches, it made up the core of Piper's lineup until 1972, when the production lines for both aircraft were destroyed in the 1972 Lock Haven flood.
Design and development
thumb|right|A 1959 model PA-24
Two prototypes were built in 1956, with the first being completed by June 20, 1956.
In 1964, the PA-24-400 was introduced.
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 PA-28R-200 Arrow and the twin-engined PA-34 Seneca.
Variants
Comanche 180
thumb|1959 Piper PA-24 180
The original version of the Comanche was the PA-24-180, which featured a carbureted Lycoming O-360-A1A engine, swept tail, laminar flow airfoil, and all-flying stabilator.
The standard fuel capacity of the PA-24-180 was . The flaps were manually actuated, controlled by the same Johnson bar actuator as the Piper Cherokee. The aircraft specifications were for cruise speeds of and fuel burns between at 55 and 75% power settings, respectively. Full-fuel payload with standard fuel was , with a gross weight of and range with 45-minute reserve of .
When new, standard, typically equipped Comanche 180s sold between $17,850 (1958) and $21,580 (1964). A total of 1,143 were built.
Comanche 250
In 1958, Piper introduced a version using a Lycoming O-540 engine, giving the PA-24-250 Comanche a top cruise speed of . Most 250s had carbureted Lycoming O-540-AIA5 engines, but a small number were fitted out with fuel-injected versions of the same engine. Early Comanche 250s had manually operated flaps and carried of fuel. Auxiliary fuel tanks ( total) became available in 1961. Electrically actuated flaps were made standard with the 1962 model year.
The PA-24-250 was the most numerous of the single Comanches; 2,537 were built.
Comanche 260
thumb|right|PA-24-260 with [[Roy LoPresti|LoPresti cowling on landing]]
thumb|right|PA-24-260B with custom paint
Four 260-horsepower (194 kW) versions of the Comanche were introduced beginning in 1965. They were:
- PA-24-260 (1965)
- PA-24-260B (1966 to 1968)
- PA-24-260C (1969 to 1972)
- PA-24-260TC (Turbocharged 260C) (1970 to 1972)
A total of 1,029 airplanes were sold from the Comanche 260 line, including the 260TC.
The 260 had an empty weight around and a maximum gross weight of . It had four seats, and a -capacity auxiliary fuel system was available as an option. Cruise speed was advertised as with fuel burn of .
The 260B had an overall length more than the previous models due to a longer propeller spinner, not a longer fuselage. The 260B had a third side window and a provision for six seats. The fifth and sixth seats take up the entire baggage area and seat smaller adults, placarded to a total weight of . Typical empty weight was and gross weight was . Fuel burn was and advertised speed was .
The 260C introduced a new "Tiger Shark" cowling, maximum gross weight of , cowl flaps, and an aileron-rudder interconnect. Cruise speed was advertised as with fuel flow of . To prevent possible aft center-of-gravity problems due to the increased gross weight and its fifth and sixth seats, the propeller shaft was extended. This moved the center of gravity slightly forward. With a useful load of , it has the largest payload of all of the Comanches except the 400. Often mistaken on the ramp for the 400 model, the slightly longer cowling includes a distinctively longer nose gear door, as compared to the B models and older versions.
Starting in 1970, Piper offered a turbo-normalized variant of the PA-24-260 known as the 260TC with a Lycoming IO-540-R1A5 engine and dual Rajay turbochargers. Twenty-six were produced between 1970 and 1972. Advertised by Piper as a "second throttle", the turbochargers are controlled using a manual wastegate assembly that places an additional handle labeled "boost" next to the throttle handle in the cockpit, effectively creating a secondary throttle. The TC model is certified for flight to , with an advertised turbo critical altitude of , giving a maximum true airspeed of .
PA-24-300
In 1967, one aircraft was modified with a Lycoming engine for trials. It did not enter production.
Comanche 400
The PA-24-400 Comanche 400 was produced from 1964 to 1966. Cooling problems have happened with the rear cylinders.
thumb|right|Comanche 400, MSN 26-52, exhibited at the 1966 [[Hannover Air Show, Germany]]
The Comanche 400 has a three-bladed propeller and carries of fuel, or with optional extended tanks. Fuel burn was advertised as , at 55-75% power. The high fuel burn means that it is expensive to operate. The 400 had a typical empty weight of and a maximum gross weight of .
Book speeds for the PA-24-400 included a cruising speed of and a top speed of .
While identical in planform to other PA-24 models, the 400 is structurally strengthened, primarily in the tail, with an extra nose rib in the stabilator and the vertical fin. The stabilator, vertical fin, and rudder of the 400 share virtually no common parts with the 180, 250, or Comanches.
Twin Comanche
PA-33
thumb|The PA-33 Pressurized Comanche prototype
In 1967, a single Comanche was modified by Swearingen with a pressurized cabin. The prototype, powered by a Lycoming O-540 engine and equipped with Twin Comanche landing gear, was designated the PA-33. First flown on March 11, 1967, the prototype later crashed on takeoff in May 1967 and the project was cancelled. The Comanche 250 Max Conrad flew for this flight is now located in the museum at the Liberal, Kansas, airport.
On November 24–26, 1959, Conrad flew a Comanche 180 on a distance record flight in FAI C1-C Class for aircraft taking off at weights from to less than that still stands: Casablanca to El Paso, Texas, nonstop, a distance of , in 56 hours 26 minutes. He set a closed-circuit distance record in the same aircraft on July 4–6 November 1960, flying .
Toku-Hana
right|thumb|Toku-Hana PA-24-250
In July 1964, Henry Ohye, flying a 1961 PA-24-250, made the first successful trans-Pacific flight from the United States to Japan in a single-engined aircraft. He flew from Los Angeles to Tokyo with stops in Honolulu, Midway, Wake, Guam, and Okinawa.
Myth Too
A 1966 Comanche 260B, named Myth Too and registered as G-ATOY, was owned by English aviator Sheila Scott. The aircraft, flown by Scott, holds 90 world-class light aviation records. It is on public display at the National Museum of Flight, Scotland.
Oldest circumnavigator
The circumnavigation by the oldest pilot on record in 1994 was made by Fred Lasby at age 82 in a Comanche 260B.
Accidents
- The 1963 Camden PA-24 crash – On March 5, 1963, country music singers Patsy Cline, Lloyd "Cowboy" Copas, and Hawkshaw Hawkins were on board a Comanche owned and piloted by Cline's manager, Randy Hughes, when it crashed in deteriorating weather near Camden, Tennessee, killing all on board.
- October 12, 2000 – Taking off from a grass strip at a lodge in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, a Piper PA-24 Comanche piloted by Colorado State Representative Gary McPherson is unable to gain altitude and crashes into trees, killing McPherson and two of the other three people on board.
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