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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 1745.PDF
COMANCHE FLIGHT, 29 November 1957 835 Piper's Latest High-performance Four-seater Part - cutaway view of the Comanche, which incorporates all-metal construction, laminar- flow wings and all-fly- ing tail or "stabilator." Radio equipment is located on racks aft of baggage compartment. INCLUDED in the 1958 line of aircraft recently "unveiled" bythe Piper Aircraft Corporation, of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania,is the brand-new Comanche, designed as a modern, low-wing, high-performance four-seat business aircraft in the medium-priceclass. According to Piper, it is indeed the first such aircraft to be designed and produced by a major business-aircraft manufacturerin over ten years. In performance and price (standard model costs $14,500, or about £5,200), the Comanche fits in between the high-wing Tri-Pacer and the twin-engined Apache. The PA-24 Comanche, of all-metal construction, is powered bya Lycoming O-360-A1A • engine of 180 h.p. driving a constant- speed, controllable propeller. The cabin accommodates four peopleand there is a separate baggage compartment. Cruising speed at 75 per cent power at 8,000ft is 160 m.p.h., and the machine has amaximum-economy cruising range of 1,100 miles or 1\ hours' endurance. Among the Comanche's design features are a number of aero-dynamic innovations which contribute to the high performance which the aircraft achieves on relatively low horsepower. The mostimportant of these are the laminar-flow wing and the "stabilator" or flying tail. The latter comprises a one-piece horizontal surface,hinged at approximately 30 per cent mean chord and fitted with a self-compensating anti-servo tab which is adjustable in flight. Thistype of tailplane, which reduces the size of the horizontal control surfaces, is claimed to provide better controllability in all speedranges and especially at low speeds. At full load the Comanche will take off in 750ft, and it has asea-level rate of climb of just under l,000ft/min. Commenting on the machine's flight characteristics, the company state: "In flightthe Comanche is extremely stable with exceptional longitudinal, lateral and directional stability, especially in rough air. This featureresults in minimum control effort on long cross-country flights. Sfcor* undercarriage legs and vide track are evi- <"*" in this head-on 9mnd view of the new p'Per four-seater, which '* powered by a Lycom- ln9 angine of 180 h.p. Adjustable rudder trim contributes much to this desirable feature.In stalls the airplane is extremely docile with pronounced pre- stall warning and there is excellent aileron control down throughthe stall itself, which occurs at 58 m.p.h. with gear and flaps down. Landing roll is 600ft." Airframe construction of the Comanche is of sheet aluminiumthroughout. The wings incorporate a deep main spar supple- mented by a rear and front spar, the main spars joined by high-strength butt fittings to constitute in effect one continuous main spar. This spar, located at the 40-per-cent-chord position ofmaximum thickness, passes through the cabin underneath the rear seat. The airframe structure is built to withstand a load factorof 7.5. The O-360-A1A engine is the latest in the Lycoming company'sfour-cylinder line. It has a compression ratio of 8.5 : 1 and uses 91-octane fuel. It is equipped with a Piper-developed cress-overexhaust system (which provides effective scavenging of exhaust gases and ensures maximum power on take-off) and a stainless-steelexhaust muffler. Fuel is carried in two 30-gallon rubber fuel cells, one in eachwing. The standard fuel capacity for four-seat operation is 50 gal- lons (giving five hours' endurance or 800 miles' range at maximumcruise); extra endurance can be obtained by using the full capacity of the tanks (six hours or 960 miles) or, in addition, flying ateconomical cruise of 147 m.p.h. to give 1\ hours or 1,100 miles. An auxiliary electric fuel pump is provided. The tricycle landing gear, of 9ft 3in track, retracts electricallyin seven seconds. It is actuated by a wheel-shaped lever on the instrument panel, and there is an emergency manual lever in caseof electric failure. A warning horn sounds and a red light flashes if the pilot throttles back with the undercarriage retracted, and aswitch in the left main landing-gear prevents the inadvertent retraction of the wheels while the aircraft is on the ground. Whenextended, the nosewheel engages with the rudder-pedal system and is steerable through a 50-degrees arc by means of the pedals.Both main and nose wheels are fitted with the same size of tyre, 600 x 6, and single disc hydraulic brakes are employed. Mainair-oil landing-gear struts are interchangeable. Dual controls are standard equipment on the Comanche, andare equipped with ball-bearings throughout. In addition to the horizontal trim-tab, a rudder trimmer is also provided. The flapsare manually operated by a lever between the two front seats, and have three positions—nine, 18 and 27 degrees. Full flap is recom-mended for landing, and the partial-flap position for take-off.
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