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Back to light transports

Piper produced their first low-wing aircraft with the twin engined Piper PA23 Apache, a design they acquired from the Stinson company. It is a four-seater with a range of 1,200 miles and a cruising speed of 190 mph. This made it similar to, but slower than, the directly competing Cessna 310, which flew a year later than the Apache's March 1952. It was made in large numbers.

A very early 1955 Apache is pictured at Stapleford in December 2004.

The Piper PA27 Aztec is often, confusingly, designated PA-23, like the Apache from which it is derived. The Aztec is a six seater, first flown in 1959, designed to extend the functionality of the Apache by becoming an excellent load-carrier: its maximum payload is 2,270 lb. It became the standard six-seater air taxi aircraft through the 1960s and 1970s until replaced by the Seneca (see below). The US Army operated several under the designation U-11.

This Aztec was pictured on a superb day visiting Top Farm in September 2005.

The Piper PA30 Twin Comanche was first flown in November 1962. It is literally a twin engined version of the PA-24 Comanche. It is essentially the replacement for the Apache but optimised for speed & range. It normally seats six people. An unusual version, designated PA-39, has the propellers rotating in opposite directions to reduce torque.

This standard PA30 visited Newcastle in April 1976.

The Piper PA31 Navajo is the largest aircraft in the Piper range. Seating up to 8, with a top speed of 260mph and range of 1,500 miles, it is a very practical executive or light commuter aircraft competing with the Beech Duke and the larger Cessna twins.

The top picture is a PA31P (illustrated, at Toussus in June 1979) is a pressurised version which can cruise at up to 24,000 feet. It is normally distinguished by having fewer windows than its unpressurised counterpart.

The lower picture is a Navajo Chieftain, seen at Le Touquet in September 2005.

The Piper PA34 Seneca first flew in 1971. It is basically a PA32 Cherokee Six with two engines on the wing replacing the PA32's single engine. It  has acceptable performance in all three main areas (payload, range, speed) without being stellar at any of them. But it has one overwhelming advantage: it doesn't cost much. That made it instantly popular and, despite its lower payload, it soon became the de facto replacement for the Aztec.

This one visited Sunderland while acting as the photo aircraft for the De Havilland Moth Club rally in 1979.

The Piper PA44 Seminole is probably the most successful of the set of light four seat twins developed in the 1970s. It first flew in May 1976, the intention being to replace the Twin Comanche. It was based on the fuselage of the PA28R Cherokee Arrow, including the T tail layout of the Arrow IV. Its two 180hp Lycoming O-360 engines give it a cruising speed of 175mph and range of 1,000 miles. It is 27 feet 7 inches long, with a wing span of 38 feet 8 inches and gross weight of 3,800lb. About 672 have been built - it is still in low rate production in early 2006.

This one was at White Waltham, July 2005

The Aero Design Company was formed after the war to make a series of stylish twin engined executive transports. Cruising at 220mph, with a range of 1,200 miles, seating for up to nine people plus a crew of two, it competes with the Piper Navajo and the bigger Cessna twins. It is quite expensive, despite which several hundred were made in several versions. The company was taken over by Rockwell in the 1970s. Some were operated by the USAF with the designations U-4 and U-9.

This Rockwell Commander 500 was seen at Newcastle in the mid 1970s.

The Rockwell Commander 700 was an odd design for the Rockwell corporation, being a low-wing rather than a high-wing twin. It was luxuriously appointed as a high specification executive aircraft, intended for people who would like a Beech Kingair but couldn't quite afford one. Despite being a very good aircraft, it entered a crowded market just at the point where the world economy tipped into recession in the early 1980s, and as a result very few were sold.

This one (the 17th built) was at Paris - Le Bourget in 1983.

The Rockwell Commander 840 was a turboprop version of the successful Commander series (see above). Having turbine engines and pressurisation gave it a speed of 285mph at 15,000 feet, but the higher fuel burn restricted the range to 1,000 miles. Nevertheless it was a practical competitor to the Beech Kingair in the corporate transport market.

This Commander 840 was at Los Banos in California in September 1981.

The Swearingen Merlin was originally intended to be a major update of the Beech Queenair, but designer Ed Swearingen quickly evolved it into an entirely separate aircraft. It seats ten people plus two crew, and is powered by two Garrett TPE331 turboprop engines. With a range of 2,300 miles it is a highly capable executive aircraft.

It has been operated by many air forces but, oddly, not the USAF. Illustrated is a Merlin III of the Belgian air force, seen at Greenham Common in June 1979.

The Swearingen Metro was a very stretched modification of the Metro, intended as a commuter airliner for up to 20 passengers plus two crew. It is widely used, especially in the USA, to ferry people from small regional airports into larger airports as part of a `hub and spoke' network feeding longer-haul carriers: hence the term `feederliner' which was coined to describe the type. The USAF has operated some under the designation C-26. The design was taken over by Fairchild in the 1980s.

This rather poor picture of a Metro was taken at San Diego in 1988.

The Ted Smith Aerostar is one of the most extraordinary of the light twins. Ted Smith was the chief designer of Aero Commander, and was responsible for their range of high-wing twins. He set up his own company to produce this six seat design. In its final form, it achieved a crunchy 280mph cruising speed with piston engines. This was at the expense of range; to achieve the maximum range of 1,350 miles meant reducing the speed to 220mph. 1,000 were built, half of them by Piper, before production ceased in 1985.

This Aerostar was seen at the Flying W ranch airport in April 1988.