Guest Posted February 2, 2015 Report Posted February 2, 2015 The Commanche 400 is a 200knot airplane at 8000 ft so I read. Quite impressive beast with that 400hp 8 cylinder IO720 on the nose. Erik, My 400 will do 195KTAS at 8500 feet and carry 1500 lbs, off grass if needed. 200 KTAS is the goal I have for mine. Several other 400 owner claim better than 200, but do it while exceeding normal cruise limits. I recently took mine out for a quick run at max power, 2600 WOT and 35 GPH and saw 240 MPH indicated at 2500 feet. Quite impressive for a few minutes. Clarence Quote
DaV8or Posted February 2, 2015 Report Posted February 2, 2015 If I knew then, what I know now, mainly that my wife isn't going to go flying with me much at all and the back seat is mostly a storage area, I would buy an experimental most likely. That may be where I'm headed in the future as well, we'll see... But the question is more like what would I have bought back then and back then it was, no two seaters (wife requirement), no experimentals (wife requirement) and no big bore engines (my requirement). Initially my top three contenders were the Mooney, Piper Arrow and Grumman Tiger. I really wanted a retractable gear plane the others with small engines and folding gear where chopped from the list due to performance issues. Commanche 180, Beech Sierra, Commander 112, all are supposed to have poor performance. The Cessnas, the Cutlass and the Cardinal were out just because they were high wing, but in hindsight, I might have added the Cardinal and when I'm old and creaky and can't bend too much anymore, this the exact plane I will get. It's tough to say what I would have done. I was really comfortable in the Arrow and had loads of time in them, so there would be no transition, but I really liked my Grumman time in the Traveler, so the Tiger was a strong contender. If they ever built a retractable Tiger, I seriously never would have bought the Mooney!! Gut says I would have ended up Tiger, but it would be a toss up. Thankfully Al did build the M20 and it was a no brainer! Quote
jkhirsch Posted February 2, 2015 Report Posted February 2, 2015 It'd be a close race between a Comanche 260C and a Debonair. It would likely come down to what was available at what price. Quote
mooniac15u Posted February 2, 2015 Report Posted February 2, 2015 Agreed that the Comanche would be a good alternative. It needs a new cowling, for asthetics if nothing else, though. The late model Twinkies are quite beautiful, in my opinion. Jim You mean something like a LoPresti cowl? http://www.loprestiaviation.com/#!wholey-cowl-/c1gg8 1 Quote
aviatoreb Posted February 2, 2015 Report Posted February 2, 2015 You mean something like a LoPresti cowl? http://www.loprestiaviation.com/#!wholey-cowl-/c1gg8 That's quite a dramatic speed increase claim. 25mph! Quote
aviatoreb Posted February 2, 2015 Report Posted February 2, 2015 Erik, My 400 will do 195KTAS at 8500 feet and carry 1500 lbs, off grass if needed. 200 KTAS is the goal I have for mine. Several other 400 owner claim better than 200, but do it while exceeding normal cruise limits. I recently took mine out for a quick run at max power, 2600 WOT and 35 GPH and saw 240 MPH indicated at 2500 feet. Quite impressive for a few minutes. Clarence Wow - you have one?! And you are in Kitchner - not toooo far away. Forgive me please if I come by some day and bum a ride in your beast (no kidding!). I have never heard an eight cylinder! I read a post once - which I cannot seem to find now - of some guy who ray jay supercharged his commanche 400 so that now producing full power at high altitude - he could do 260kts TAS at 24,000. I have no idea how he got away with that for certification reasons - but wow that's fast. Quote
mooniac15u Posted February 2, 2015 Report Posted February 2, 2015 You could always go with the Ravin 500. It's a composite experimental based on the Comanche design. http://saravin.com/Specifications.html Quote
John Pleisse Posted February 2, 2015 Report Posted February 2, 2015 We'd have a 4 seat Culver Cadet. Already bought a little honey. 1955 Bo. 2300TT. Those who said Comanche...good call. How is it they fly and handle nicer than an Arrow? Quote
aviatoreb Posted February 2, 2015 Report Posted February 2, 2015 You could always go with the Ravin 500. It's a composite experimental based on the Comanche design. http://saravin.com/Specifications.html Wouldn't it be cool if someone would modernize/expermentalize the M20 in the same way? A smoother all fiber glass experimental M20 in the same exact spirit as that Ravin 500 is the experimentalized commanche. Wow would it be fast. 1 Quote
Guest Posted February 2, 2015 Report Posted February 2, 2015 Wow - you have one?! And you are in Kitchner - not toooo far away. Forgive me please if I come by some day and bum a ride in your beast (no kidding!). I have never heard an eight cylinder! I read a post once - which I cannot seem to find now - of some guy who ray jay supercharged his commanche 400 so that now producing full power at high altitude - he could do 260kts TAS at 24,000. I have no idea how he got away with that for certification reasons - but wow that's fast. There was a twin turbo 400 for sale in South Dakota recently. The turbo system is installed by a Rajay STC and fully legal. There are a bunch of videos of 400 take offs, engine runs etc. on you tube. Or you can go to www.comanchegear.com for other videos. If you stop by I'd be happy to take you for a ride in it. Clarence Quote
BorealOne Posted February 3, 2015 Report Posted February 3, 2015 The Commanche 400 is a 200knot airplane at 8000 ft so I read. Quite impressive beast with that 400hp 8 cylinder IO720 on the nose. I've flown them as bush planes - nothing like snorting off an unimproved 1500' strip at 6000 DA with 400 horses churning. They have amazing ground clearance and payload--but the fuel burn is something else! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
Guest Posted February 3, 2015 Report Posted February 3, 2015 I've flown them as bush planes - nothing like snorting off an unimproved 1500' strip at 6000 DA with 400 horses churning. They have amazing ground clearance and payload--but the fuel burn is something else! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk The nice thing is that it doesn't burn all the fuel in the same place! Clarence Quote
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