COMMON
PA24
Piper PA-24 Comanche
The Comanche
“Piper's sleek one — gone too soon.”
Piper · private
NO PHOTO
Length
25 ft 0 in
Wingspan
36 ft 0 in
Max speed
160 kts
Range
780 nmi
Ceiling
20,000 ft
Engines
1x Lycoming O-540 (250 hp)
Crew
1
Max passengers
3
Typical config
1 pilot + 3 passengers
Built
4,800+
The Comanche was Piper's leap into serious speed: a clean laminar-flow wing, retractable gear, and cross-country legs that embarrassed newer designs for decades. Owners are devoted to them, and a well-kept Comanche still turns heads on any ramp.
Fun fact
Production ended in 1972 when Hurricane Agnes flooded Piper's Lock Haven factory — the tooling was destroyed and the line never restarted.
How to spot one
Low wing, retractable gear, and a long, slightly squared fuselage with a swept fin. Sits low and sleek on the ground compared to a Cherokee.
Crews call it
The Comanche
Sounds like
Big six-cylinder Lycoming with a purposeful, throaty cruise note
Related
One might be overhead right now.
Bogey turns the The Comanche from a dot in the sky into a card in your logbook. Coming to iOS and Android.
Get Bogey