)The 600A stayed in production the longest, 10 years, but only 206 were built.
), both alternator belts, an alternator idler bearing, nose gear door shear pin (one of the spares you should carry), for a total of 35 separate failures in the last year and a half. Piper continued production of the 600A, 601B and 601P at Ted Smith's Santa Maria plant, and introduced the 602P with low compression TIO-540-AA1A5 engines. One owner reported literally dozens of individual failures in his first 18 months of ownership.Since the type certificate is owned by a solvent business, owners do have a place to go for support. The first off the line was the Model 600 in 1968, with normally aspirated Lycoming IO-540 engines and a max takeoff weight of 5500 pounds. Aircraft painted in beautiful and original liveries Also, the airplane has a relatively narrow CG range, and its quite easy to bust the limits. / and used with permission. The passengers sit just ahead of the spar, and with the high wing loading the ride is very smooth.On the maintenance side, it has a lot of hydraulics and electrical systems and everything is packed very tightly, so there is a lot to keep track of and it is expensive to maintain. PA-60-700P - Two 260kW (350hp) turbocharged and counter rotating TIO-540-U2As.600A - Max speed 418km/h (226kt), long range cruising speed 357km/h (193kt). / Real-world useful loads vary from a meager 1,600 pounds for a lavishly equipped Aerostar to a marginal 1,800 pounds with average equipment. though both of these problems should be no surprise in a 20-year-old aircraft, the nature and extent of the problems was more extensive than I anticipated.As to the leaking rivets in the wet wing, when I had the aircraft painted numerous rivets were simply removed and replaced. However, once the aircraft has been brought up to squawk-free status, I believe it cannot be beat. 1.1K However, I did not find it any more expensive than my Seneca for comparable hull values. The two most nagging problems in this regard are rivet leaks in the wet wings and pressurization problems. As noted above, a prospective purchaser of an Aerostar must accept the possibility of an extensive amount of unscheduled maintenance during the first year of operation. In theory, the engines draw fuel from the two 62-gallon wing tanks and from the 41.5-gallon fuselage tank at the same time and at a rate that leaves 12 gallons in the fuselage tank when the wings have been emptied. The reason is simple: The new pipes cost $5000, and thats a lot of inspections. All rights reserved. The Aerostar - which in its higher powered forms can lay claim to being the fastest piston twin GA aircraft built - was designed by Ted Smith, who was also responsible for the Aero Commander twins. These aerial hot rods are not for the faint of heart or light of pocketbook. 772 However the Aerostar appeared in piston twin form only.
600A - Two 215kW (290hp) Lycoming IO-540-K1J5 fuel injected flat six piston engines driving three blade constant speed Hartzell propellers. As one owner put it, An Aerostar is not a conveyance for anyone with tight financial constraints.
Range at max cruising speed 1250km (675nm), at economical cruising speed with max fuel 2150km (1160nm).600A - Empty 1695kg (3757lb), max takeoff 2495kg (5500lb). Parts and labor for the job were almost $4000.Regarding the pressurization system, there were a number of problems. I have overhauled the props and eliminated the need for a 50-hour inspection by installing the hub modification. The long, thin wing tanks easily become unbalanced (only two degrees of wing dihedral, remember) and crossfeed must be used to bring them back in synch.
MSN: Though its certainly not cheap, I dont find it unreasonable in light of the fact that my prior airplane, a Seminole, cost $3000 a year with half the hull value and $3 million liability. However, you get where youre going much faster, so the actual fuel use is not all that much higher. / The consensus among Aerostar pilots is that, indeed, its necessary to stay well ahead of the airplane, and that proper training is the answer.The airplanes are not inherently dangerous. Both Piper and Machen have modifications to improve the Aerostars stall behavior at aft CG and alleviate the restrictions imposed by AD 83-14-7. It acquired Aerostar and Mooney and moved both projects to Kerrville, Texas. At economy cruise (55%), the fuel burn in 32 GPH, and claimed speed in 225 knots. The alert noted that installation of the strut may have involved cutting away part of the upper door gusset. The combination of replacing any rivet that even looked like it might leak and the vent system has eliminated, at least for now, the leak problem. However, I have not purchased the Machen tail pipe system to eliminate the repetitive inspection on the pipes. The tenth 601P rolled out of Ted Smiths shop with a longer wing (stretched from 34.2 to 36.7 feet) and higher max takeoff weight, 6000 pounds. Then the new owner got into a nasty squabble with the old, claiming it was sold a defective product.