The moral: Make sure you're at the proper airspeed and attitude the moment you touch down. Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association Find it free on the storeThe 180 came with a carbureted 180-horsepower Lycoming O-360 engine, had a 140-kt cruise speed, and went out the door for $18,000 or so. It offers a magazine as well as other resources and can be reached at 405-491-0321 or via the website at It had been completely updated with fresh paint, leather interior and speed mods. The Comanche has a laminar flow wing with flush rivets that make the airplane really slippery. Max Speed: 161 kts; Normal Cruise: 145 kts; Economy Cruise: 139 kts; Power Plant. Fuel Burn @ 75%: 10.0 GPH. This beast had a normally aspirated, fuel-injected, eight-cylinder Lycoming IO-720-A1A fitted with a three-blade prop. Comanches can be cruel to the sloppyToday most Comanches are well-worn. During normal operation the fuel is drawn to the engine from the cells by a mechanically operated fuel pump located on the engine accessory section. The Lycoming 540 aspirated engine is bullet-proof, according to fellow flyers.Because of its classic vintage, the Comanche is easy to understand mechanically. The Piper PA-24-series Comanche still earns high marks for speed, efficiency and aftermarket support.Mods, Clubs, Owner FeedbackFirst hitting the market in 1958, the Piper PA-24 Comanche was a radical departure for Piper. Disclaimer: Information on this site may not be accurate or current and is not valid for flight planning or any other aircraft operations. The Comanche line debuted in 1958, with the Comanche 180 and 250 models. There’s also an AD on the vertical fin attachment (AD 75-12-06). The Comanche 260 is fun to fly, fast, responsive and stable for IFR. Electric flaps replaced the manual ones in 1962 models.Production of both the 180 and 250 ended after the 1964 model year. Products from Knots2U and Webco are respected.The mods that can offer the most speed include relocating the brakes to the inside of the gear forks, gap seals, wheel well slippers and wingroot fairings, both front and rear. Advertisement 1964 Piper Comanche 400 New price (1964): $36,890 Used price: $128,000 Engine make/model: Lycoming IO-720 A1A TBO (hrs. Burning 8 to 10 GPH, it will cruise at about 140 knots. The interior trim, instrument panel, seats and doors fit poorly.I own another more modern pressurized airplane, but for fun, the Comanche is my first choice. The 180 can climb at 700 to 900 FPM after using more than 2200 feet to clear a 50-foot obstacle. In the event the engine driven fuel pump fails an electric auxiliary fuel pump is provided. As one result, many have opted to replace their old Hartzells for new two-or three-blade Hartzell or MacCauley propellers, which terminates the AD. GlobalAir.com is your partner in connecting you with relevant information and resources. Several years ago, there was some thought given to resurrecting the design at the hands of the legendary Roy LoPresti, but like the SwiftFury, it came to nothing. Either way, a realistic budget should be around $100,000. It will cruise at 16,000 feet at over 170 knots true airspeed and burn about 14 GPH. The results are impressive.Heres an airplane that has a lot of flexibility. The early panel layout doesn’t conform to the later standard “T” configuration, so it may be unfamiliar to recently trained pilots. It is a four cylinder, normally aspirated, direct drive, air cooled, horizontally opposed, carburetor equipped engine. The Piper Comanche 180 is powered by a Lycoming O-360-A1A engine. The gross weight is 3,600 pounds, with a typical useful load of 1,350 to 1,400 pounds. And one of the best-looking Piper singles ever built.The airplane is a four-place, low wing, single engine airplane equipped with retractable tricycle landing gear. Cruise speeds range from 190 ktas or so at 75 percent burning around 22 to 23 gph, to 160 to 170 ktas at higher altitudes burning 15 to 16 gph. Until then, the company had built mostly rag-and-tube taildraggers. I’ve found that many aircraft are compliant. This made it the biggest seller of all the Comanches, Twin Comanches included.The Comanche singles brought Piper into the modern era. I would prove that time and again in my Comanche 250.In flight, the Comanche is smooth, stable and tight, with a climb rate that is impressive and difficult to prevent.