Piper Apache

Piper PA-23 Apache
Type:	Light business jet
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Piper Aircraft Corporation
First flight:	March 2, 1952
Commissioning:	1952
Production time:	until 1966
Number of pieces:	2165

The Piper PA-23 Apache is a twin-engine light aircraft produced by the US aircraft manufacturer Piper Aircraft Corporation .

construction and development

The first PA-23 were equipped with two 150 HP Lycoming 0-320A engines (110 kW). In 1958 the PA 23-160 with 160 HP 0-360B engines (118 kW) was built, and in 1962 the five-seat model PA-23-235 with 235 HP 0-540 engines (173 kW). These versions received an autopilot and additional navigation instruments (IFR equipment) for the flight in bad weather.

production

The Piper Apache was the Piper Aircraft Corporation's first twin-engine aircraft . From 1954 the machine went into mass production in Baltimore (USA). The last copy of the Piper PA-23-235 Apache was delivered in 1966, 2165 Apache were manufactured in total. The successor was the Piper Aztec , which is also known as PA-23 (PA 23-250).

Flight performance

The first four-cylinder models (PA 23-150 and PA-23-160) have rather modest flight performance for a twin engine, which is particularly noticeable if an engine fails. It is then no longer possible to maintain the altitude. That was only the case with the six-cylinder model (PA-23-235). All PA-23 models have in common the extremely good-natured flight behavior, even in flight with only one engine. The reason for this is the thick airfoil and the geometry that was adopted from the PA-18. The disadvantage here is the relatively high air resistance that prevents a high cruising speed.

In the USA, the Apache is known as the "Flying Sweet Potato" because of its short, rounded bow.

Technical specifications

Three-sided view

Parameter	Data
crew	1
Passengers	3 to 4
length	8.27 m
span	11.28 m
Max. Takeoff mass	1,724 kg
Cruising speed	150 kn (278 km / h)
Range	1,095 NM
Engines	2 × Avco Lycoming O-320 -B
power	2 × 119 kW (162 hp)

Web links

Commons : Piper PA-23 Apache  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Description at Flugzeuginfo.net

literature

• Encyclopedia of Airplanes . Weltbild Verlag GmbH, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89350-055-3 , p. 296 .

Individual evidence

1. Jump up ↑ Roger Peperell: Piper Aircraft - Freedom of Flight, Supplement , Air-Britain, Tonbridge 2020, ISBN 978-0-85130-524-0 , pp. 44 and 46.
2. Jump up ↑ Roger Peperell: Piper Aircraft - Freedom of Flight, Supplement , Air-Britain, Tonbridge 2020, ISBN 978-0-85130-524-0 , p. 44.