Admin: Clean up photo credits

2026-11-01T20:56:59Z

Clean up photo credits

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:56, 1 November 2026
Line 93:		Line 93:
	== Photos ==		== Photos ==
	<gallery mode="packed" heights="170">		<gallery mode="packed" heights="170">
	File:Comanche4.jpg\|Piper PA-24 260B Comanche Vue profil gauche. Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Pyrame assumed (based on ~~copyright claims).~~, Public domain		File:Comanche4.jpg\|Piper PA-24 260B Comanche Vue profil gauche. Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Pyrame assumed (based on copyrigh, Public domain
	File:Comanche cock.jpg\|Piper PA-24 260B Comanche Instrumentation. Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Pyrame assumed (based on ~~copyright claims).~~, Public domain		File:Comanche cock.jpg\|Piper PA-24 260B Comanche Instrumentation. Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Pyrame assumed (based on copyrigh, Public domain
	File:1959ModelPiperPA-24Comanche.jpg\|Piper PA-24 Comanche. Photo: Ahunt at English Wikipedia, Public domain		File:1959ModelPiperPA-24Comanche.jpg\|Piper PA-24 Comanche. Photo: Ahunt at English Wikipedia, Public domain
	File:Piper-PA-24-260-Landing.jpg\|Piper PA-24-260. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0		File:Piper-PA-24-260-Landing.jpg\|Piper PA-24-260. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0

Admin: New aircraft page: history, US registrations (FAA), specifications, photos, sources

2026-11-01T20:20:11Z

New aircraft page: history, US registrations (FAA), specifications, photos, sources

New page

{{Aircraft infobox
| name = Piper PA-24 Comanche
| image = Pa24-N5760P-071126-01-16.jpg
| caption = Piper PA-24 Comanche. Photo: Alan Radecki Akradecki, CC BY-SA 4.0, via [[commons:File:Pa24-N5760P-071126-01-16.jpg|Wikimedia Commons]]
| make = Piper
| type = Civil utility aircraft
| origin = United States
| first_flight = May 24, 1956
| produced = 1957-1972
| number_built = 4,857
| faa_registered = 2,392 (FAA register, October 30, 2026)
| seats = 1, 3–5 passengers
| engine = Lycoming IO-540, 260 hp
| cruise = 185 mph (PA-24-260C)
| range = 1,225 mi (PA-24-260C)
| ceiling = 19,500 ft (PA-24-260C)
| gross_weight = 3,200 lb (PA-24-260C)
| category = Piston singles
}}

The '''Piper PA-24 Comanche''' is a four- to six-seat, single-engine, low-wing, all-metal airplane with retractable tricycle landing gear. Piper designed and built it, and it first flew on May 24, 1956. With the PA-30 and PA-39 Twin Comanche it was the core of Piper's lineup until 1972, when the 1972 Lock Haven flood destroyed the production lines.<ref name="wp"/> In the U.S. there are 2,392 with a valid registration.<ref name="faa"/>

== History ==
Two prototypes were built in 1956. The first production Comanche, with a 180 hp Lycoming O-360, flew on October 21, 1957. It had a swept tail, a laminar-flow wing and an all-flying stabilator, and cruised at 116 to 139 knots.<ref name="wp"/>

In 1958 the 250 hp PA-24-250 joined it (first meant to be called the PA-26), followed by the 400 hp PA-24-400 in 1964. In 1965 the 260 hp PA-24-260 replaced the 250, and a turbocharged version came in 1970.<ref name="wp"/> The PA-24-250 is the most common Comanche on the U.S. register today.<ref name="faa"/>

== Record flights ==
In June 1959 Max Conrad flew a Comanche 250, its seats replaced by fuel tanks, nonstop from Casablanca, Morocco, to Los Angeles, 7,668 miles, setting a distance record for its weight class. The airplane is now in the museum at the Liberal, Kansas, airport.<ref name="wp"/>

== Registered in the United States ==
The FAA register lists '''2,392''' of these airplanes with a valid U.S. registration. Here they are by the model name the FAA uses.<ref name="faa"/>
<div class="aw-wide">
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! FAA model name !! Registered
|-
| PA-24-250 || 1,200
|-
| PA-24-260 || 582
|-
| PA-24 || 341
|-
| PA-24-180 || 195
|-
| PA-24-400 || 74
|}
</div>

== Specifications (PA-24-260C) ==
<div class="aw-wide">
{| class="wikitable"
! Item !! PA-24-260C
|-
| Crew || 1
|-
| Passengers / capacity || 3–5 passengers
|-
| Length || 25 ft
|-
| Wingspan || 36 ft
|-
| Height || 7 ft 6 in
|-
| Wing area || 178 sq ft
|-
| Empty weight || 1,773 lb
|-
| Maximum takeoff weight || 3,200 lb
|-
| Fuel || 60 USgal normal, additional 30 USgal in optional auxiliary tanks
|-
| Engine || Lycoming IO-540, 260 hp (air-cooled six-cylinder horizontally-opposed engine)
|-
| Propeller || Hartzell HC82XK1D metal constant-speed propeller
|-
| Maximum speed || 195 mph
|-
| Cruise speed || 185 mph
|-
| Never-exceed speed || 227 mph
|-
| Range || 1,225 mi
|-
| Service ceiling || 19,500 ft
|-
| Rate of climb || 1,320 ft/min
|}
</div>
Figures as given in the Wikipedia article and its sources.<ref name="wp"/>

{{Owner notes}}

== Photos ==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="170">
File:Comanche4.jpg|Piper PA-24 260B Comanche Vue profil gauche. Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Pyrame assumed (based on copyright claims)., Public domain
File:Comanche cock.jpg|Piper PA-24 260B Comanche Instrumentation. Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Pyrame assumed (based on copyright claims)., Public domain
File:1959ModelPiperPA-24Comanche.jpg|Piper PA-24 Comanche. Photo: Ahunt at English Wikipedia, Public domain
File:Piper-PA-24-260-Landing.jpg|Piper PA-24-260. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0
File:PiperPA24-180.jpg|1959 Piper PA-24 180. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0
File:Toku-Hanna.jpg|Piper PA-24 Comanche. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0
File:Piper PA-26-400 N8515P HAN 07.05.66 edited-3.jpg|Piper PA-24 Comanche 400 N8515P c/n 26-52 at the 1966 Hanover Air Show. Photo: RuthAS, CC BY 3.0
File:Piper PA-33a.jpg|Only known picture of Comanche PA33 on ground. Photo: Drgitlow at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
</gallery>
All photos are from [[commons:Main Page|Wikimedia Commons]]; click a photo for its full credit and license.

== Buying a Piper PA-24 Comanche ==
{{For sale soon}}

== Sources ==
<references>
<ref name="wp">Wikipedia, "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piper_PA-24_Comanche Piper PA-24 Comanche]", read November 1, 2026. Airplane Wiki's text is written in its own words; facts are checked against this article and its sources.</ref>
<ref name="faa">Federal Aviation Administration, [https://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/aircraft_certification/aircraft_registry/releasable_aircraft_download Releasable Aircraft Database], file dated October 30, 2026. Valid registrations of fixed-wing airplanes whose FAA maker and model names belong to this family. Airplane Wiki uses only counts from this file, never owner names or addresses.</ref>
</references>

Piper PA-24 Comanche - Revision history

Admin: Clean up photo credits

Admin: New aircraft page: history, US registrations (FAA), specifications, photos, sources