(Okay, the little Wing Derringer was pretty quick, too.) Fly all the other twins, both on and off the market, and you’ll appreciate that the Aerostar is by far the easiest flying and best handling of the lot. If speed has always been the Aerostar’s primary claim to fame, it certainly hasn’t been the only one. In keeping with its reputation, that makes the piston-powered Aerostar faster than some turboprops.
Today, the last generation of Aerostars flies with a pair of 350 hp TIO-540s, and the speed ante has jumped from 235 knots to 261 knots (300 mph). The type certificate is now owned by Aerostar Aircraft. The final production Aerostar appeared in 1984 as the Piper 700, but that plane has lived on for the last 20 years as the Aerostar 700, an STC’d conversion of the 600-series airplanes. This included such high-powered competition as the P-Baron (two 325 hp Continentals), Twin Bonanza (a pair of geared, 340 hp Lycomings), Cessna 421 (twin, geared, 375 hp Continentals), the Beech Duke (two 380 hp Lycomings) and Piper’s P-Navajo (dual 425 hp, geared Lycs). In fact, not only did the Aerostar outpace its own Ted Smith competition, but the turbocharged 601 ran away from everything else in the class. The Aerostar 600 with the same power was an amazing 35 knots faster than the Shrike. The Commander was a large, corporate transport that cruised at about 177 knots. Smith conceived the Aerostar with the same engines he used on his Shrike Commander, the 290 hp Lycoming IO-540s. Two paragraphs of history: Aerostars were born in 1969, a product of the fertile imagination of designer Ted Smith. It’s probably more than coincidental that Mooneys and Aerostars both demonstrate slick aerodynamics, and they’re the fastest machines in their respective classes. I’ve been scheming for years to own an Aerostar, but so far, I haven’t managed to get past a Mooney.
#Cessna 421 crossfeed shut off valve manuals
Aerostar Senior Vice President Jim Christy says his company still does the performance upgrades, serves as a clearinghouse for all things Aerostar, maintains and performs annuals, and sells parts and manuals for all versions of the plane.
Today, Aerostars are long since out of production, but Aerostar Aircraft ( of Hayden Lake, Idaho, continues to support the type. Over the next 20 years, his dealership was to become one of the world’s most successful at selling Aerostars of all descriptions. Back then, Miller was already fanatic about the Aerostar. From the first time I flew one in 1975 with the late Jim Miller of Miller Flying Service in Plainview, Texas, I’ve been in love with the type. For me, the Aerostar has always possessed a charisma that far transcends its pure dollar value.
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