TWIN COMANCHE: a Flight Review of the PA-30 Full Circle 22 by Thomas Block
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Revisiting the T win Comanche page 36 VOL. 15 / ISSUE 01 JAN 2018 PIPERFLYER.ORG NPRM FAA-2017-1059 Main Wing Spar CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED SERVICE CHANGE Corrosion in Cherokees Permit No. 30 No. Permit Montezuma, IA Montezuma, PAID RIVERSIDE, CA 92517 CA RIVERSIDE, U.S. Postage U.S. PO BOX 5505 BOX PO Presorted Standard Presorted PIPER FLYER ASSOCIATION FLYER PIPER Destination: Miami The best weather service on the latest Garmin devices. Roger that. SiriusXM® Aviation weather and entertainment are now available through the new Garmin GDL™ 51 and 52 portable receivers. Get in-depth weather info you need on the aera® 660, 795/796 and Garmin Pilot™ app. Plus, have essential features you won’t fi nd on ADS-B right at your fi ngertips. Learn more at siriusxm.com/piper. 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NPRM FAA-2017-1059 Checking for Main Wing Spar Corrosion in Cherokees 24 CONTENTS VOLUME 15 ISSUE 01 JANUARY 2018 EVALUATING BIFOCAL SUNGLASSES The View from Here 08 for Aviation by Jennifer Dellenbusch Letters 08 32 Events 10 The High and the Writey 18 by Kevin Garrison Questions & Answers 20 by Steve Ells REVISITING THE TWIN COMANCHE: A Flight Review of the PA-30 Full Circle 22 by Thomas Block Press Releases 56 Aviation Safety Alerts 60 Advertiser Index 68 Back When: Vintage Piper 36 Advertising and Marketing 70 Cover: Piper PA-30 Photo: Keith Wilson Destination: MIAMI 48 Photo: Keith Wilson WINGMAN AIRCRAFT REPAIR, INC. 650 Airport Rd., Lawrenceville, GA 30046 • 30 years experience on Piper aircraft The Official Magazine of • Annual Inspections, single or The Piper Flyer Association twin piston • Pre-Buy/ Pre-Purchase inspections Lead Acid battery capacity checks • PRESIDENT • Propeller dynamic balancing Jennifer Dellenbusch TEL: 404.386.7602 [email protected] VICE PRESIDENT / DIRECTOR OF SALES wingmanaircraftrepair.com Kent Dellenbusch [email protected] PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Heather Skumatz CREATIVE DIRECTOR Marcus Y. Chan ASSOCIATE EDITOR Scott Kinney EDITOR AT LARGE Thomas Block CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Mike Berry • Steven Ells • Kevin Garrison Michael Leighton • Dan Pimentel John Ruley • Jacqueline Shipe Dale Smith • Kristin Winter CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Paul Bowen • James Lawrence • Keith Wilson PIPER FLYER ASSOCIATION P.O. Box 5505 Riverside, CA 92517 Toll-Free: 800.493.7450 Call or Text: 626.844.0125 www.piperflyer.org Piper Flyer is the official publication of the Piper Flyer Association. Piper Flyer is published monthly by Avia- tion Group Limited, P.O. Box 5505, Riverside, CA 92517. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Piper Flyer, P.O. Box 5505, Riverside, CA 92517. Subscriptions, advertising orders and correspondence should be ad- dressed to P.O. Box 5505, Riverside, CA 92517. An- nual dues: $44.00 in the U.S.; Canada and Mexico add $15.00 per year; all others add $25.00 per year (U.S. Dol- lars only). Eighty percent (80%) of annual dues is desig- nated for your magazine subscriptions. The information presented in Piper Flyer is from many sources for this there can be no warranty or responsibil- ity by the publisher as to accuracy, originality or com- pleteness. The magazine is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering product endorsements or providing instruction as a substitute for appropriate training by qualified sources. Piper Flyer and Aviation Group Limited will not assume responsibility for any actions arising from any information published in Piper Flyer. We invite comments and welcome any re- port of inferior products obtained through our advertis- ing, so corrective action may be taken. PIPER FLYER >> 06 << JANUARY 2018 VISIT OUR WEBSITE Free White Paper: De-Ice Boot Maintenance GIVE ICE THE BOOT Manufacturer of Goodrich pneumatic de-ice boots. Our patented, environmentally friendly adhesive system gets you back in the air in just hours. Available in FASTboot® or SILVERboot™ options. Handmade with quality craftsmanship for over 80 years, our products come with a full line of care products and a two year or 3,000 flight hour warranty. Learn more at goodrichdeicing.com 800 DE-ICERS (800 334 2377) | [email protected] The View From Here piper flyer letters Jennifer Dellenbusch SMOKEY AND THE PIPERS by Myrna CG Mibus, November 2017 Jen, Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the Smokey Bear story. A fun bit of avia- tion history. I remember seeing Smokey at the National Zoo as a kid. Dennis K. Johnson eNewsletter Hoboken, New Jersey The first of the year always brings a flurry of self-improvement. People flock to the gym, go on diets and resolve to be better people. By February, the gyms are nearly A SKI-FLYING ADVENTURE empty and the diets abandoned, but for one brief shining moment, all of humanity by James Lawrence, December 2017 seems to be bent on betterment. Here at Piper Flyer Association we try to take a more incremental and ongoing Dear Editor, view of improvement by constantly tweaking and upgrading our offerings. One very It’s not very often that I get to read a recent addition to our membership perks is a monthly eNewsletter. story on piloting a skiplane in Piper Flyer. The eNewsletter is edited by Kevin Garrison and will bring you breaking news, It was fun to read Mr. Lawrence’s hon- new ADs and alerts and content not found in the magazine. It will also provide easy est impressions, instead of just getting a links to access PFA’s online resources, including the monthly digital edition* of Piper dull list of “do this,” “don’t do that.” Flyer magazine. The only thing more fun would to have You’ll also have access to exclusive offers and deals through the eNewsletter. It’s been in the Cub with him! another way for us to keep in touch with you. We’ll keep the newsletter short, to the point—and will always gear it toward your Jon Welke Piper owner experience. The very first issue was electronically shipped to your email Findlay, Ohio inbox on Dec. 7, 2017. If you don’t want to receive the eNewsletter, just email me with subject line: “No newsletter.” Be sure to include your name, ZIP code and—if you have it—member- ship number. We hope instead, though, that you’ll find our newsletter another valu- able benefit of your PFA membership. Didn’t receive the eNewsletter? Please call or email to make sure we have correct contact information on file for you. Love Blue skies, something in this issue *A few of you had trouble downloading the recent editions of the digital magazines. ? There was a glitch that affected a specific membership plan, but it’s been fixed, so please try again. Also, for Apple users, downloading the magazines to iBooks seems tell us about it. to improve the viewing experience. email [email protected] PIPER FLYER >> 08 << JANUARY 2018 NEW A25 Series Powerful NAV/COM Air Band Portable with Built-in GPS & Bluetooth®* A25N A25C NAV/COM COM ONLY Follow us today. www.icomamerica.com/A25 ©2018 Icom America Inc. The Icom logo is a registered logo of Icom Inc. 42508 *Built-in Bluetooth for A25N flyer events PFA EVENTS School. This 12-week course is held on sure to make a New Year’s resolution to Jul 21–22, 2018 — Waupaca, WI. Tuesdays from 6 to 9 pm. Class size is come visit the first fly-in of the year! Enjoy Waupaca Municipal (KPCZ). The 14th limited, so call 920-386-2402 to reserve food, fun and fellowship with aviation annual Gathering at Waupaca. Save your spot. Cost is $295 plus supplies. enthusiasts from 11 am to 1 pm. Fly in or the date for PFA’s annual pre-OSH event Contact Mary Gasper, mary.gasper@ drive in; event will be held regardless of with fun, food and friendship.