Piper Aerostar
Question:
John, I Own one. It is a 1977 600a, without turbo or presure. It is cheap to run and very fast. They are used as cargo ships alot. The performance is close to a Baron. If it were that much trouble, why would all the check haulers use Aerostars instead of Barons or 310’s?
All the check haulers around here use 210’s and D-18’s. As usual, a bunch of people that know little about it spout off. The insurance cost me $725 yr. It cost $575 for a Skymaster.
Liability is about the same for all aircraft. Liability for 5 pax on my airplane is only $450. Hull, though, is a different story. I know you do not get hull on an Aerostar for $725 a year. If you do, I sure want to get to know your agent. As far as performance, it is docile. Like most high performance planes, the plane is actually two different planes. One with the gear up: This is slick, quick, and responsive. If you want to go fast put on fuel, put the nose down and hang on. You do not have to put the nose down much to be going 250, and can easily maintain it on 23 sqd. But just like a Bonanza, once you put the gear and flaps down, it is docile with few surprizes.
I wouldn’t call it docile. Keep your speed up. The only bad part to the plane is high wing loading. This has good and bad points: It gives a very smooth ride. Turbulence that will knock you around in a 172 or 182 will not even notice in a high wingload plane. The bad side is you have to be smooth on the controls to keep from stalling the wing.
That is DOCILE! A 182 you can be pretty darned ham fisted and no one will notice except your pax. Remember when you were taught to fly a plane below stall speed and you found you could do it if you were real smooth on the controls? This plane is like that in spades. You do not dive onto the runway like you can in a Cherokee, you do nice airliner decents. Little power to the end of the runway, touch and pull power. Nothing drastic, and the way were taught. It is just a little less forgiving than a 182. As far as maint, it is the same as an AZtec. Retract gear, hydrolic flaps, 540 lyc engines, just goes 125mph faster.
I am surprised. The one I flew cost a hell of a lot more than an Aztec to maintain. I must admit it was turboed. It was a go high and go airplane. I still would not recommend one for a 182 class pilot. It does have alot of mystery. Most of it undeserved. Roominess is about the same as an Aztec. Maybe a little less headroom. Certainly as much as a Skymaster or a Baron. It also has a true baggage compartment. It is big. I believe it to be a great plane provided you do not go for Turbo or pressure. My fuel burn is 10-14 gal a side depending on speed. Add 10 gal a side on Turbo. Patrick
Yes, I seem to recall figureing about 45 gallons an hour. Of course I was moving right out. Like I said, a Ferrari. I also have many hours driving Apaches and Aztecs on charter flights. Personally, I would MUCH rather fly the Aerostar. But I don’t thing an Aerostar is a good airplane for someone who flys one or two hours a month. For that matter, I don’t think a Baron or a Cessna twin is either. All of the higher performance twins require the pilot to maintain a reasonable standard of proficiency. Especially if you intend to fly "single pilot" IFR. John
Response:
Hello Gents Does anyone have any opinion about the Piper Aerostar. I have no personal knowledge of this aircraft, other than that it is a high performance twin
John, It is a very high performance twin! The aircraft is well designed for that purpose, but as such, it has gotten many low performance pilots in trouble on many occasions. It is highly recommended that any pilot who expects to stay with the aircraft, should get a minimum of 5 flying hours per month, and schedule professional simulator training at least annually at Flight Safety or Simuflite. That is the recommendations that I used to give Insured Pilots when I was providing Aviation Loss Control services for the Nation’s largest aviation insurance carrier. If you would like more information on this fine high performance aircraft you may wish to contact the Aerostar Corporation in Spokane Washington. They own the manufacturing rights, tooling, and licenses to the type. Roswell
Response:
Miller Flying Service in Plainview TX (near Lubbock) specializes in them. I believe they currently have three for sale. You might want to check their prices. Phone is 806 296 2439.
Response:
Hello Gents Does anyone have any opinion about the Piper Aerostar. There is one for sale at my home field, and it has been available for over six months with no takers. Understand, I have no personal knowledge of this aircraft, other than that it is a high performance twin, and this one looks like a nice airplane from the outside looking in.
The Aerostar is the Ferrari of light twins. It is the most expensive light twin to own and operate, the most expensive to insure, and the fastest to fly. It is relatively small inside, because all of the design compromises were made in favor of more speed. The result is an airplane that is extremely fast. Extremely demanding for the pilot to fly. Extremely expensive to maintain and insure. Just like a Ferrari! John
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hello Gents Does anyone have any opinion about the Piper Aerostar. There is one for sale at my home field, and it has been available for over six months with no takers. Understand, I have no personal knowledge of this aircraft, other than that it is a high performance twin, and this one looks like a nice airplane from the outside looking in. The Aerostar is the Ferrari of light twins. It is the most expensive light twin to own and operate, the most expensive to insure, and the fastest to fly. It is relatively small inside, because all of the design compromises were made in favor of more speed. The result is an airplane that is extremely fast. Extremely demanding for the pilot to fly. Extremely expensive to maintain and insure. Just like a Ferrari! John
John, I Own one. It is a 1977 600a, without turbo or presure. It is cheap to run and very fast. They are used as cargo ships alot. The performance is close to a Baron. If it were that much trouble, why would all the check haulers use Aerostars instead of Barons or 310’s? As usual, a bunch of people that know little about it spout off. The insurance cost me $725 yr. It cost $575 for a Skymaster. As far as performance, it is docile. Like most high performance planes, the plane is actually two different planes. One with the gear up: This is slick, quick, and responsive. If you want to go fast put on fuel, put the nose down and hang on. You do not have to put the nose down much to be going 250, and can easily maintain it on 23 sqd. But just like a Bonanza, once you put the gear and flaps down, it is docile with few surprizes. The only bad part to the plane is high wing loading. This has good and bad points: It gives a very smooth ride. Turbulence that will knock you around in a 172 or 182 will not even notice in a high wingload plane. The bad side is you have to be smooth on the controls to keep from stalling the wing. Remember when you were taught to fly a plane below stall speed and you found you could do it if you were real smooth on the controls? This plane is like that in spades. You do not dive onto the runway like you can in a Cherokee, you do nice airliner decents. Little power to the end of the runway, touch and pull power. Nothing drastic, and the way were taught. It is just a little less forgiving than a 182. As far as maint, it is the same as an AZtec. Retract gear, hydrolic flaps, 540 lyc engines, just goes 125mph faster. It does have alot of mystery. Most of it undeserved. Roominess is about the same as an Aztec. Maybe a little less headroom. Certainly as much as a Skymaster or a Baron. It also has a true baggage compartment. It is big. I believe it to be a great plane provided you do not go for Turbo or pressure. My fuel burn is 10-14 gal a side depending on speed. Add 10 gal a side on Turbo. Patrick
Response:
Hello Gents Does anyone have any opinion about the Piper Aerostar. There is one for sale at my home field, and it has been available for over six months with no takers. Understand, I have no personal knowledge of this aircraft, other than that it is a high performance twin, and this one looks like a nice airplane from the outside looking in. regards John McEnerney
Response:
Hello Gents Does anyone have any opinion about the Piper Aerostar. There is one for sale at my home field, and it has been available for over six months with no takers. Understand, I have no personal knowledge of this aircraft, other than that it is a high performance twin, and this one looks like a nice airplane from the outside looking in. regards John McEnerney
I owned one for 16 years. In my opinion it is one of the finest airplanes ever built. I didn’t say cheapest. The maintenance costs will make you wince over and over again. But the flying… oo la la! Marc Rodstein Boca Raton, FL
Response:
Hello Gents Does anyone have any opinion about the Piper Aerostar.
Bobby Allison (the NASCAR great) has a 1981 Aerostar. If Bobby has this plane, it must be a very good one. He is a very accomplished pilot and would not tolerate anything but the best.
Response:
John, Call your insurance company first. Then maybe you’ll understand why no takers 
) IMHO, they’re great planes, but there are not a lot of them out there and the accident rate is high which adds up to very high insurance premiums. Patrick Hello Gents Does anyone have any opinion about the Piper Aerostar. There is one for sale at my home field, and it has been available for over six months with no takers. Understand, I have no personal knowledge of this aircraft, other than that it is a high performance twin, and this one looks like a nice airplane from the outside looking in. regards John McEnerney
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