The Piper PA-23, named Apache and later Aztec, is a four-to-six-seat twin-engined light aircraft aimed at the general aviation market. The United States Navy and military forces in other countries also used it in small numbers. Originally designed in the 1950s by the Stinson Aircraft Company, Piper Aircraft manufactured the Apache and a more powerful version, the Aztec, in the United States from the 1950s to the 1980s.
1976-1981. Aztec 250E with improved systems and cambered wingtips and tailplane tip extensions.
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Capacity: 5 passengers
- Length: 31 ft 2+3⁄4 in (9.519 m)
- Wingspan: 37 ft 2+1⁄2 in (11.341 m)
- Height: 10 ft 4 in (3.15 m)
- Wing area: 207.56 sq ft (19.283 m2)
- Aspect ratio: 6.8:1
- Empty weight: 3,180 lb (1,442 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 5,200 lb (2,359 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 140 US gal (120 imp gal; 530 L) usable fuel (normal), optional extra tanks with 40 US gal (33 imp gal; 150 L)
- Powerplant: 2 × Lycoming IO-540-C4B5 normally aspirated air-cooled flat-six piston engines, 250 hp (190 kW) each
- Propellers: 2-bladed Hartzell HC-E2YK-2RB constant-speed propellers
Performance
- Maximum speed: 215 mph (346 km/h, 187 kn)
- Cruise speed: 172 mph (277 km/h, 149 kn) at 10,200 ft (3,100 m) (long-range cruise)
- Stall speed: 68 mph (109 km/h, 59 kn) (flaps down)
- Never exceed speed: 277 mph (446 km/h, 241 kn)
- Range: 1,519 mi (2,445 km, 1,320 nmi) at long-range cruise
- Service ceiling: 18,950 ft (5,780 m) (absolute ceiling)
- Rate of climb: 1,400 ft/min (7.1 m/s)
- Takeoff distance to 50 ft (15 m): 1,695 ft (517 m)
- Landing distance from 50 ft (15 m): 1,695 ft (517 m)
Piper Aircraft, Inc. is a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft, located at the Vero Beach Regional Airport in Vero Beach, Florida, United States and owned since 2009 by the Government of Brunei. Throughout much of the mid-to-late 20th century, it was considered to be one of the “Big Three” in the field of general aviation manufacturing, along with Beechcraft and Cessna.
Between its founding in 1927 and the end of 2009, the company produced 144,000 aircraft in 160 certified models, of which 90,000 are still flying.
