Piper PA-23

PA-23 Apache/Aztec
PA-23 Aztec in Toronto, Ontario
Role Twin-engined light piston utility
Manufacturer Piper Aircraft
First flight 2 March 1952
Introduction 1954
Produced 1952–1981
Number built 6,976


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 that also saw service with the United States Navy and other countries' military forces in small numbers. Originally designed in the 1950s by the Stinson Aircraft Company, the Apache and its more powerful development the Aztec were manufactured from the 1950s to the 1980s by Piper Aircraft in the United States.

Design and development

The PA-23 was the first twin-engined Piper aircraft and was developed from a proposed "Twin Stinson" design, inherited when Piper bought the Stinson Division of the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation.[1] The prototype PA-23 was a four-seat low-wing all-metal monoplane with a twin tail, powered by two 125 hp Lycoming O-290-D piston engines;[1] it first flew on 2 March 1952.[2] The aircraft performed badly and it was redesigned with a single vertical stabilizer and an all-metal rear fuselage and more powerful 150 hp Lycoming O-320-A engines.[1] Two new prototypes of the redesigned aircraft, now named Apache, were built in 1953[1] and entered production in 1954; 1,231 were built. In 1958 the Apache 160 was produced by upgrading the engines to 160 hp (119 kW); 816 were built before being superseded in 1962 by the Apache 235. With a 1962 price of $45,000, the Apache 235 was a derivative of the Aztec, fitted with 235 hp (175 kW) versions of the engines used on the Aztec and swept tail surfaces (119 built).[3]

An ex-United States Navy U-11A on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum

In 1958 an upgraded version with 250 hp (186 kW) Lycoming O-540 engines and a swept vertical tail was produced as the PA-23-250 and was named Aztec.[1] These first models came in a five-seat configuration which became available in 1959. In 1961 a longer nosed variant, the Aztec B, entered production.[1] The later models of the Aztec were equipped with IO-540 fuel-injected engines and six-seat capacity, and continued in production until 1982. There were also turbocharged versions of the later models, which were able to fly at higher altitudes.

The United States Navy acquired 20 Aztecs, designating them UO-1, which changed to U-11A when unified designations were adopted in 1962.

In 1974, Piper produced a single experimental PA-41P Pressurized Aztec concept. This concept was short-lived, however, as the aspects of the Aztec that made it so popular for its spacious interior and ability to haul large loads did not lend themselves well to supporting the sealed pressure vessel required for a pressurized aircraft. The project was scrapped, and the one pressurized Aztec produced, N9941P, was donated to Mississippi State University, where it was used for testing purposes. In 2000, N9941P was donated to the Piper Aviation Museum in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, on condition that it never be flown again. It is now there on display.

Variants

PA-23 Apache in National Air and Space Museum
Apache on amphibious floats
PA-23 Apache 235 fitted with the Aztec-style square fin and rudder
PA-23 Twin-Stinson
Original designation of the Piper PA-23 Apache.
PA-23 Apache
Initial production version, 2047 built (including the Apache E, G and H).
PA-23-150 Apache B
1955 variant with minor changes.[1]
PA-23-150 Apache C
1956 variant with minor changes.[1]
PA-23-150 Apache D
1957 variant with minor changes.[1]
PA-23-160 Apache E
PA-23 powered by two 160 hp O-320-B engines.
PA-23-160 Apache G
PA-23 with longer internal cabin and extra window.
PA-23-160 Apache H
Apache G with 0-320-B2B engines and minor changes.
PA-23-235 Apache 235
Apache with five seats and 235 hp O-540 engines, 118 built.
PA-23-250 Aztec
Apache G with modified rear fuselage, new fin and rudder and 250hp Lycoming O-540-A1D engines, 4811 built (including sub-variants)
1960 PA-23-250
PA-23-250 Aztec B
Aztec with longer nose for a baggage compartment; six seats, new instrument panel and changes to systems.
PA-23-250 Aztec C
Aztec B with either IO-540-C4B5 engines or turbocharged TIO-540-C4B5 as an option, also modified engine nacelles and modified landing gear.
PA-23-250 Aztec D
Aztec B with revised instrument panel and controls.
PA-23-250 Aztec E
Aztec D with longer pointed nose and a single piece windshield.
PA-23-250 Aztec F
Aztec E with improved systems and cambered wingtips and tailplane tip extensions.
PA-23T-250 Turbo-Aztec
Generally similar to the Aztec F, powered by two TIO-540 piston engines, fitted with a Garret turbocharging system.
U-11A
United States Navy designation formerly UO-1.
UO-1
United States Navy designation for PA-23-250 Aztec with additional equipment; 20 delivered, later re-designated U-11A.
PA-41P Pressurized Aztec
Pressurized Aztec concept, one built.
An Apache with Geronimo tail modification
Seguin Geronimo
Apache with a series of modifications to the engines, nose and tail.[4]

Operators

Military operators

 Argentina
 Bolivia
 Brazil
 Cameroon
 Colombia
 Costa Rica
 El Salvador
 Honduras
 Madagascar
 Mexico
 Nicaragua
 Spain
 Paraguay
 Uganda
 United States
 Venezuela

Specifications (PA-23-250F, normally aspirated)

Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77[5]

General characteristics

Performance

Accidents and incidents

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Although marked with a United States registration and carrying the appropriate registration documentation the aircraft had been cancelled from the American register in 1974; the new owners had not re-registered the aircraft so was unregistered and stateless at the time of the accident
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Peperell 1987, pp. 91-104
  2. ↑ Flying Magazine: 30. August 1952. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ Flying Magazine: 11. November 1962. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ↑ "Geronimo! For many light-twin owners, Piper's Apache is about as good as it gets". Plane & Pilot. December 2004.
  5. ↑ Taylor 1976, pp. 348–349.
  6. ↑ "Aircraft Accident Report 14/76" (PDF). Accidents Investigation Board. 29 September 1976. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  7. ↑ BBC, This day in history-- 1975: Graham Hill killed in air crash.
  8. ↑ Graham Hill, 46, Retired Racer, In Fatal Crash Piloting His Plane. UPI News Service. December 1, 1975 (Monday) New York Times archive
  9. ↑ "The Reaper Catches Up . . . In Trabuco Canyon, California April 15, 1978". Check-Six.com. Retrieved July 8, 2016.

Bibliography

Media related to Piper PA-23 Apache at Wikimedia Commons Media related to Piper PA-23-250 Aztec at Wikimedia Commons
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