Piper Aerostar

what is it?

The Piper Aerostar (originally the Ted Smith Aerostar) is an American light twin-engined piston aircraft designed by Ted R. Smith. It was originally built by Ted Smith Aircraft Company, but the design was acquired in 1978 by the Piper Aircraft Corporation, which continued production of the aircraft as the PA-60.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 engines · 11.2 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 492 km/htop speed
• range 1,648 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 5passengers
• size 2,864 kgmax take-off weight
• built 1,010made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 59 years ago, in 1967.
• 🏎️Top speed is 3.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 11.2 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,648 km: 9× Amsterdam to Brussels.

spec sheet

first flight

1967

status

still flying

number built

1,010

role

civil utility aircraft

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Piper Aircraft

engines

2× Avco Lycoming TIO-540-U2A flat six counter-rotating piston

crew

1

passengers

5

length

10.6 m

wingspan

11.2 m

height

3.7 m

max take-off weight

2,864 kg

top speed

492 km/h

cruise speed

390 km/h

range

1,648 km

ceiling

7,620 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.