One thing that hasn't been mentioned in this thread is the tremendous
amount of pure BS that is published and retold as the truth concerning
both single and twin Comanches. Flight instructors check out new
Comanche pilots without having a clue as to what they are doing.
Mechanics work on Comanches and just make things worse.

Two tales concerning the landing gear illustrate the point. Perhaps you
recall the pictures of the Comanche landing gear up (in California, I
think). The newsies called it a Cherokee, but it really was a Comanche.
Anyway, a flight instructor was checking out a new Comanche pilot.
The gear failed to extend, so they went to the emergency gear extension
option. They removed the floor plate to access the release lever and
proceeded to pump the gear down for the next hour, but could never get
it to lock. Finally they landed gear up. The problem? The Comanche
gear has no hydraulics to pump down! It is all electrical and
mechanical. You simply push the lever all the way forward, and leave it
there (like the manual gear in the early Mooneys)! Of course, neither
pilot bothered to read the emergency extension procedure which was
written on the back of the access plate they removed as the first step.

The second tale concerns a Comanche pilot whose plane developed a
hesitation in retraction after gear up was selected. So he went to his
mechanic and described the symptoms. The mechanic thought a minute and
then opined that it was probably a problem with the hydraulic power pac.
There still aren't any hydraulics in the Comanche landing gear.

The International Comanche Society and the Comanche Flyer Foundation
have spent a bunch of money providing Comanche specific training for
flight instructors. Use them. While it is very important for a single
Comanche, it is vital for a twin. ICS can tell you who and where they
are. Similarly, find an experienced Comanche mechanic. It will save
you money in the long run.

Hank
Henry A. Spellman
Comanche N5903P

Dico wrote:
Hello,

We're looking into a twin and the Twin Comanche is on our list. I know
that the later models have the counter rotating props -- although i
don't know too much about what this means, other than its "better".

We fly a mooney now and thus I don't worry about the prop -- as long as
it keeps spinning.

Is there a web site that gives a good explanation as to why I want CR
props. There are hundreds of the earlier model Twin Comanches flying
without the CR props --- so what does someone with 300 hours single
engine time need to worry about? What actually goes wrong? And when
it does, what happens? I hear "critical engine" but it means very
little to me.

I like to fly and try to be very careful when I do fly... but I don't
follow too much aviation stuff other than how it affects me -- so I'm
not exactly a "buff", hence the above questions which may seem obvious
to many.

Why are we looking at a Twin Comanche? Because its a twin, safer for
IFR flight (perhaps this is only preceived), plus we live on the east
coast on an island so we're flying over water quite a bit. Also this
plane has decent speed and is an "economical" twin. We rarely fly with
4 people, so we don't need any more seats than 4.

Any help or links to help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Dico