Originally Posted by
mates rates
I seem to remember that the 400 was difficult to start when the engine was hot.Which also created a battery problem,or was the battery the problem?But the 260c was a beautiful aeroplane.I flew CVY which I think was owned by the Premier of NSW Tom Lewis at the time.
The hot start problem was due to the fact the airplane had the same 12v electrical system and battery as the 250. There was not a lot of capacity so if you blew the hot start and hat to crank a flooded engine it would poop out before it started. The solution was a STC'd 2nd battery and a 24 volt starter. When the starter was engaged the batteries would go to series and you had lots of starting torque.
I have a few hours in one. The heavy engine made it a bit of truck especially in the landing flare but as a cruiser it was outstanding. You could get to a mid teens altitude quickly and with the prop pulled back it was turbine smooth.
The story I heard was that Piper wanted to give the Comanche the ability to cruise high in order to have an advantage over the Bonanza, but turbocharging for the direct drive flat 6 engines wasn't fully developed so they decided to just go with a huge normally aspirated engine which even at 50 % available horsepower at altitude still had plenty of power left to let the airplane step out. The introduction of the Continental turbocharged TSIO 520 in 1965 pretty much killed this airplane.
Still there is no replacement for displacement. I still remember one takeoff with 2 up and 1/3 tanks on a cold day. You just about swallowed your bubble gum when you put the hammer down on that puppy in those conditions
