PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - PA30 Twin Comm, Aztec or Seneca I?
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Old 16th Dec 2007, 21:03
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421C
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
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I'd see the trade-offs amongst the 3 as

Aztec - very cheap to buy with great payload and short-field performance and good speed and range. Oddly dated-looking (IMHO), single-door overwing cabin access not nice for pax, >2t and more expensive to run than the lighter twins.

Comanche - a very efficient design which has the low cost to run of the sub 2t twins but the speed of the larger ones.

Seneca 1 - I admit I have 500hrs in these and I like them more than the other normally aspirated twins (Duchess, Seminole, Cougar). I don't know why they get such a bad rap on forums. They are more modern looking, the cabin is big and wide (much more comfortable than the Beech twins) and the aft door and seats are very nice for pax. They cost approx. Comanche/Duchess money to run (under 2 tons, 200hp a side).

The demostrated crosswind of 13kts is a non-issue (and not a legal limit in any way). I found them no harder to land safely in 25kt xwinds than other aircraft.

The Seneca 1 single engine performance is no worse than other normally aspirated twins - ie. adequate once a safe height and speed are reached after take-off from the great majority of airports you'll depart from, and adequate for cruise over most terrain. Even over the alps, the drift down performance will give you a lot of options to land safely. The non-turbo IO360s are pretty bullet proof, and will cruise nicely at 6000', 18 US gals/hr total, 65% power, ~155KTAS.

The Seneca 1 was the best selling light twin in its day (ok, 1972-74) for a reason. It does nothing brilliantly (except perhaps the cabin space, about as nice as it gets below the "cabin class" piston aircraft like the Navajo/340/Duke) but it does a lot of things ok.

It really depends on your mission. High utility IFR - the Aztec. Fast economical touring - the Comanche. A fairly economical twin with a big cabin - the Seneca 1.
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