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Old 16th Aug 2017, 01:10
  #7 (permalink)  
B2N2
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: GA, USA
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Probably the worst aircraft that Piper ever built.
There's a lot of info out there including that a Piper design engineer recommended that they should buy them back and shred them.

The certificaton testing the FAA did on the Tomahawk was done with a preproduction model built at the Lock Haven, PA plant. When that plant was destroyed, production was moved to Vero Beach, FL, but not before significant changes were made to the wing.

The new design included the removal of a number of ribs from the wing, reducing it's rigidity, and it was NOT put through new stall and spin testing by the FAA, despite being certified for intentional spins.

After a number of accidents and near misses involving spins, the NTSB reccommended that the FAA reevaluate the aircraft's performance in 1997
http://www.landings.com/_landings/ganflyer/jul25-1997/New-Tomahawk-Tests.html

FWIW, the Tomahawk's stall/spin accident rate is roughly 3 to 7 times higher than that of the 150/152, as discussed in this NTSB letter to the FAA-

http://www.ozaeros.flyer.co.uk/tomahawk/ntsb.htm

Interesting reading, I may fly one, but I sure as heck don't want to stall one, let alone spin one!

Added-
Another interesting read (if you have a spare day)
http://www.geocities.com/cfidarren/r-mccabe.htm
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