By Chuck Burgar

I was hooked! My older brother took me on my first flight in a rented Mooney M20A when I was 18. The moment he let me handle the controls, I knew I wanted to fly.

I took my first flying lesson in 1967 in a Piper PA-22 Tri-Pacer. I was in college and working part-time. I used the little spare cash I had to pay for flight instruction and two years later, with 47 hours of fly time, I passed the private pilot check ride. Shortly after, I went on active duty with the US Navy, which gave me both the income and opportunity to rent airplanes. When I was stationed at Pearl Harbor, I moonlighted as an avionics and instruments repairman at the Honolulu Airport where I received discounted rental rates and was able to continue flying frequently.

In 1971, I received my private glider rating at Dillingham Air­field on Oahu. A 1956 Pontiac convertible would tow the Sch­weitzer SGS 2-33 until it reached an altitude of 700-800 feet, then release it. Trade winds hitting the nearby ridge almost al­ways guaranteed a successful launch.

When I returned to Austin, Texas in 1974, I worked part-time while completing my engineering degree. My boss owned N6882P, a 1960 Piper Comanche 250. After a few flights to­gether, he handed me a set of keys and encouraged me to fly it frequently as a “favor” to him.

My most memorable flights in his Comanche were into Mex­ico. One venture into Mexico City required communications with ATC, to be relayed by a Braniff Airline pilot, as my wife and I maneuvered between mountain peaks in IFR conditions. Another was to Puerto Vallerta for a relaxing week at a resort. Every young pilot should be so lucky! I paid for fuel but was never allowed to help with maintenance or insurance costs.

By this time, I was working full-time as a biomedical engi­neer at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. My future wife and my colleagues urged me to pursue medical school. So, in 1980, I sold the Hiller, reduced my in­struction hours and went back to school – though I continued flying the Piper Comanche whenever I could.

We flew back to Texas several times each year to visit family and friends. We took full advantage of the 800+ nm IFR range made possible by 90 gallons of fuel while we enjoyed the com­fort of our Tempur® foam padded seats. On long flights, we usu­ally cruised at 8,000-12,000 feet burning 13 gallons per hour.

Our most memorable flights in 19P included trips to Catalina Island, AirVenture in Oshkosh, and one trip to Mexico when we barely missed Hurricane Flossie. There were also multiple trips to various Caribbean Islands. Once, when we were flying over the Grand Canyon, we made an impromptu decision to land for the night. Although we didn’t have reservations, we were able to get a cabin on the rim. We woke the next morning to a spectac­ular sunrise. The flexibility afforded by flying general aviation aircraft is one of the perks I value most.

Time to Make Some Changes

After 30 years of flying with steam gauges and 1970’s naviga­tion technology, 19P received a glass panel. I added a Garmin GNS430W and G500 that provided GPSS steering to an S-tec 60-2 autopilot, making IFR flights safer and easier.

By this time, my desire for vertical flight had once again re­surfaced and the Comanche was sharing hangar space with an experimental helicopter project. In 2017, I completed con­struction of Jet Exec N911JE and it received its experimental Certificate of Airworthiness. It was a two-seat Rotorway 162F helicopter I converted to turbine power using a Solar T62T-32 engine. I also bought a custom trailer, to which I added living quarters and air-ride suspension. With this rig in tow, my wife and I made multiple trips to air shows and gatherings through­out the country.

When I purchased a 2003 Enstrom 280 FX certified helicop­ter, I had to make a hard choice. There were no hangars avail­able, and the one we had simply wouldn’t accommodate three aircraft. I reluctantly parted with N9119P.

My interest was definitely piqued. I noted the paint scheme and colors were original with obvious attention to detail during res­toration. There were no signs of hail damage. The wingtips were original with a uniform metal-flake coating. Stabilator and rudder counterweights were present. These modifications to the original design eliminate an AD-mandated reduction of Vne to 188 mph, restoring it to 227 mph. Not all Comanches have them. The only modification to this airframe that was not from Piper was a set of gear lobe fairing and aileron gap seals. Based on my previous expe­riences, these are actually effective at reducing drag.

I did a thorough inspection of N9482P and found every work­ing part in remarkable condition. Everything had been cleaned, repaired, replaced or remanufactured. What I observed was consis­tent with entries in the maintenance records.

Moving into the cockpit, I noted Jim’s attention to detail as he maintained the authenticity of this restoration. All the instruments were in excellent condition. I was surprised to see the original Au­tocontrol III autopilot control heads. Jim retained them to keep the original appearance but only the power switch was active to en­gage/disengage the autopilot.

The only concession to maintaining instrument panel originality was the updated avionics package; Garmin GTN750 and GTN650 GPS/coms with indicators, a GTX345 transponder with ADS-B in/out and a GMA35 remote audio processor.

The curtains were original, made from thermal underwear mate­rial, and all six seats were upholstered in matching leather. Jim ex­plained that Piper was minimizing costs when this plane was built and likely used materials available in bulk. Wood veneer inserts still overlayed the original plastic trim. The two front seats were fully ar­ticulated, a desirable feature missing from my previous Comanche.

At this point, I was a serious buyer and requested a flight to evaluate control trim and equipment operation. While I was cur­rent in fixed-wing airplanes, it had been almost five years since my last Comanche flight. While I waited, I checked the logbooks. Not only were they all available from when Piper built the plane, they were detailed and thoroughly documented. Jim also presented me with notebooks containing organized documentation for AD compliance and receipts for every aircraft-related expense. Total time on the airframe was 4314 hours with only 60 hours on the remanufactured Lycoming engine. The weather was not ideal so our flight lasted only 0.4 hours but that was adequate to satisfy me.

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