Piper PA-20 Pacer
Encyclopedia
The New Piper Aircraft
Piper Aircraft, Inc., is a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft, located at the Vero Beach Municipal Airport in Vero Beach, Florida. Along with Beechcraft and Cessna, it is considered one of the "Big Three" in the field of general aviation construction....
in the post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
period.
The Pacer was essentially a four-place version of the two-place PA-17 Vagabond light aircraft. It features a steel tube fuselage and an aluminum frame wing, covered with fabric, much like Piper's most famous aircraft, the Cub and Super Cub. An aircraft prized for its ruggedness, spacious cabin, and, for its time, impressive speed, many Pacers continue to fly today.
Factory installed 125 hp (93 kW), 135 hp (100 kW) and 150 hp (112 kW) engine options were available and 160 hp (120 kW) as well as 180 hp (135 kW) engine after-market conversions are an option.
Development
The Piper PA-20 Pacer was originally designed as a tailwheelConventional landing gear
thumb|The [[Piper PA-18|Piper Super Cub]] is a popular taildragger aircraft.thumb|right|A [[Cessna 150]] converted to taildragger configuration by installation of an after-market modification kit....
aircraft and thus had somewhat limited forward visibility on the ground and more demanding ground-handling characteristics. To help introduce more pilots to easier, safer flying, in 1953 the PA-20 was redesigned and offered as the PA-22 Tri-Pacer with a nosewheel instead of the tailwheel landing gear. Additionally, the Tri-Pacer offered higher-powered engine options in the form of 150 hp (112 kW) and 160 HP (120 kW) engines, whereas the largest engine available to the original Pacer had an output of 135 hp (100 kW). At the time the tricycle undercarriage became a popular preference and 1953 saw the PA-22 Tri-Pacer outsell the Pacer by a ratio of six to one. Due to the geometry of the nosewheel installation it is sometimes referred as the "Flying Milk Stool".
In 1959 and 1960 Piper offered a cheaper, less well-equipped version of the Tri-Pacer with a 150 HP (112 kW) Lycoming O-320
Lycoming O-320
The Lycoming O-320 is a large family of 92 different normally aspirated, air-cooled, four-cylinder, direct-drive engines commonly used on light aircraft such as the Cessna 172 and Piper Cherokee. Different variants are rated for 150 or 160 horsepower...
designated the PA-22-150 Caribbean. Over 8000 Tri-Pacers were produced between 1953 and 1960 when production ended, with over 2000 still registered with the FAA in 2006.
The 1959 price for the PA-22 Caribbean was $8,395, the Deluxe version $9,395, The standard 160HP version $8,890 and the Super Custom with radios and full panel was $10,770. The PA-22 Colt in Standard, Custom and Super Custom ranged between $4,995 and $6,995.
An unusual feature of the Tri-Pacer is the incorporation of bungee linked ailerons and rudder. Beside simplifying the coordination of in-flight manoeuvres, this system which can easily be overcome by the pilot as required, allowed the installation of a simplified form of autopilot marketed by Piper under the name Auto-control.
A small number of PA-22s have been converted to taildragger configuration, resulting in an aircraft that is very similar to a PA-20 Pacer, but which retains the model refinements and features of the PA-22. These conversions are often referred to by owners as PA-22/20s and are often listed in classified aircraft ads as such, although officially such converted aircraft continue to be designated by the FAA as PA-22 Tri-Pacers. When this conversion is accomplished, a 2 puck disc brake conversion is usually installed in place of the original drum brakes and the Lycoming O-360 180 HP engine is the preferred upgrade.
Some PA-22s have a Hartzell Constant speed controllable propeller or Koppers Aeromatic propeller. Each of these installations improves performance/economy at the sacrifice of payload.
A trainer version of the PA-22 Tri-Pacer was designed and designated the PA-22-108 Colt. It was intended to compete directly with other popular trainers of the day, such as the Cessna 150
Cessna 150
The Cessna 150 is a two-seat tricycle gear general aviation airplane, that was designed for flight training, touring and personal use.The Cessna 150 is the seventh most produced civilian plane ever, with 23,839 aircraft produced...
and was powered by a 108 hp (80 kW) Lycoming O-235
Lycoming O-235
The Lycoming O-235 is a family of four-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed piston aircraft engines that produce , derived from the earlier O-233 engine....
. The Colt was available 1961-1964.
The Colt is essentially a PA-22 Tri-Pacer with the rear seats and windows removed, only one fuel tank in the left wing, no flaps, no rear door and other detail changes that were implemented to reduce cost and complexity. An auxiliary fuel tank was available, of the same 18 US gallon
Gallon
The gallon is a measure of volume. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use: the imperial gallon which is used in the United Kingdom and semi-officially within Canada, the United States liquid gallon and the lesser used United States dry...
capacity as the main tank, that could be installed in the right wing. Like the earlier Vagabond, the Colt features side-by-side seating for two, however the Vagabond has stick controls and the Colt has control wheels. The PA-22-108 uses a single puck disc brake in place of drum brakes fitted to previous models. A few Colts have also been converted to tailwheel configuration, although this is not as popular as converting Tri-Pacers. The last batch of 12 PA-22-150s were built for the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
in 1963 and the last of the family a PA-22-108 Colt was completed on 26 March 1964. The type was replaced on the Vero Beach production line by the PA-28 Cherokee 140
Piper Cherokee
The Piper PA-28 Cherokee is a family of light aircraft designed for flight training, air taxi, and personal use. It is built by Piper Aircraft....
.
Variants
PA-20- Four-seat, conventional landing gear, light cabin aircraft, powered by a 125 hp Lycoming O-290-DLycoming O-290|-References:...
engine. Certified 21 December 1949.
PA-20S
- Three-seat, conventional landing gear, light cabin aircraft, with optional float installation, powered by a 125 hp Lycoming O-290-DLycoming O-290|-References:...
engine. Certified 18 May 1950.
PA-20 115
- Four-seat, conventional landing gear, light cabin aircraft, powered by a 115 hp Lycoming O-235-C1Lycoming O-235The Lycoming O-235 is a family of four-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed piston aircraft engines that produce , derived from the earlier O-233 engine....
engine. Certified 22 March 1950.
PA-20S 115
- Three-seat, conventional landing gear, light cabin aircraft, with optional float installation, powered by a 115 hp Lycoming O-235-C1Lycoming O-235The Lycoming O-235 is a family of four-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed piston aircraft engines that produce , derived from the earlier O-233 engine....
engine. Certified 18 May 1950.
PA-20 135
- Four-seat, conventional landing gear, light cabin aircraft, powered by a 135 hp Lycoming O-290-D2Lycoming O-290|-References:...
engine. Certified 5 May 1952.
PA-20S 135
- Three-seat, conventional landing gear, light cabin aircraft, with optional float installation, powered by a 135 hp Lycoming O-290-D2Lycoming O-290|-References:...
engine. Certified 15 May 1952.
PA-22
- Four-seat, tricycle landing gear, light cabin aircraft, powered by a 125 hp Lycoming O-290-DLycoming O-290|-References:...
engine. Certified 20 December 1950.
PA-22-108 Colt
- Two-seat, tricycle landing gear, light cabin aircraft, powered by a 108 hp Lycoming O-235-C1Lycoming O-235The Lycoming O-235 is a family of four-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed piston aircraft engines that produce , derived from the earlier O-233 engine....
or C1B engine. Certified 21 October 1960.
PA-22-135
- Four-seat, tricycle landing gear, light cabin aircraft, powered by a 135 hp Lycoming O-290-D2Lycoming O-290|-References:...
engine. Certified 5 May 1952.
PA-22S-135
- Three-seat, tricycle landing gear, light cabin aircraft, with optional float installation, powered by a 135 hp Lycoming O-290-D2Lycoming O-290|-References:...
engine. Certified 14 May 1954.
PA-22-150
- Two or four-seat, tricycle landing gear, light cabin aircraft, powered by a 150 hp Lycoming O-320-A2ALycoming O-320The Lycoming O-320 is a large family of 92 different normally aspirated, air-cooled, four-cylinder, direct-drive engines commonly used on light aircraft such as the Cessna 172 and Piper Cherokee. Different variants are rated for 150 or 160 horsepower...
or A2B engine. Certified 3 September 1952 as a four place in the normal category and 24 May 1957 as a two place in the utility category.
PA-22S-150
- Three-seat, tricycle landing gear, light cabin aircraft, with optional float installation, powered by a 150 hp Lycoming O-320-A2ALycoming O-320The Lycoming O-320 is a large family of 92 different normally aspirated, air-cooled, four-cylinder, direct-drive engines commonly used on light aircraft such as the Cessna 172 and Piper Cherokee. Different variants are rated for 150 or 160 horsepower...
or A2B engine. Certified 3 September 1954.
PA-22-160
- Two or four-seat, tricycle landing gear, light cabin aircraft, powered by a 160 hp Lycoming O-320-B2ALycoming O-320The Lycoming O-320 is a large family of 92 different normally aspirated, air-cooled, four-cylinder, direct-drive engines commonly used on light aircraft such as the Cessna 172 and Piper Cherokee. Different variants are rated for 150 or 160 horsepower...
or B2B engine. Certified 3 September 1952 as a four place in the normal category and as a two place in the utility category.
PA-22S-160
- Three-seat, tricycle landing gear, light cabin aircraft, with optional float installation, powered by a 160 hp Lycoming O-320-B2ALycoming O-320The Lycoming O-320 is a large family of 92 different normally aspirated, air-cooled, four-cylinder, direct-drive engines commonly used on light aircraft such as the Cessna 172 and Piper Cherokee. Different variants are rated for 150 or 160 horsepower...
or B2B engine. Certified 25 October 1957.