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From: Miloch <Miloch_member@newsguy.com>
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Subject: Piper Pacer Tri-Pacer
Date: 30 Jul 2016 12:49:28 -0700
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piper_PA-20_Pacer
The PA-20 Pacer and PA-22 Tri-Pacer are a family of four-place, strut braced,
high-wing light aircraft that were built by Piper Aircraft in the post-World War
II 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), 150 hp (112 kW), and 160 hp
(120 kW) engine options were available, and 180 hp (135 kW) engine after-market
conversions are an option.
The Piper PA-20 Pacer was originally designed as a tailwheel 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, from February 1951, Piper introduced the PA-22 Tri-Pacer with a
nosewheel instead of the tailwheel landing gear. Both the Pacer and the
Tri-Pacer belong to a sub-group of Piper aircraft called "Short Wing Pipers."
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).[2] 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.[3] Due to the geometry of
the nosewheel installation it is sometimes called 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 designated the PA-22-150
Caribbean.[5] Over 8000 Tri-Pacers were produced between 1953 and 1960 when
production ended, with over 2000 still registered with the FAA in 2006.
An unusual feature of the Tri-Pacer is the incorporation of bungee-linked
ailerons and rudder. Beside simplifying the coordination of inflight 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.[7]
Some PA-22s have a Hartzell constant-speed controllable propeller or Koppers
Aeromatic propeller.[8] Each of these installations improves performance/economy
at the sacrifice of payload.
Specifications (1958 PA-22-160 Tri-Pacer)
General characteristics
Crew: one
Capacity: three passengers
Length: 20 ft 6 in (6.25 m)
Wingspan: 29 ft 3 in (8.92 m)
Height: 8 ft 4 in (2.54 m)
Wing area: 147.5 sq ft (13.70 m2)
Empty weight: 1,110 lb (503 kg)
Gross weight: 2,000 lb (907 kg)
Fuel capacity: 36 U.S. gallons (140 L; 30 imp gal)
horizontally opposed, piston aircraft engine, 160 hp (120 kW)
Propellers: 2-bladed metal, fixed pitch
Performance
Maximum speed: 141 mph (227 km/h; 123 kn)
Cruise speed: 134 mph (116 kn; 216 km/h) 75% power, 7000ft
Stall speed: 49 mph (43 kn; 79 km/h)
Range: 500 mi (434 nmi; 805 km) with reserves, 610 with optional tank
Endurance: 3:30 at 65% power with one hour reserve
Service ceiling: 16,500 ft (5,029 m)
Rate of climb: 800 ft/min (4.1 m/s)
Wing loading: 13.5 lb/sq ft (66 kg/m2)
-----------
Wagner Twin Tri-Pacer
(1952)
http://www.twinnavion.com/oddballs.htm
From www.fiddlersgreen.net:
The Twin Cub was the brainchild of Mr. Harold Wagner of the Wagner Aircraft Co.
at Troh's Skyport, Portland, Oregon. He wanted to create a simple and cheap twin
engined SUV type aircraft and started experimenting with a PA18 Super Cub which
he equipped with a second engine on top of the fuselage. The sports utility
aircraft made its first flight on May 29, 1952 but tail flutter caused by the
downthrust of the extra powerplant meant that the Twin Super Cub project had to
be ended prematurely after only 8 hrs of flight time, after which the Super Cub
was returned to stock configuration.
Mr Wagner's second attempt produced an even uglier machine, called the Twin Cub.
It consisted of a J-3 Cub and a PA-11 Cub Coupe fuselage mounted side-by-side
using a small wing center section and central tailplane. The outer wing panels
and tailplane were standard components. The resulting aircraft looked so odd
that even Mr.Wagner called it "The Thing". Because of the close proximity of the
fuselages, only the righthand one could be occupied by a pilot and passenger,
the lefthand fuselage serving only the purpose of engine mounting. No propeller
synchronizing was envisaged, the props rotating in different planes instead, to
prevent hitting each other. This was accomplished by a 'distance piece' on the
lefthand engine/prop combination. It is claimed that flight qualities were just
great, even with one engine out. One wonders, however, with all that propwash
interference.
Even though the purchase price was said to be about half of a regular twin
engined aircraft, the Twin Cub remained a one-off and Mr. Wagner turned his
attention to the Twin Tri-Pacer, where he bolted two engines to the nose of an
otherwise standard Piper PA-22 Tri-Pacer.
None of the Wagner conversions achieved commercial success and both the Twin Cub
and Twin Tri-Pacer returned to standard configuration.
Wagner Twin Super Cub
(1952)
Wagner Twin Cub
(1952)
Assembled from a J-3 and PA-11, the Twin Cub certainly looked like a cobbled
together experiment.
The comments we found for this aircraft read:
"Tri-Pacer converted to [a] twin by Harold Wagner, 1952. Powered by two
Lycomings, 125=hp each. Flew it about 100 hrs then built it back to single
engine and sold it. Too much CAA red tape."
A search of the FAA registry database reveals that N932A was still registered to
David McClain of Portland, OR in 1980. Interestingly, although the registry
calls it a PA-22 Tri-Pacer, the name painted on the side (while it was a twin)
called it a Pacer 125.
*
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