Piper PA-17 Vagabond Systems Description

and-the trump card-looks. It's diffi- cult even for loyal fans, of which I am one, to wax poetic about the Tri-Pacer! Colt's stubby appearance. I began my flight training in a Tri-Pacer and logged some of my early hours as a private pilot in a Colt. They were fun airplanes with perky personalities and just enough quirks-a spirited power-off sink rate and hand-operated wheel brakes and flaps, for example-to make them inter- esting and challenging to a new pilot. I also remember being the brunt of occa- sional ribbing about flying a winged milk stool. . Proof of the Pacer's aesthetic advan- '" tage is in the popularity of tailwheel conversions for the Tri-Pacer and Colt. Over-the-nose visibility doesn't suffer much with the conversion. The gear isn't very tall to begin with, and the cowling is stubby and slopes down- ward. Once the third wheel has been moved from front to back, a Tri-Pacer becomes a PA-22/20 Pacer. This year's short-wing Piper conven- tion drew plenty of Tri-Pacers and con- versions, a few Colts, and, for a brief time, one Pacer. Unfortunately, no Vag- abonds or Clippers put in an appear- ance. Most club members fly Tri-Pacers because they were produced in far greater quantity than the other short- wing models. Noel and Mary Gouldsmith of Inde- pendence, Missouri, took home the grand champion trophy for their 1955 150-hp Tri-Pacer. They have owned the airplane for five years and, three years ago, restored it themselves to better than new perfection, right down to the chromed tiedown rings. Another beautiful example of the breed was Wayne Richert's 1961 Colt. Richert, a former military helicopter pi- lot who lives in Olathe, Kansas, bought the Colt nine years ago for $6,000. Five years ago, he restored it, nearly trebling his original investment. Richert's Colt is a wonderful personal possession that he takes pride in and draws pleasure from, yet spends only pocket change on to fly and maintain. The airplane cruises at 105 miles per hour on less than 6 gallons of car gas per hour. The 18-gallon tank is good for about 2.5 hours of flying. Richert lends a hand on the annual inspection, which helps keep the bill to $250 or less unless parts are required. He pays a state per- sonal property tax of $257 for the Colt, but in two years, the airplane will be considered an antique, and the tax will be waived. The biggest expense is monthly hangar rental. "Inexpensive," was one of Richert's answers to my question, "Why a Colt?" The other answer was, "Why not?" He usually ffies by himself and therefore doesn't need more seats, it's a simple and reliable airplane, and, says Richert, "1 just like rag-wings." David W. Johnson of Jacksonville, North Carolina, is on his third Tri-Pacer. He bought his first three years ago for $ 7,000 just after starting primary ffight training. He sold it at a profit after earn- ing his private certificate, then bought a second. Though sold on the Tri-Pacer, Johnson preferred the look of a tail- dragger. His third short-wing Piper, which appears in the photographs ac- companying this story, is a conversion. Johnson had owned it two months when he flew it to the SWPC convention this summer. Originally a 125-hp Tri- Pacer, it had been rebuilt five years ago by a craftsman who, in addition to con- verting it to a taildragger, installed a 150-hp engine, toe brakes, leather seats, drooped wing tips, and a modem panel with a Narco Mark 12D nav /com, tran- sponder, audio panel, Amav R-20 loran, Alcor EGT gauge, and Hamilton vertical card compass. Johnson paid $17,000 for the airplane. That's a bargain for an airplane as pretty, as pleasant, and as capable as N7603D. Johnson can cruise at 125 mph for about three hours before the two 18- gallon tanks need replenishing (some Pacers/Tri-Pacers are equipped with an 8-gallon fuselage belly tank that Piper offered as an option). Payload with full fuel is 600 pounds. One of the nice things about the Pacer and Tri-Pacer is the number of doors: a front door on the right for the crew, a rear door on the left for passengers, and a small baggage door on the right. The baggage area can hold 100 pounds of cargo. Johnson's conversion is a pleasure to fly. Piper built the Tri-Pacer with an ai- leron-rudder interconnect, but it has been removed on N7603D. It's a com- mon modification and a desirable one, too, if Johnson's airplane is represen- tative. The controls are light, well-bal- anced, and responsive. Short-wing tube and fabric Pipers are gaining in stature, thanks in part to SWPc. Founded a decade ago, the club has grown to about 900 members. (For more information, contact Wayne Rich- ert, the membership chairman, at 12018 Hagan, Olathe, Kansas 66062; tele- phone 913/829-1071.) The pride of the club is its magazine, Short Wing Piper News, published every other month. It's an engaging mix of nuts-and-bolts technical information, spirited repartee among highly opinion- ated club members, and down-home so- ciability. The same can be said of the club's national convention. It's a family- oriented affair that draws members from Washington, Florida, Maine, and other comers of the country, but what better excuse than attending the convention to do some serious flying in a jaunty, clipped-wing page from Piper's past? Type clubs are important in promoting older airplanes and keeping them flying, and SWPC is one of the best. Short-wing Pipers may represent some of the better bargains in aviation. Their humble reputation works for the buyer. Prices are relatively low; $5,000 to $ 7,000 for a flyable, though tattered, example is not uncommon. On the other hand, the good ones can fetch premium sums; Noel Gouldsmith last year turned down a $21,000 offer for his Tri-Pacer. Modifications are available to turn a short-wing Piper into just about any- thing a pilot could want. The list of mods includes, among other things, floats, skis, tundra tires, 180-hp engines, STOL kits, extended wing tips, speed fairings and seals, auxiliary fuel tanks, and metal skins to replace the fabric. But •. even unadorned, the airplanes are fun to fly, simple, and, with more than 10,000 produced, abundant. There is no short- age of short-wing Pipers. D AOPAPILOT. 93