Best affordable STOL light piston twin?

I have a friend with a Robertson STOL Seneca II. The aircraft has Garmin electronics and high time engines, but was damaged in a hard landing.
He wants to part it out. For someone who wants to go the the trouble of fixing this aircraft it has pretty good STOL performance.
JDB.

Maybe you could get Todd Peterson to fit a canard on an Aztec. :D

David

I own and fly an Aztec and it is off the ground in 1000 feet or less and I regularly turn off at the 1000 foot mark after landing with only moderate braking. And I've been flying it less then a year. So far it's been trouble free. The only issue with an Aztec is you'll have a hard time meeting your budget. You can get a decent one for $50K or less.

337's I never owned one but the insurance costs more then an Aztec for a low time pilot... must be a reason for that. I've also heard alot of horror stories on the 337. The Aztec's IO-540's are bullet proof.

That's encouraging, Tucker, thanks. Would you mind sharing what year and model Aztec you fly, what if any STOL mods it has, and what's a typical density altitude for those 1000' numbers? Cheers, Matthew

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bill Greenwood

Your topic title says a "stol" aircraft. Is an Aztec anywhere near stol, and how much does the Robertson kit affect this??

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Bill, My dad has had a couple of Robertson Aztecs and has flown in Mexico into strips as short as 1200'. With the Robertson there is really no blue line as it is below stall speed. Doing a full performance take off in that airplane is impressive. He's 85 now and it is time to sell his Aztec and play with his Remos. He has flown an Aztec for over 40 years and wears the airplane.

Matthew, there has been a STOL twin advertised in Trade-a-plane off and on. Big cabin, twin pusher IO-540 engines. It was developed and used for missionary work. Here is a link:

http://www.angelaircraft.com/

Thanks, Bob, but I have never understood the logic of the Angel's pusher engines in a bush plane--must be hell on props--and I need a production aircraft with readily available parts.

This might be worth a look - FPNA A-36 Vulcan http://www.fpna.com/a36.htm

A-36 Vulcan

http://www.fpna.com/images/a36_01.jpg

The A-36 is a multipurpose light airplane, designed for a wide range of tasks. It is possible to install a video camera in the nose of the fuselage and a panoramic camera under the pilot seats as well as a gyro stabilized platform in the cargo compartment of fuselage. The Vulcan is also an excellent observation platform. Two engines allow for long flights over terrain where emergency landings are undesirable if even possible (sea, mountains, forest, desert, etc.).

Prices starting at ! $US 174,999.00
(Taxes not included)
For information contact sales@fpna.com

Thanks, I'll take a look.

So, why a twin? Neither the 337 or Aztec will be cheap to operate. Visibility out of an Aztec is great up, but those fat wings and big engine cowlings hide the ground very well. Here in Colorado, we've been flying non turbocharged 182s in Civil Air Patrol for decades. High altitude searches with three crew members in some pretty crappy weather (but VFR) day and night work just fine. If you need more room for surveillance equipment, you can go to a good used 206. The GA8 Airvan that someone mentioned is OK, too, but may be out of your price range. Personally, I find the GA8 a bit uncomfortable. The seats have limited padding and the front seats don't go back very far. If you're very tall, you'll be cramped.