mathewsamy1993-blog

[mathewsamy1993-blog]

Piper PA-34 Seneca

The Piper PA-34 Seneca is a twin-engine light aircraft of American origin, produced by Piper Aircraft from 1971 to the present.

Seneca is mainly used as personal, training and business air transport.

Developing

Seneca was developed as a twin-engine version of the Piper Cherokee Six, with a prototype designated as PA-32-3M; It consisted of a Cherokee Six - normally equipped with a Lycoming O-540 300hp front engine - to which two Lycoming O-235 engines were adapted in the wings (115hp each). For this reason the prototype was operated as a trimotor in the initial stages of the test program.

PA-34-180 Twin Six

With the decision to abandon the trimotor design tested in the PA-32-3M, it became a twin-engine design with its own designation of the Piper series, PA-34. The PA-34-180 Twin Six prototype registered with the license plate "N3401K" flew for the first time on April 25, 1967; It had two 180hp Lycoming O-360 engines but incorporated a retractable landing gear and a higher tail stabilizer. During development flights the wingspan increased by 2ft (0.61m). The third prototype (PA-34-200 Twin Six) was closer to the production standard and flew on October 20, 1969; It had been upgraded with two 200hp Lycoming IO-360 A1A engines with fuel injection system.

PA-34-200 Seneca I

Certified on May 7, 1971 and introduced at the end of 1971 as the 1972 model, the PA-34-200 Seneca I is powered by a pair of Lycoming IO-360-C1E6 engines. The right-hand engine is a Lycoming LIO-360-C1E6, whose "L" indicates that its crankshaft turns in the opposite direction (L from Left, turns to the left), making Seneca I a "counter-rotating" engine plane (counter -rotating). Counter-rotating engines eliminate critical limitations of other twin-engines and make the aircraft more manageable in situations of failure or loss of one of its engines during the flight. In total 934 Seneca I was built, including the prototype aircraft.

The Seneca I primitive has a maximum gross weight of 4000lb, while other subsequent serial numbers have a maximum allowable takeoff weight of 4200lb.

PA-34-200T Seneca II

Responding to complaints about the maneuvering capabilities of the plane, Piper introduced the PA-34-200T Seneca II. The plane was certified on July 18, 1974 and introduced as a 1975 model.

The new model incorporated changes in the control surfaces, including longer and more balanced ailerons, the addition of a limiter (anti-servo tab) and counterweights (bobweight) in the elevator.

The "T" of the model suffix reflected the change to Continental TSIO-360E or EB turbocharged six-cylinder engines to increase performance, particularly at high altitudes. Seneca II retained the configuration of the opposite rotation of Seneca I engines.

Seneca II also introduced a club-like arrangement for its seats (club-seating, which refers to two rows of seats facing each other, allowing greater interaction between passengers and a greater sense of comfort). A total of 2,588 were built. Seneca II's, in case you are looking for aircraft for sale.

PA-34-220T Seneca III

In 1981, PA-34-220T Seneca III was introduced, completing its certification on December 17, 1980.

Again the name change reflected an improvement of motorization with the number indicating the power; thus, it incorporated two Continental TSIO-360-KB of 220hp, although in capacity to operate at maximum power for a period of 5 minutes, after which its limit should remain below 200hp.

The increase in power, with a limit increased to 2800 RPM (increased from 2575 RPM of the previous model) combined to give better performance in ascents and in the cruise stage. The plane incorporated a one-piece windshield with a metal instrument panel instead of one covered with a removable plastic cowl; Some models have electric drive flaps. More than 930 Seneca III were built; the last 37 of them had an electrical system at 28 Volts instead of the system of 14 in previous airplanes.

The gross weight of the plane was increased to 4750lb on takeoff and 4513lb for landing.

PA-34-220T Seneca IV

In 1994 the company "New Piper" Aircraft (renamed after entering a bankruptcy process in 1991, which emerged successfully in 1995) introduced Seneca IV, for which it obtained its certification on November 17, 1993. This model It was similar to Seneca III, offering minor reforms, among which are the engine grips with asymmetric air intakes for greater aerodynamic performance in cruising. He continued using the Continental TSIO-360-KB counterbalanced engines and the gross weights (takeoff and landing) remained the same. A total of 71 Seneca IV's were built.