1964 Piper PA-24-250 Comanche With 5,305 Hours Listed for $148,500
Why It MattersThe listing shows how a 1960s piston single is still marketed on a Garmin panel upgrade and a freshly overhauled engine, which keeps legacy airframes in the used-aircraft market.
A 1964 Piper PA-24-250 Comanche is listed for sale at $148,500 on AircraftForSale and has been named that site's "Top Pick" of the day. The airframe has 5,305 hours total time, and its 250 hp Lycoming O-540 engine has five hours since major overhaul. The listing gives the serial number as 24-3486, the registration as N8447P, and the location as Delaware.
The panel has been updated with a Garmin GNS 430 WAAS GPS/nav/com, a GTX 345 transponder and Flight Stream 250. The cabin has shoulder belts, quarter-inch tinted glass and red upholstery in a classic 1960s style.
The PA-24 Comanche was Piper's answer to the Beechcraft Bonanza, which debuted in 1947. The initial PA-24-180 used a 180 hp Lycoming O-360 and lacked the power to compete with the Bonanza; Piper then moved to the 250 hp Lycoming O-540. More than 4,800 PA-24s were built at Piper's Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, factory before a flood wrecked the facility and much of the tooling. Piper ended PA-24 production and concentrated on the simpler, less expensive Arrow, built at Vero Beach, Florida. The former Lock Haven factory now houses the Piper Aviation Museum.
The listing's financing calculator estimates a monthly payment of $1,101, based on $118,800 financed over 15 years at 7.5%; the figure is for information only and is not an offer.
