This March (2002) SAS acquired its most recent project. N3442A is a 1953 Piper Tri-Pacer with a 135 HP engine (PA22-135). This aircraft has less than 1500 total hours on it. Not bad for a 50 year old aircraft. The aircraft and engine are in sound mechanical shape and flies very well. However, the cosmetic appearance is a completely different story. SAS is going to restore this aircraft inside and out and we will convert it to a PA20-135 Pacer configuration (taildragger). The current plan calls for finishing the Fairchild 24 before getting serious on this project although some work will be done in the mean time. The airplane will be flown for fun and errands until the major restoration effort begins. The panel is in very good shape and will need very little work. The exterior paint is in very bad shape and the interior needs a lot of work. The seats are in bad need of being reupholstered. For the near term term adding an intercom with pilot and co-pilot PTT switches is a high priority as is reupholstering the seats. For the major restoration, all of the fabric of the aircraft will be removed and the frame will be completely restored. During the Pacer conversion, the nose gear is removed and the main gear are moved forward  on the frame. Cleveland toe brakes will be added to both pilot positions making this an excellent aircraft for tail dragger certification training. The turn indicator will need to be overhauled but not replaced. The current unit is original Piper instrumentation. The fuel gauges will also be overhauled after the tanks are removed for the wing restoration. Major restoration is not expected to begin before this fall.

Update November 2002

The seats were reupholstered earlier this year. The control surfaces, horizontal stabilizer, and the wings have been recovered with fabric. New wing tip bows were put on both of the wings before they were covered. Clearly the plane is no longer being flown. The picture below shows Bill and John finishing up the covering of the left wing.

Update December 2002

No real work done but we did take some pictures. You can click on the pictures below to enlarge the photos. The seats are not installed. They are sitting in the cockpit but installation will not be done until the conversion and other interior work is completed. The other two photos show more of the panel detail. Other than putting in an intercom, we do not currently plan to modify the panel. Most of the instruments are original.

Here is a list of the panel items.

Top: Compass
Bottom Left: Fuel Gauge. The toggle switch above the tanks picks which tank is displayed.
Left: King Comm. unit and King Transponder.
Top Row: Artificial Horizon, Directional Gyro, Turn & Bank, Altimeter, Engine RPM, Ammeter.
Middle Row: blank, Clock, Airspeed, Rate of Climb, Manifold Pressure, Engine Oil Pressure & Temperature, blank, co-pilot headset jacks.
Bottom Row: Pilot headset jacks, Nav. lights, ??, Parking Brake, Landing & Taxi Lights, Yoke, Carburetor Heat, ??, Ignition Switch, Throttle, Primer, Mixture, Auxiliary Power Outlet, Yoke, Cabin Heat Front, Cabin Heat Rear, Cabin Vent.

Some information on this airplane and from the Piper Pacer Owner's Handbook.

Fuel 100LL
Engine - 135 HP, Lycoming O-290-D
Recommend Engine TBO 1500 Hrs
Cruise - approx. 120-125 MPH indicated
Fuel - 36 Gal.
Fuel Consumption 6.5-7.5 Gal/Hr
Oil Cap. - 8 Qts
Max. Gross Weight 1800 lbs.
Pre-conversion empty weight 1085 lbs.
Max. Baggage 50 lbs.

1428 TTAF, 531 SMOH at last annual (3/02)
Major Over Haul done 4/63

Vr 55 MPH
Vy 84 MPH
Vx 70 MPH
Vs 53 MPH
Vso 49 MPH
Vfe 95 MPH (partial flaps) 80 MPH (full flaps)
Va 112 MPH
Vno 126 MPH
Vne 158 MPH
enroute climb 100 MPH
normal approach 75-80 MPH

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Last updated on July 24, 2004