Comanche 400

The Piper PA-24-400 is the largest, fastest and rarest member of the Comanche family: an eight-cylinder, 400 hp flagship built for three years (1964-1966) before Hurricane Agnes ended all Comanche production in 1972. Only 148 were built, serial numbers 26-2 through 26-148, on their own type-certificate section (TCDS 1A15 Section III) with a distinctly different fuselage numbering scheme (26-xxx rather than the 24-xxx of the rest of the line) reflecting how different an airplane it is. The Lycoming IO-720-A1A is the only horizontally-opposed eight-cylinder engine Lycoming ever put into general-aviation production -- essentially two IO-360 four-cylinder banks joined on a common crankshaft, displacing 722 cubic inches.

This page exists because the 400 does not belong on the same page as the 250/260 or the 180 (see the main Comanche 250/260 page for the split reasoning): its 3,600 lb gross weight is 12.5% above the 260's 3,200 lb and 41% above the 180's 2,550 lb, its engine is a different cylinder count and displacement class entirely, and its 223 mph top speed and 1,490 lb useful load put it in a genuinely different ownership conversation. An earlier, single conflated Comanche page tried to describe all seven variants -- 180 through 400 -- with one set of numbers; the 400 is the variant that number set fit worst.

The 400 is the fastest fixed-wing single Piper built in the classic Comanche/Cherokee era, and remains a genuinely quick cross-country airplane by modern standards. Its rarity cuts both ways: parts and shop familiarity are thinner than for the 250/260, but the International Comanche Society's support extends to the 400 as well, and the airframe shares most structure, gear system and systems architecture with its six-cylinder siblings.

Source: The Piper Comanche Airplane Owner's Handbook, Piper No. 753 598 (see data/vault/raw/poh/pohaoh753598-pa24-400-2026-09-08.md). At 75% power and sea level, the AOH's own figure is 175 KTAS (202 mph) burning 20.1 GPH. A second 75%-power row is published at "optimum altitude" (213 mph = 185 kt) with no altitude stated, so this page does not use it as a reference figure.

Range is deliberately left off this page's frontmatter. The AOH's only printed range table is keyed to specific ALTITUDES that do not match the sea-level speed row above: 1,315 statute miles (1,143 nm) at 75% power and 8,000 ft, 1,425 mi (1,238 nm) at 65% power and 12,000 ft, and 1,540 mi (1,338 nm) at 55% power and 16,000 ft -- all "with reserve fuel." A pilot planning a real trip in a 400 should expect roughly 1,100-1,150 nm at 75% power flown at a cruise altitude in the 8,000 ft range, which is the closest honest read of Piper's own numbers, but that is a different altitude than the sea-level speed/burn figures this page stores, so the two are not combined into one frontmatter row (runbook rule 3).

Fuel capacity is one place this variant is CLEANER than its siblings: the AOH's 130-gal-total/124-gal-usable figure (100 gal "standard" main tanks + 30 gal auxiliary, 6 gal unusable) matches TCDS 1A15 Section III's own "130 gallons ... (124 gallons usable)" exactly -- no disagreement to record, unlike the 250/260/180 pages in this family.

Climb (1,600 fpm) and takeoff/landing distances (980/1,500 ft takeoff, 1,180/1,820 ft landing) are all sourced directly from the AOH's Section I performance table, at the standard sea-level/gross-weight/flaps-down reference condition.

Useful load is 1,490 lb (3,600 lb gross minus the AOH's 2,110 lb standard empty weight) -- among the largest in the whole Comanche line, and enough to fill four seats with baggage even at full fuel. Endurance at 75% power (20.1 gph) on 124 usable gallons is a little over six hours before reserves; real trip planning should use Piper's own altitude-specific range table (see Performance Notes) rather than a raw fuel/burn division, since climb fuel and the manufacturer's own reserve allowance are not accounted for in the simple endurance figure above.

Cross-Country (9/10): The fastest way to cover ground in a piston Comanche, full stop. 175+ knots on a large useful load makes long legs genuinely practical, provided the buyer accepts the fuel bill and the thin parts/shop-support market.

Business Travel (8/10): Genuinely competitive with light turboprops on shorter legs, at a fraction of the acquisition and operating cost -- for an owner willing to accept the rarity trade-offs.

Cargo Hauling (7/10): 1,490 lb useful load with 124 gal usable fuel (744 lb) still leaves 746 lb for people and bags -- four adults plus real baggage is realistic.

Local Fun (5/10): Fast and satisfying to fly, but the fuel burn (20+ GPH) makes it an expensive way to fly a short local hop.

Flight Training (1/10): Far too fast, complex and expensive for any primary or complex-endorsement training role.

Backcountry (1/10): Retractable gear, high wing loading and a large prop make this entirely unsuited to unimproved strips.

Aerobatics (1/10): Normal category only.

Surveying (3/10): Low wing and high fuel burn are a poor match for typical survey missions.

Shares the Comanche family's wide panel and the same avionics upgrade paths as the 250/260 -- see that page's Avionics Ecosystem section. Given the small population (148 built) and collector status of surviving 400s, panels range from well-preserved originals to fully modernized glass-panel restorations; there is no single "typical" configuration the way there is for the far more numerous 250/260.

The 400's modification ecosystem is thin relative to the 250/260, simply due to population size -- most Comanche STCs (speed mods, gear door seals, LED lighting, avionics mounting kits) were developed against the more numerous six-cylinder airframes and may or may not have specific 400 eligibility. Engine-specific modification options for the IO-720 are essentially nonexistent; this is a "keep it original and well-maintained" airplane, not a modification platform.

Parts availability is the 400's real weak point: the IO-720 is Lycoming's rarest flat-eight, and cylinder/case/accessory parts specific to it are neither stocked the way O-540/IO-540 parts are nor consistently available new. Any shop working on a 400 benefits enormously from ICS's technical network and parts-sourcing help; a generalist shop with no Comanche-400 experience should not be the first choice for anything beyond routine work.

The 400 trades on rarity and speed. It will never be a common airplane, and the buyer pool is correspondingly small and enthusiast-driven -- collectors and serious cross-country pilots who specifically want the fastest piston Comanche, not buyers cross-shopping against a 250/260. Parts scarcity for anything IO-720-specific (versus common Lycoming-family parts) is the main long-term ownership risk and should be priced into any purchase decision.

Shares the Comanche family's structural ADs (stabilator, wing spar attach points) and the same electro-mechanical landing gear maintenance requirements as the 250/260 -- see the main Comanche 250/260 page. The IO-720's own service history is thinly documented simply because so few were built and flown; a pre-buy on a 400 should lean harder on borescope/compression evidence and logbook completeness than on published fleet-wide statistics, which barely exist for a 148-airplane population.

High-performance, complex, retractable, and a rare type an underwriter's own book of business is unlikely to have much experience with -- expect a premium over even the 250/260's already-elevated rates, and expect underwriters to ask pointed questions about total time in type. See GA Insurance Underwriting for category detail.