Aerostar Aircraft Corporation was formed in
1991 by its principals, Steve Speer and Jim
Christy.
Aerostar Designer . . . AVIATION
LEGEND
The Aerostar series of aircraft was
originally conceived by Ted R. Smith, one of
the most brilliant aircraft designers of all
time.
Arguably, no one has had as great an impact
on general/business aviation as Ted Smith.
Each aircraft design credited to his name
helped set new standards for future designs.
It is not widely known, but Mr. Smith
designed, certified, and built the first all
new small twin engine business aircraft, the
Aero Commander. He then brought the first
small business jet aircraft to market which
was the Jet Commander now evolved into the
Astra Jet. Mr. Smith, more designer than
promoter, was know as the "quiet man",
letting his revolutionary aircraft designs,
with their spectacular performance, speak
for themselves.
The Aerostar family of aircraft was the
culmination of 40 years aviation experience
and expertise, and included the design
concepts and engineering.
HISTORY
The design work for the Aerostar was begun
by the Ted Smith Aircraft Company in
November 1964, with the first model 600/601
prototype flying in October 1967.
Certification was in March 1968 for the 600
and November 1968 for the 601. Additionally,
two more certificates were obtained. These
were for the use of 180-hp and 200-hp
engines, called the Models 360 and 400
respectively. After certification,
controlling interest in the company was sold
to American Cement. In 1970 American Cement
sold the firm to Butler Aviation, but little
was done until 1973, when Smith resumed
control and started production in Santa
Maria, California, on both the normally
aspirated 600A and the turbo 601A.
On August 6, 1975, and Aerostar 601A,
piloted by Jack Chrysler, set a class C1d,
2000-kilometer, closed-circuit speed record
for piston-powered land-planes at 237.08
knots (272.83 mph). Between November 4 and
9, 1977, an Aerostar 601P piloted by
Philander Claxton III and Jack Cink recorded
a new round-the-world speed record for
piston-engine aircraft. The 19,974-n.m.
(23,000-s.m.) trip was completed in 104
hours, 5 minutes and 30 seconds, averaging
190.91 knots (219.70 mph).
In 1976 Smith died, and Piper Aircraft soon
took over the Aerostar line, eventually
moving production to Vero Beach, Florida. On
February 14, 1981, Piper announced the Model
602P and named it the Sequoia. This
pressurized plane had Avco Lycoming
IO-540-AA1A5 low-compression engines with
integral turbochargers. The name was later
withdrawn.
The Design Concept
In an address to the Aerostar Owners
Association in 1971, Smith detailed the
reasoning behind the Aerostar. The following
data garnered from the speech's transcript:
Smith had been with Douglas Aircraft and
designed the A-20, a low-level attack bomber
for the military in World War II. Later he
designed the Aero Commander twins for the
civilian market. In 1963, when Rockwell
decided not to pursue any new development
other then the Jet Commander, Smith took six
months off to mull over his future. He said
that while skiing the slopes of the Lake
Tahoe area, he would develop concepts of a
new plane and then put them on paper at
night. The result was the Aerostar.
Part of Smith's concept was commonality and
a reduction in parts. Commonality was
achieved by the use of the same parts for
the rudder and elevator, and the horizontal
and vertical stabilizers. This was a first
for the industry. Simplicity and production
design were also a major effort. But there
was a goal other than just a simpler
airplane. Smith wanted the plane to be
adaptable to a range of power sources, from
a single-engine to "a pure turbine-powered,
500-mph airplane." His idea was to put as
much of the heavy and beefy equipment on the
outside to use it for structural strength.
One such way was the elimination of many
pieces of under-structure and substitution
of heavier-gauge skins (0.050 inches, twice
the normal wing-skin thickness). This made
the skin carry more of the bending, torsion
and shear loads. Smith said there are 50
percent fewer model-specific parts in the
Aerostar than in competitive types.
These understructure alternations and
heavier skins gave the plane a rigid
structure that directly relates to a high
dynamic factor. Smith said that as such, the
plane, as it's built, can be flown at true
airspeeds of 800 mph without getting into
the flutter parameters. He also said the
plane has been flown at altitude, with power
and in a slight decent, at 500 mph true.
Statically, the plane was tested to 6000
pounds gross and an ultimate load factor of
6 Gs with no deformations, no permanent
sets, no cracks and no failures of any kind.
Additionally, the load was held for an
indefinite period of time at this ultimate
load factor. The FAA requires a hold of five
seconds, but "...since nothing was
happening, we just kept the load on for an
indefinite period of time, then relieved the
load, and the airplane came back to its
normal status as it was before the load was
first applied." He also said that strain
tests showed the plane could double its
gross weight with nothing more than minimal
structural changes.
The Question of Stability
Before we get too far along, let's address
the issue of the plane's reputation. As with
all planes and people, there will be stories
about the good and bad points. When I
mentioned to some friends that we were going
to do this story, I was regaled with stories
about the plane falling out of the sky.
Asking Jim Christy, Aerostar's vice
president, about this, he said the story
originated with stall tests. A test pilot
took the plane and ran a series of stalls,
involving 90 percent power and the plane in
a dirty configuration. At about 64 knots,
which is way below Vmc, the plane's wing was
flying, but the rudder lost effectiveness.
The next things to go were the ailerons, but
the wing was still flying - just the
opposite of what's desirable.
The solutions are many and varied, plus too
long and technical for this article. Over
the years, Machen Inc., a company that still
specializes in Aerostar modifications and is
closely allied with today's Aerostar
Corporation, used a number of devices - not
to make the wing stall, but to ensure the
control surfaces work at these low speeds.
On the back end, one problem was that the
rudder's leading edge protruded into the air
stream when rotated, causing a burble and
airflow separation at low speeds. Smoothing
the air and keeping it in contact with the
rudder required the installation of vortex
generators, fairings added to the rudder
hinge points and small airfoil surfaces
added at the fin's base to prevent the air
from flowing up the stabilizer. Piper, while
working on the same situation, added another
rudder on the bottom of the plane, but this
didn't seem to be quire as effective.
(Vortex generators are small airfoils, about
1/2 X 1 inch, that are attached to the
fin/wing and angled to the fin's/wing's
chord. As the air passes over and around,
the airfoils induce high kinetic energy,
which decreases the boundary layer and
reduces the speed at which there's airflow
separation.)
Up front, the ailerons are a Frise design,
in which a small portion of the surface
sticks down into the airflow when the
aileron is rotated up. When rotated down,
the surface between the wing and the aileron
is smooth. This is designed to counteract
adverse yaw. At slow speed and maximum
deflection, the aileron on one side of the
plane would stall. Therefore, vortex
generators have been installed on the bottom
of the wing.
Subsequent testing has shown that the plane
can be controlled, completely stalled with
full flaps and 90 percent power, within 15
degrees of roll and yaw, at 52 knots, while
descending at 4000 fpm.
The Model 700
Through the 1970s, Piper continued to modify
and improve the Aerostar line and announced
the addition of the PA-60-700P, called the
Aerostar 700P, to the line on November 20,
1982. Design on the 700P, by Piper, had
started in January 1981, with prototype
construction initiated six months later. The
first flight was in September 1981, and
production began in December 1982. FAR Part
23 Amendment 6 certification was received in
May 1983, and the first customer delivery
was in December 1983. The model was also
certified for flight into known icing. Only
25 of these planes were built.
Prior to that, however, in 1980 Machen
started producing an upgraded version of the
Aerostar 601P. Called the Superstar II, or
Super 700, its engines were replaced by
TIO-540 engines with Garrett TA-18
turbochargers and induction air
intercoolers, each rated at 350 horsepower
and driving a Hartzell three-blade
propeller. Robyn Astaire's plane, N40X, was
a Piper-built 602P that was transformed into
a Super 700 Aerostar by Aerostar Aircraft/Machen
Inc.
The Piper version, if indeed there was nay
difference at all, of the Model 700 sported
a pair of intercooled, flat-six,
counter-rotating, 350-hp Lycomings,
TIO-540-U2A engines.
The plane's cruise
speed increased to a reported 261 knots
(mid-cruise weight and optimal altitude),
with enough capacity in the turbo system to
maintain power and cabin pressure to 25,000
feet. The single-engine ceiling is 16,500
feet, which will get you over all the dirt
here in the lower 48.
But the power plants are only part of the
picture, as we were to discover upon
examining Astair's 700P. Shining in the
sunlight, the plane's paint scheme is
tastefully designed. In fact, Astaire is so
proud of the design, she said there's a
design patent on the colour and scheme.
While the fuselage's breadth appears to be
small, the interior is surprisingly
commodious. Entry to all the seats is
through a clamshell-type door located at the
pilot's seat. With the pilot's seat all the
way forward, entry is easily accomplished.
Putting the only door at the pilot's elbow
takes the term "a pilot's plane" to a new
level, especially in an emergency. Lest
anyone think this callous, there's an
emergency exit above the wing on the
starboard side.
Astaire's plane is as luxurious as one could
imagine, with leather, carpeting and a
tastefully done decor. Her seating
arrangement is a pilot, copilot (not
required) and up to four passenger seats
with a center aisle. Once inside and
ensconced in the copilot's seat, I found all
the instruments easily within view - and
there were quite a few items to see. The
almost entirely King avionics assembly
includes a pair of KY196 coms, two KNS 81
RNAV receivers, a KLN 88 loran, a Trimble
2000 GPS (used for IFR approaches), a KN 64
ADF, all of which are feeding into a color
King EFIS centrally mounted in front of the
pilot seat. To round things out, there's a
cluster of JPI engine instruments on the
right sidewall. We bemoaned the fact that we
weren't able to view all this at night,
because Astaire said the colours on the
panel are outstanding.