When I was look for a replacement for my first 182 I had an encounter with a 400 Comanche. A guy up in Planview, TX had one for sale and was ready and anxious to give me the sepal and a test flight. I had some Comanche time and the 400 seemed like a great idea (I have been a hot-rodder most of my life).
So, away I flew to Planeview. I got the sales pitch, did a pretty through ramp inspection and announced that I was ready to see how the beast flew; this was in 1999 so some of my memories may be a bit fuzzy.
Here us what I do recall.
It accelerated to flying speed in short order.
The attitude at best rate of climb speed was uncomfortably nose high.
The elevator force was very heavy.
We reached 12,000 feet very quickly.
TAS at cruise was around 210 MPH with a fuel burn of around 20 GPH; a little over 10 MPG.
In climb and cruise the cabin noise was very loud.
Aileron force was just about right.
Rudder force was just a bit on the heavy side.
Elevator force was heavy; about like a T206.
Bringing the power back to idle produced a sink rate that was similar to an anvil. The owner/check pilot quipped that in the event of a power failure you need to dive for the nearest field Behind you.
On return to the field I made a very hard landing. The sucker just quit flying when I started the final flare, even though I was carrying a bit of extra speed in anticipation of a high stall speed with full flaps.
Given the obvious cost of the care and feeding of the 400 HP piper I kept looking and finally came up with a 10 year newer T210 for a bit less money. I happily flew the 210 for over 20 years.
