AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 46

no-compromises personal speed machine.
It set multiple speed records for piston
aircraft, and the pressurized and turbocharged versions have long laid claim to the
title of fastest FAA-certified piston twin.
Aerostar production began in 1967
and the first model flew the next year.
Ownership of the company changed many
times over the years, but Smith, the charismatic and hard-charging lead engineer on
the World War II Douglas A-26 Invader
and designer of the Aero Commander and
Jet Commander, believed so much in the
46 | AOPA PILOT February 2014

Aerostar that he and a group of investors
repurchased the company by taking it private in 1972. He always envisioned a family
of aircraft with a jet version at the pinnacle, but there were no suitably small and
efficient fanjet engines when Smith passed
away in 1976.
Piper Aircraft bought the rights to the
Aerostar in 1978, and production eventually ceased in 1984. Christy and Speer,
both former employees at the Ted R. Smith
Aircraft Company, had long been involved
in Aerostar upgrades and modifications
in their own business ventures, and they
bought the rights to the airplane from Piper
in 1991. Roughly 1,000 Aerostars had been
produced over the years, and about 700 are
still registered and flying. "We bought the
type certificate because we wanted to support the existing fleet," Speer said. "And we
wanted to produce the jet."

The company drew up several designs,
including a stretched version with a
T-tail and aft-fuselage-mounted engines.
They explored many options but finally
concluded Smith's original plan for wingmounted engines was best. The engines
could take in undisturbed air; there was no
need to alter the tail, less chance of ingesting ice and change to the aircraft's center of
gravity was minimal.
In 2005, Pratt & Whitney certified the
PW615F engine for the Cessna Mustang,
and finally, there was a modern engine that
could be adapted for the Aerostar. Speer
began detailed design work in 2006, and the
prototype first flew on July 27, 2010.
Since then it has logged about 200 hours
of flight time and been evaluated by several
professional test pilots. Speer and Christy
have begun looking for partners to certify
the jet and put the six-seat airplane into



AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014

AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2014
Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2014
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 6
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 33
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 34
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 36
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 37
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 39
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 40
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 41
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 42
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 43
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 44
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 45
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 46
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 47
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 48
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 49
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 50
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 51
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 52
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 53
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 54
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 55
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 56
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 57
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 58
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 59
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 60
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 61
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 62
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 63
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 64
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 65
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 66
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 67
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 68
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 69
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 70
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 71
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 72
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 73
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 74
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 75
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 76
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 77
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 78
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 79
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 80
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 81
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 82
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 83
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 84
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 85
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 86
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 87
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 88
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 89
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 90
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 91
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 92
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 93
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 94
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 95
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 96
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 97
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 98
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 99
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 100
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 101
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 102
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 103
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 104
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 105
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 106
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 107
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 108
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 109
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 110
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 111
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 112
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - Cover4
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