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Posted: 9/11/2008 6:22:30 AM EDT
| Just picked this up today, perfect condition. http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e125/MaxRecoil/comanche.jpg |
No, it is antique. Retro is new shit made to look old. |
I understand Colt was originally going to call the semi auto version of their rifle the Comanche, but dropped the name early on because something else (an airplane??) was being named the same thing. I think I read that somewhere in Duncan Long's book. |
Perhaps the Piper Comanche?? 
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Correct! Actually I think another gun company had a rifle named "Comanche" so after 500 or so produced Colt had to change the name to AR-15 Sporter. |
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Duncan Long, The Complete AR-15/M16 Sourcebook (2001) p.65 "In an effort to capture the civilian market, Colt introduced a semiauto-only AR-15 in the mid-1970s...." I thought they were introduced earlier than that. Anyway, Long goes on to say: "This semi auto sporter version was originally marketed under the name Colt Comanche, but the name was later dropped because a commmercial aircraft had been marketed as the Comanche just before Colt introduced its new rifle. Thus the rifle became simply the AR-15 Sporter." |
I heard a rumor that NoDak is going to make reproduction Comanche airframes (NDS-250)and Heatnbeat is going to make reproduction avionics. 45Bravo has reproduction internal engine parts. KurtVF can supply the paint, and Quiet has all the other original parts needed. I think tgus already owns one...and it is hanging on a wall somewhere. 
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I'll buy one! The comanche is a great airplane. Just make sure that the 260C is the one they build.  160kt true on 11gph is my kind of airplane.
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I believe that they were introduced earlier than that too (especially seeing as the only dates in the manual are 1964). Duncan Long's book has been shown over the years to have a number of issues with it. |
Yes it was a truly great airplane. Personally, I preferred the 400 Comanche. I worked for Piper as a Field Service Rep right at the end of production in the 70's. Too bad that hurricane Agnes, escalating interest rates, and rising fuel costs all happened at the same time. Most all the tooling was destroyed and/or damaged by the flooding Susquehanna River resulting from the hurricane. Too bad. |
Bought my first one in 1970 - $179.00, second one in '76 for $215. The $179 was sporting goods store price. the $215 in 1976 was dealer price. |
| Since I just bought this manual and don't plan on ever selling it , can I ask what the value would be or is that a no-no? I just want to know if I got a good deal. Depending on the answers I get, I might post what I paid for it later (to avoid possible embarassment). |
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