Aircraft Information
> Aircraft Make: Piper. Model: PA-34. Nickname: Seneca
> Aircraft Mil Civ Description: Airplane ME Piston
> FAA Category and Class: Airplane Multi-engine Land
> Engine Description: Twin piston
Aircraft Experience
> As of: 11/4/2024
> Number of Hours Flown: 2
> Number of Times Flown: 2
> Other Aircraft Models Associated: Seneca I, Seneca II
First Flown Information
> Sequence First Flown: 140
> Date First Flown: 9/9/2003
> Location First Flown: Roswell, NM (KROW)
> Who and/or What Organization First Flown With: Great Southwest Aviation, James.
Recollections:
While on an FAA flight test detachment to Roswell, NM (which–owing to it’s LONG and Part 25-required SMOOTH/UNGROOVED runway–is used by many manufacturers to test their airplanes’ “field performance”–braking, landing distance, etc) I decided I wanted to do some personal flying when testing was either cancelled or we were on a day off. So, I went to GSA at Roswell and got checked out. I’d flown quite a bit in the Beech Baron and I distinctly remember thinking “the Senecea does not handle nearly as nice as a Baron”. I believe this may just be that the Seneca is a bit lighter but, even then, it felt loose and slightly unstable in the pitch axis (a combination of what felt like lower static longitudinal stability, coupled with light pitch forces). I guess I didn’t have the spare time I thought I’d have, because I never rented from GSA after that checkout. My second flight in a Seneca was at the National Test Pilot School some 13 years later, and I remember thinking “yep, I remember this feeling in pitch”.
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