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The Osborne boys in front of David’s 1965 Piper PA-24-360.
the powerless aircraft to a section of dirt road flanked by powerlines roughly 15 nautical miles north of the intended destination – Phillip Billard Municipal Airport (KTOP). His con- cise decision making allowed him and his passengers to survive an event that pilots spend years train- ing for the possibility of. This har- rowing emergency experience would be the basis for his self-penned book “Five Minutes to Impact: The Final Flight of the Comanche.”
“After Dad’s 2012 crash, we knew a twin was a must for any night IFR or long-range family travel. The Cessna 340 was the perfect mix of speed, ef- ficiency, range and payload not just to visit clients 300 miles out but also a great way to load up my wife and kids for a quick hop to Lloyd Stearman Field (1K1) for brunch on a Saturday.”
And for Stephen, his recently ac- quired twin piston fits both roles per- fectly. It serves both as a family hauler for him, his wife Elisabeth and their five children, as well as a corporate
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1964 Piper Comanche 400
say about the plane. “This is like our hotrod. It has an incredible amount of power, is a super sexy airplane, and is just so fun to fly. She turns heads when pulling into airshows, as it is one of only 146 that were built. And to make things better, I can easily stretch out 1,000 miles without stopping for fuel. If someone were looking for a long- distance cruiser, a Comanche should be a top contender. Parts are a little difficult to find, but diligent preventa- tive maintenance and planning ahead will alleviate most of these worries.”
Stephen recently passed the 500- hour total time mark and holds both instrument and multi-engine rat- ings. He is currently studying for the commercial written exam and hopes to complete all the needed require- ments by the end of the year. Outside of training for additional ratings, one of Stephen’s recent focuses has been becoming more proficient operating his 1978 Cessna 340A that he pur- chased in 2021.
To help bridge the gap from an unpressurized single-en- gine to a pressurized twin- engine, he attended a Cessna 340 initial training course at Aircraft Simulator Training (AST) in Burnet, Texas.
“The experience was incred- ible. Three days of motion simulator time with a variety of emergency situations and a wealth of knowledge on sys- tems and maintenance. There was a heavy emphasis on major
aircraft systems, operation, regular maintenance, landing gear, pressuriza- tion, electrical system, air condition- ing, f laps, etc. The AST team owns and flies a C340 regularly, so they really know the airplane and speak on an expert level of subject matter.”
In addition to the desire to fly higher, faster and further, the C340’s purchase was a result of an in-flight emergency that his father David had experienced nearly ten years ago. At the time, he owned a quarter share in a 1965 Piper PA-24-360 and had flown it approximately 1,000 hours before a catastrophic crash. The event oc- curred at approximately 9:50 p.m. on August 16, 2012, and was the result of an engine failure. According to the NTSB’s findings, the engine’s failure was due to inadequately torqued right magneto attachment nuts, which ul- timately caused oil to escape and the engine to seize.
Even with smoke quickly filling the cockpit, David successfully piloted
June 2022 / TWIN & TURBINE • 27