The International Comanche Society - Pilot und Flugzeug

Cover Story: Comanche Spirit
Learning New Languages at the Age of 40 –
The Globetrotter
Twin Comanche
by Jan Brill, ICS #14831
Seriously – how many of my fellow
tribesmen have logged a landing
at Tehran Mehrabad International
(OIII) with a Twin Comanche? Or how
about Phnom Penh in Cambodia?
N7311Y used to be a country girl.
Dutifully flying for the University of
Pennsylvania initially, doing atmospheric
research, later serving with Weather
Modifications Inc., a Fargo, N.D. based
cloud seeding company.
That was – until I was shopping for
a Twin.
At the time I had no idea what I was
looking for. I used to work for a Swiss
Investment Bank in New York City.
Having owned a valiant Grumman Tiger
(AA5B) for a few years in Zurich,
Switzerland I had to fly my trusted single
engine non-turbo, fixed-prop 180 HP
airplane across the North Atlantic when
moving to New York. That would be a
story of its own, but it was somewhere
on an IFR flight plan on top of the
12,000 foot icecap in Greenland when
I suddenly knew: Darn! I want a twin!
Parting with my beloved Tiger came
first. An airplane that served me well for
many years and even carried me across
the North Atlantic and all the way
around the United States from Nantucket
to New Orleans to San Francisco and
back to the East Coast – a plane like
this you don’t sell light-hearted. So
rather than putting her on the market,
I searched for a new home. I found one,
the price was right and the deal was
closed within days.
Continued on Page 6
After many months of searching, finally in icy North Dakota a clean Turbo PA30 was
found. Here N7311Y at her new home close to New York City, still in cold temps.
Grateful for the improvements and
maintenance, N7311Y served me well
while living in New York City.