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Geronimo

Flying the Fastest Sweet Potato in the Bunch
Text and photos by Budd Davisson, Air Progress, Oct '90,

PAGE THREE

On takeoff, the 170 hp engines don't yank your hat off in acceleration. Once the airplane has started rolling and the effects of some of the drag reduction start to be felt, the difference between the Geronimo and an Apache become readily apparent. At speeds above 50 mph, even before the gear is up, the Geronimo conversion looks like a good investment.
 
At the recommended climb speed of 110 mph, we were showing about 900 fpm on a 85 degree day. We had full tanks and only two souls, which on Henry's airplane is technically full gross. The 180 Geronimos can carry six folks and enough fuel for a 575 mile trip with 45-minute reserve (at economy cruise).
 
Pushing over into cruise, I brought everything back to 23 square, and I had to smile at how easily the props synched. Apache's have always been easy to synch. The book said that power setting at our altitude was 63 percent and we were truing about 140 knots, which is almost identical to what a new 160 hp Apache was supposed to do. The operative phrase there is "supposed:' Watching Henry's airplane during the photo work, it was obvious his gear doors were far from being rigged, since they hung part way open — probably totally negating their streamlining effect. Also, the flaps and/or ailerons are out of rig, since they miss lining up by about an inch. That could be a Geronimo speed trick, reflexing the ailerons, but I doubt it.
 
In flight, the Geronimo is like having your own mini-airliner. The controls are what would be expected on an airplane such as this, which is to say they aren't especially light and the airplane responds in a reasonable manner. The controls work with the stability in such a way that the airplane is not only willing to drone ahead forever without the help of an autopilot, but it is probably a pretty good instrument platform.
 
We went up to a local airport to check out a Vampire being restored and I was surprised, when I found the Geronimo definitely doesn't slow down like an Apache when coming into the pattern. That's not to say it's a rocket, but an Apache's airspeed generally followed the throttles — to slow down for the pattern only took waiting a few seconds after bringing the throttles back. The Geronimo makes you wait a lot longer and actually work little.
 
A few degrees of flap makes the airplane more willing to behave in the pattern where we turned final at 95 mph, slowing to 85 mph. With 85 being Vyse, there wasn't anything to worry about in the approach. It's a good idea to slow the airplane down as soon as the runway is made because 85 is entirely too fast to flair. The power off stall speed is 54 mph, which we proved. so it would make more sense to come over the fence at 75 or less. In any situation, the airplane proves its docility by sitting there all day, letting me get and hold an attitude until the mains clunked on gently.
 
Going back home I zero thrusted an engine and played with different speeds, finding I was actually down at around 70 mph before running out of rudder. At that speed, I was so slow I started to feel silly. Dropping the nose, while keeping one engine powered-down, brought the airplane quickly up to 85 mph, although we started to get a positive rate a little before that.
 
Back home, I felt I didn't know the airplane well enough to make a short approach so I backed it off and then aimed at our 2000-foot strip. As it turned out, I was being entirely too conservative. If I would have listened to my own advice and slowed when the runway was made, I could probably have turned off at the intersection with a minimum of sweat. As it was, we didn't miss by much.
 
After such a short introduction, I can hardly say I know Geronimos well. Since I was flying the 170 hp version, it could probably be said I don't know Geronimos at all. I can absolutely say I am impressed by the differences the modifications have made. Seguin took what was basically a forgiving and potentially good airplane and made it into one that is even more forgiving and is realizing its potential. There have been enough independent tests done on the machine that the advertised 192 mph cruise has, if not verified, is at least in the ball park. Even at 185 mph on 17 gallons, the Geronimo's a hell of an airplane. There are lots of Twin Comanche owners stating their airplane will run away and hide on even less fuel. They are right. but there are lots of pilots the Twin Comanche will eat alive while getting a good landing out of one is a major event.
 
Aztec owners can point out that their airplane is faster and handles almost as easily, but they don't mention the fuel and maintenance differences brought on by the six cylinder engines.
 
With the constant flow of good airplanes overseas, aircraft such as the Geronimo start to make more sense. Of the over 200 Geronimos in the States, a sizable percentage of them are still flying and bring prices in the $45-$85,000 (1990 prices) range depending on time and avionics. In some cases, that puts them right up with Aztecs, but finding a good, low-time Aztec is reportedly turning out to be a difficult job as the years roll on.
 
Apaches, especially those needing engines, props or both are hitting rock bottom, with prices under $10,000 in some cases. On the other extreme, we're starting to see fully restored Apaches in the classic line at local airshows, which I think is fantastic. Unfortunately, a fully restored Apache is going to run in the S25-S30.000 bracket.
 
With an increasing number of Apache airframes starting to pile up in the forgotten corners of airports, maybe the Geronimo approach to airplane recycling is beginning to make more sense. Maybe not. Seguin reports they are only doing one or two a year. The complete conversion runs about $120,000 or they will sell you a completed airplane for $150,000 plus avionics. The engines and props alone account for nearly half the total reconversion cost.
 
Still, the Geronimo and its ilk are still the only light twins available that are honestly user-friendly and that's something worth considering, when looking at prices. Lose one engine coming out of a short runway and it will make any extra money spent look cheap.
 
Am I going to buy a Geronimo? No, because they don't hammerhead well but I'd certainly recommend them for folks who need a traveling machine that's as friendly as a warm puppy.
BD

For Current Information on the Geronimo from its current producer to go: http://www.diamondaire.com/index.shtml

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