PIPER PA22-20-135

The PA22-20-135 designation records a Tri-Pacer converted to conventional landing gear -- the so-called PA-22/20, in which the nosewheel airframe is put back on the tailwheel legs the Pacer was built with. It is one of the most common modifications in light aviation and it is done for two reasons: the Tri-Pacer's nosegear is the part owners complain about, and the conversion turns a cheap four-seater into a cheap four-seat taildragger.

Ownership is steel tube and fabric ownership. The recover is the periodic bill that dwarfs everything else, corrosion in the tubing under the fabric is what ends these airframes, and the lift strut inspection requirement is a real one. Against that, the engines are among the cheapest four-cylinder Lycomings to overhaul and the parts trade for the type is unusually good, because Univair and others still make almost everything. A converted aircraft needs its paperwork read: which approval was used, whether the flight manual supplement is aboard, and whether the work was done properly at the gear attachment fittings. Insurance will treat it as a taildragger and so should the pilot, because the conversion does nothing to soften the short-coupled ground handling the Pacer was always known for.