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| PA-48 Enforcer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Counter-insurgency aircraft |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Piper Aircraft |
| Status | Retired |
| Number built | 4 |
| History | |
| First flight | 29 April 1971 |
| Retired | 1984 |
| Developed from | North American P-51 Mustang Cavalier Mustang |
ThePiper PA-48 Enforcer is an Americanturboprop-powered lightclose air support aircraft built byPiper in the 1970s. It is a development of theWorld War II-eraNorth American P-51 Mustang fighter. The Enforcer concept was originally created and flown as theCavalier Mustang by David Lindsay, owner ofCavalier Aircraft, in response to theUnited States Air ForcePAVE COIN program, but Cavalier did not have the manufacturing abilities to mass-produce the Enforcer, so the program was sold to Piper by Lindsay in 1970.
In 1968, Cavalier Aircraft owner/founder David Lindsay began developing a highly modified version of theCavalier Mustang for use as acounter-insurgency aircraft. Cavalier initially mated aRolls-Royce Dart 510 turboprop to a Mustang II airframe. This privately funded prototype was also intended for the sameCAS/COIN mission that the Mustang II was built for. TheTurbo Mustang III had radically increased performance, along with an associated increase in payload and decrease in cost of maintenance, and was equipped with Bristol ceramic armor[clarification needed] to protect the engine, airframe, and pilot. Despite numerous sales attempts to the United States Air Force, neither the U.S. military nor any foreign operators purchased the Turbo Mustang III.
Seeking a company with mass production capability, the Turbo Mustang III, renamed the "Enforcer", was sold toPiper Aircraft in late 1970. Cavalier Aircraft Corp. was closed in 1971 so the founder/owner, David Lindsay, could help continue develop the Enforcer concept with Piper. Piper was able to lease a Lycoming T55-L-9 engine from the USAF (the engine Lindsay wanted initially) and flew the aircraft some 200+ hours.
In 1971, Piper built two Enforcers by heavily modifying two existing Mustang airframes, fitting them withLycoming YT55-L-9Aturboprop engines along with numerous other significant modifications. One airframe was a single seat (called thePE-1 andFAA registered asN201PE), the other a dual-control aircraft (thePE-2, registeredN202PE). Prior to the Pave COIN evaluation,N202PE was lost in a crash off the Florida coast on 12 July 1971 due to flutter caused by a Piper-modified elevator trim tab. Although the Enforcer performed well in the 1971–1972 Pave COIN test flown by USAF pilots, Piper failed to secure a USAF contract.
In 1984, with a $US12 million appropriation from Congress, Piper built two new Enforcers, giving the new prototypes the designationPA-48. These aircraft were evaluated by the USAF, but flown only by Piper test pilots.
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For another eight years, Piper and Lindsay lobbied Congress to force the Air Force to officially re-evaluate the Enforcer. Eventually in the 1979 defense bill $11.9 million was allocated for Piper to build two new prototypes and for the Air Force to perform another flight evaluation. Since the Enforcer was never in the Air Force inventory, it was not given an official military designation and did not receive a serial number. Instead, it carried the Piper designation PA-48 and the FAA registration numbers N481PE and N482PE.[1]
By the time the PA-48s were completed, they shared less than 10 percent of their structure with the P-51, and were longer and larger. The PA-48 Enforcer was a completely new aircraft.
The two PA-48s were tested during 1983 and 1984 atEglin Air Force Base, Florida, andEdwards Air Force Base, California. As in the Pave COIN tests of 1971, the PA-48s were found to perform well in their intended role, but the Air Force again decided not to purchase the aircraft.
Of the four prototype aircraft produced, two still exist. In 2014, PA-48 N482PE completed restoration and is on display at theAir Force Flight Test Museum atEdwards Air Force Base.[2] N481PE has been fully restored and is currently at thePima Air and Space Museum,Tucson Arizona after being displayed at theNational Museum of the United States Air Force,Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,Dayton, Ohio.[citation needed]
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1982–83;[3][4]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
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