Ross Aviation Piper PA-23 Aztec

Additional Information:

The Piper PA-23 was initially named the Apache and later changed to the Aztec, is an American four- to six-seat twin-engine light aircraft marketed for the general aviation market. Originally designed as the Twin Stinson in the 1950s by the Stinson Aircraft Company, Piper Aircraft manufactured the Apache and a more powerful version, the Aztec, in the United States from the 1950s to the 1980s. In 1959, Piper produced an upgraded version with 250 hp Lycoming O-540 engines and a swept vertical tail as the PA-23-250 named it Aztec. The first models came in a five-seat configuration. Later Aztecs were equipped with Lycoming IO-540 fuel-injected engines and six-seat capacity, and remained in production until 1982. Turbocharged versions of the PA-23-250 models could fly at higher altitudes.

Ross Aviation, based in Albuquerque, inherited the commuter airline service of Carco Air Service in 1969 and maintained shuttle flights between Albuquerque and Los Alamos. Ross initially started using Piper Aztec and Beech Queen Air aircraft but upgraded to 18-passenger de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otters in the early 1970s. Flights operated every two hours from 0600 am until 1000 pm each weekday. By the mid-1980s the carrier began using 50-seat, four engine, de Havilland Dash-7 aircraft on flights with heavier loads. Ross also flew to other cities, particularly in Nevada, using separate aircraft including Douglas DC-9 jets. As government traffic to Los Alamos downsized into the 1990’s, Ross Aviation cut back on flights until all service was discontinued on September 29, 1995. Since then Peacock Air, Mesa Airlines, Rio Grande Air, New Mexico Airlines, and Boutique Air have all flown the Albuquerque to Los Alamos route.

In 1969, Ross Aviation won the contract to provide scheduled air service for the Atomic Energy Commission to Los Alamos, New Mexico. Carco Air Service had previously held this contract. Ross began service on February 1, 1970 with one Beech Queen Air and five Piper Aztec’s. The original Aztec’s had the following registration numbers; N6230Y, N6361Y, N6455Y, N6537Y, and N6649Y.

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