When Flying Stops, Fleet Support Starts: Duke, Duchess, Skylane, and Comanche in Disassembly at BAS
Posted by Clinton McJenkin on Jun 1st 2026
A Beechcraft Duke and Duchess, a Cessna 182P Skylane, and a Piper PA-24-260 Comanche have arrived at BAS for disassembly this week. Different stories brought them here, but each one still has valuable components ready to support the fleet. Dave and the mechanics are already hard at work surgically disassembling each aircraft to return as many usable parts to the fleet as possible.
Aircraft do not all arrive at BAS the same way.
Some make an unexpected visit to a field. Some end a flight with a little more enthusiasm than the landing gear planned for. Some spend years waiting for a project that never quite gets off the ground. And some simply reach the point where the next annual inspection starts looking like a business decision.
This week's arrivals include a Beechcraft Duchess, Cessna 182P Skylane, Piper PA-24-260 Comanche, and Beechcraft Duke. Different aircraft. Different histories. Different paths to the BAS hangar. What they share is a fleet of owners and maintenance shops that still need parts. As these aircraft enter disassembly, their next mission begins: supporting the airplanes still flying.
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Beechcraft 76 Duchess
The Twin That Taught Generations
aviation. Introduced in the late 1970s as Beechcraft's purpose-built light twin trainer, the Duchess was designed to give pilots a practical introduction to multi-engine flying without stepping into larger, more expensive aircraft. Built from 1978 through 1983, the Duchess combined Beechcraft refinement with approachable operating characteristics, quickly becoming a familiar sight on training ramps and in flight school fleets across the country.
What made the Duchess stand out was not raw speed or cabin size. It was balance. Beechcraft adapted elements of the Sierra airframe, added twin Lycoming powerplants, retractable landing gear, and the distinctive T-tail that became one of the model's defining features. The aircraft was developed specifically to serve as an economical twin-engine trainer, and decades later, it remains one of the airplanes many multi-engine pilots remember as their first introduction to engine-out procedures, systems management, and the realities of operating a piston twin.
This Beechcraft Duchess is now in the BAS shop for disassembly after deciding the runway was more of a suggestion than a requirement. Fortunately, the useful components remain fully committed to supporting the fleet. As disassembly progresses, BAS will recover traceable as-removed Duchess parts, including flight controls, landing gear components, airframe hardware, interior pieces, electrical components, engine accessories, and other systems that can help support the active Beechcraft 76 fleet. The mission has changed, but the parts still have work to do.
Expected Parts Recovery Includes:
- Lycoming O-360-A1G6D, 1443.7 SMOH, prop strike
- Lycoming LO-360-A1G6D, 2863.2 SMOH, prop strike
- Hartzell HC-M2YR-2CEUF 2-blade prop hub, “B” Hub, 6285 SMOH
- Hartzell HC-M2YR-2CLEUF 2-blade prop hub, “B” Hub, 4397 SMOH
- Lycoming engine accessories and related components
- Garmin GTX-335 ADS-B Transponder w/ GPS P/N 011-03300-40
Garmin G5 Pair(SOLD)- Electronics International CGR-30 Primary Engine Monitor System
- Garmin GNS-430W WAAS/GPS/Nav/Comm P/N 011-01060-40
- Garmin GMA-345 Audio Panel
- King KN-62A DME Transponder P/N 066-1068-00
- King KX-155 Nav/Comm P/N 069-1024-35, Glideslope, 28V
- New style “A” frame for main gears
- Nose and main gear actuators
- Power pack
- Landing gear assemblies and hardware
- Flight controls and control surface components
- Interior and cabin components
- Electrical system components
- Doors, windows, and airframe hardware
- Lighting and miscellaneous aircraft systems
- Beechcraft Duchess-specific structural and airframe components
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Cessna 182P Skylane
The Utility Favorite That Met the Field Before the Runway
The Cessna 182P Skylane sits right in the heart of the 182 story: simple enough to earn trust, strong enough to be useful, and honest enough that pilots kept buying them by the thousands. The 182 line began as a tricycle-gear development of the Cessna 180, and the 182P arrived for the 1972 model year with updates that included cowling-mounted landing and taxi lights, wider-track tubular steel main gear, Camber-Lift wings, and later model-year refinements across the 1970s.
This Skylane came to BAS after a long descent, a quiet carburetor lesson, and an open field that was doing its best runway impression. Not the planned arrival, but not the end of the airplane’s usefulness either. The 182P remains one of the practical workhorses of general aviation, and good Cessna 182P parts still matter to owners, operators, and shops keeping the Skylane fleet moving.
This aircraft is now in the BAS shop for disassembly, with useful components ready to move back into circulation.
BAS expects to recover traceable as-removed Skylane parts, including:
- Continental O-470-R, 270 SMOH, 1400 TT, prop strike
- McCauley 3-blade prop hub P/N D3A36C435, 270 TT
- Stratus ESG ADS-B Out Transponder
- Stratus 2S add-on available
- King KX-170B Nav/Comm
- Adjustable pilot/co-pilot seats
- Flight controls
- Landing gear components
- Doors, windows
- Interior pieces
- Cowling and fairings
- Electrical components
- Engine accessories
- Propeller components
- And additional Cessna 182 airframe hardware
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Colorado: 970-313-4823
Missouri: 816-690-8800
Piper PA-24-260 Comanche
The Traveling Machine That Refused to Be Ordinary
The Piper PA-24-260 Comanche belongs to a generation of airplanes that believed speed was a feature, not a luxury.
Introduced in 1965 as the successor to the PA-24-250, the Comanche 260 paired sleek lines with Lycoming six-cylinder power and the kind of cross-country performance that earned a devoted following among owner-pilots. By the time production ended in 1972, the Comanche had established itself as one of the most capable and efficient personal aircraft of its era. The PA-24-260 combined a respectable payload, impressive range, and cruise speeds that still hold their own decades later.
This Comanche's final landing ended with the nose a little closer to the pavement than Piper originally intended. Beyond that, the aircraft still has plenty to contribute as components move back into circulation.
Now entering disassembly at BAS, this PA-24-260 begins its next assignment supporting the remaining Comanche fleet. The Comanche has always had a loyal following. That's what happens when an airplane delivers speed, efficiency, and utility in equal measure. The flying chapter may be closing for this airframe, but the useful part is far from over. The mission has changed. The parts still have work ahead.
As recovery progresses, BAS expects to catalog a wide range of traceable as-removed components, including:
- Lycoming IO-540-D4A5, 443 SMOH, 2320 TT, prop strike
- Hartzell HC-C2YR-1BF Prop Hub, struck
- Garmin G5 Pair
- Avidyne AMX240 Audio Panel P/N 200-00253-000
- Avidyne AXP340 ADS-B out Transponder P/N 200-002470-000
- Garmin GNS-530 GPS/Nav/Comm P/N 011-00550-10 (14/28V)
- Avidyne IFD540 Integrated Flight Display P/N 700-00182-000
- Landing gear transmission and motor
- S-Tec 60 Autopilot system
- Cleveland wheels and brakes
- New stabilator horn with 82 hours since install
- Webco upper door latch
- Bogert battery box and cables
- Flight controls
- Landing gear components
- Engine accessories
- Cowling and airframe hardware
- Electrical system components
- Interior pieces
- Windows
- Control surfaces
- And many other hard-to-find Comanche parts.
Need Help?
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Colorado: 970-313-4823
Missouri: 816-690-8800
Beechcraft 60 Duke
The Executive Twin That Never Did Anything Halfway
The Beechcraft 60 Duke was never built for pilots looking for the ordinary option. Introduced in 1968 to bridge the gap between the Baron and the Queen Air, the Duke combined a pressurized cabin, turbocharged power, executive comfort, and unmistakable ramp presence into one of the most recognizable piston twins Beechcraft ever produced. Only 596 were built during its production run, and even today the Duke remains one of the most admired aircraft in the Beechcraft lineup.
The Duke earned its reputation the old-fashioned way. It was fast, capable, comfortable, and unapologetically complex. Owners often compare Duke ownership to owning a classic sports car. Nobody buys one because it is the economical choice. They buy one because there is nothing quite like it.
This Duke arrived at BAS the same way many ambitious aircraft projects do: not with a bang, but with a calculator. Between storage costs, maintenance requirements, and the investment needed to return a sophisticated pressurized twin to active service, the numbers eventually made the decision. Fortunately, the aircraft still has plenty left to give.
Good Duke components remain valuable because good Dukes remain valuable. The flying chapter may be ending for this aircraft, but the useful part is far from over. The mission has changed. The parts still have work ahead.
Now entering disassembly at BAS, this Beechcraft 60 Duke begins its next assignment supporting the remaining fleet.
BAS expects to recover traceable as-removed components, including...
- (x2) Lycoming TIO-541-E1A4 engines (1081 SMOH, 3891 TT, no prop strike)
- (x2) Hartzell 3-blade propellers (no logs in hand currently)
- (x2) Garmin GNS-430W WAAS/GPS/Nav/Comm
- Apollo MX-20 MFD
- Garmin GTX-330 Transponder
- PS Engineering PMA8000 Audio Panel
- Shadin Digiflo Fuel Management System
- Leather wrapped control yokes
- SkyTec Starter
- BFGoodrich WX-500 Stormscope
- And many more components
Need Help?
Talk To Someone Who Knows Airplanes.
Colorado: 970-313-4823
Missouri: 816-690-8800
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