The pressurized, turbocharged Aerostar 601P has its roots in Ted Smith’s Aerostar 600 from 1968. The 601P first appeared in 1974. The aircraft is one of the fastest production piston twins around. In 1978, Piper Aircraft acquired the Aerostar line of aircraft. Piper later sold the Type Certificate and STCs for the Aerostar to Aerostar Aircraft Corporation, who continues to support the aircraft.
A 290 hp Lycoming powers the Aerostar. It is good that speed is its strong selling point since it has a small cabin. There is only one door, with passengers having to crawl over the folding pilot seat. In addition, the main wing spar runs through the cabin, further restricting room.
Overall, 492 Aerostar 601Ps were built, and 124 602Ps (Piper’s designation of the 601P, with slightly different Lycoming engines).