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A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
The Aerostar began as a Ted Smith design for executive travel and light transport. Piper acquired the design in 1978 and continued production as the PA-60. That change of ownership explains the different manufacturer names found in references. The simulator entry represents the Aerostar 600; the specification tables identify the family models they describe.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗An owner’s experience behind the simulated 600
Gentile chose a normally aspirated Aerostar when buying his own aircraft, preferring its combination of solidity and responsiveness to the balance he perceived in the turbocharged version. He operated it for several years, and that direct experience later helped motivate A2A's choice to develop a simulated 600.
A2A Simulations, 2025, page 4. Owner/developer introduction; normally aspirated 600, with the commercial relationship explicit.
A2A Simulations · Read more ↗Aircraft condition and inspection
A2A documents persistent condition by livery, adjustable wear and failure rates, and an interactive walkaround. The tablet controls fuel and payload and provides maintenance, engine-analysis and electrical-system views.
Aerostar 600 · A2A Simulations · MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
A2A Simulations · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube twotonemurphy · 187 min ·
Vertical Cockpit Cam LIVE | Accu-Sim Aerostar | South West Ireland Tour ☘️| MSFS 2024
An A2A Aerostar sightseeing flight over southwest Ireland in MSFS 2024.
Simulator · A2A Aerostar · MSFS 2024
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Aerostar 600
The Aerostar began as a Ted Smith design for executive travel and light transport. Piper acquired the design in 1978 and continued production as the PA-60. That change of ownership explains the different manufacturer names found in references. The simulator entry represents the Aerostar 600; the specification tables identify the family models they describe.
Aerostar 600
Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
Aerostar 600 / 601 and Piper PA-60 Aerostar
FAA JO 7360.1K — aircraft type designators ↗Checked 2026-09-14History & design
Development milestones
Designer: Ted R. Smith
First flight: 1967
Wikipedia contributors · Piper Aerostar ↗Piper Aerostar · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1374201001
Systems & details
Push-pull controls and electric trim
The A2A manual describes primary controls operated through push-pull tubes and bellcranks. Electric motors move the elevator and rudder trim tabs, with their positions shown in the cockpit. Its Fowler flaps use hydraulic actuators. This description is scoped to the 600 represented in the manual.
Pilot accounts
An owner’s experience behind the simulated 600
Gentile chose a normally aspirated Aerostar when buying his own aircraft, preferring its combination of solidity and responsiveness to the balance he perceived in the turbocharged version. He operated it for several years, and that direct experience later helped motivate A2A's choice to develop a simulated 600. His introduction is both an owner's recollection and a developer's explanation of a product in which he has a commercial interest.
One experience was especially memorable. A landing-gear failure during a test flight forced him and his son Jake to make a controlled gear-up landing. Gentile describes the aircraft settling onto its belly and both occupants getting out without incident. He presents the event as something that encouraged further curiosity and learning, alongside his continuing appreciation of the design.
A2A Simulations, 2025, page 4. Owner/developer introduction; normally aspirated 600, with the commercial relationship explicit.
Read the full account · A2A Simulations ↗A first launch in someone else’s family aircraft
Durden flew Stan Musick's modified 1977 Aerostar 601P with its owner in the right seat. The departure required him to think ahead as acceleration quickly carried the aircraft into a climb through low cloud. As speed increased, the initially unfamiliar control feel developed into a responsive, stable aeroplane. Once trimmed, it held its condition while he attended to radio calls and the climb toward 23,000 feet.
He later enjoyed steep turns, appreciated the extra overhead windows and found the cabin more spacious than its external appearance suggested. Musick had removed one middle-row seat to suit family travel. Durden also evaluated how a new Garmin display worked with the older autopilot, then returned to hand-flying for the enjoyment of it. The landing completed an enthusiastic report that still recognised the need to understand the aircraft's systems and maintain proficiency. This was a pressurised, turbocharged 601P with modifications, distinct from the normally aspirated 600 represented by A2A.
AOPA Pilot, September 2011. Flight in Stan Musick’s modified 1977 601P; related family variant, not an unmodified 600.
Read the full account · AOPA Pilot ↗Decades of ferry flying leave a lasting attachment
Cox traces his affection for the Aerostar to a 1975 flight with Jim Miller in Texas. The view past the nearby spinner, the long nose and the rapidly passing landscape became a distinctive part of the experience for him. Over the following decades, ferrying roughly a dozen 700-series aircraft around the world gave him repeated opportunities to appreciate their speed and control response. He still hoped eventually to own one himself.
His recollections include working with Jim Christy on a television flying segment and delivering the specially prepared Spirit of Kai Tak to Britain before its London-to-Sydney race. Those experiences concerned higher-powered, modified Aerostars rather than the original 600. Cox's enthusiasm also acknowledges the fuel consumed when using their full cruising capability. He enjoyed the way the aircraft looked, responded and carried him over long distances, even while his own aeroplane remained a Mooney.
Plane + Pilot, 1 November 2007. Retrospective including 700-series ferry flights and a specially prepared race-aircraft delivery; not a flight test of the 600.
Read the full account · Plane + Pilot ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024Aerostar 600
A2A Simulations · Released
Aerostar 600
A2A Simulations · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 34 ft 9.75 in (10.61 m) |
| Wingspan | 36 ft 8 in (11.18 m) |
| Height | 12 ft 1 in (3.68 m) |
| Wing area | 178.2 sq ft (16.56 m² ) |
| Empty weight | 4,275 lb (1,939 kg) |
| Gross weight | 6,315 lb (2,864 kg) |
| Powerplant | 2 × Avco Lycoming TIO-540-U2A flat six counter-rotating piston , 350 hp (261 kW) each |
| Maximum speed | 306 mph (492 km/h, 266 kn) |
| Cruise speed | 242 mph (390 km/h, 210 kn) |
| Range | 1,024 mi (1,648 km, 890 nmi) |
| Service ceiling | 25,000 ft (7,620 m) |
| Rate of climb | 1,840 ft/min (9.4 m/s) |
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Simulator documentation
Aircraft condition and inspectionAerostar 600 · A2A Simulations · MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
A2A documents persistent condition by livery, adjustable wear and failure rates, and an interactive walkaround. The tablet controls fuel and payload and provides maintenance, engine-analysis and electrical-system views.
A2A official Aerostar 600 product page, checked 12 September 2026; developer-documented features.
A2A Simulations · Read the source ↗A choice of navigation and engine displaysAerostar 600 · A2A Simulations · MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
The product documentation lists a Collins Microline radio installation, a Century IV autopilot and selectable JPI engine monitors. It also identifies supported optional GPS integrations, with the relevant add-ons installed. A2A distinguishes its native MSFS 2024 walkaround and dirt features from the MSFS 2020 version.
A2A official Aerostar 600 product page, checked 12 September 2026; developer-documented features.
A2A Simulations · Read the source ↗Pilot account
An owner’s experience behind the simulated 600A2A Simulations, 2025, page 4. Owner/developer introduction; normally aspirated 600, with the commercial relationship explicit.
Gentile chose a normally aspirated Aerostar when buying his own aircraft, preferring its combination of solidity and responsiveness to the balance he perceived in the turbocharged version. He operated it for several years, and that direct experience later helped motivate A2A's choice to develop a simulated 600. His introduction is both an owner's recollection and a developer's explanation of a product in which he has a commercial interest. One experience was especially memorable.
Scott Gentile
A2A Simulations · Read the source ↗A first launch in someone else’s family aircraftAOPA Pilot, September 2011. Flight in Stan Musick’s modified 1977 601P; related family variant, not an unmodified 600.
Durden flew Stan Musick's modified 1977 Aerostar 601P with its owner in the right seat. The departure required him to think ahead as acceleration quickly carried the aircraft into a climb through low cloud. As speed increased, the initially unfamiliar control feel developed into a responsive, stable aeroplane. Once trimmed, it held its condition while he attended to radio calls and the climb toward 23,000 feet.
Rick Durden
AOPA Pilot · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Accu-Sim Aerostar 600 ManualA2A Simulations · Scott Gentile · 2025, page 4Aircraft background
Piper AerostarWikipedia contributors · Research background · retrieved 2026-09-12Product
Accu-Sim Aerostar 600A2A Simulations · Official developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12Type designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03 FAA JO 7360.1K — aircraft type designatorsFederal Aviation Administration · Active FAA order; checked 2026-09-14Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 6 profile choices
A2A Aerostar 600
A2A · Free and Pro · Revision 5 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
A2A Aerostar 600: Push-pull primary controls motivate aerodynamic yoke loading; the linkage construction does not supply an absolute hand-force calibration.
Aerostar 600
Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Partial review
MSFS 2024 · MSFS 2020
Aerostar 600: Push-pull primary controls motivate aerodynamic yoke loading; the linkage construction does not supply an absolute hand-force calibration.
Avia71 Aerostar 601P
Avia71 · Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
Ted Smith's piston twin, later produced by Piper as the Aerostar.
X-Hangar Piper Aerostar 700P
X-Hangar · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
Ted Smith's piston twin, later produced by Piper as the Aerostar.
Aerostar 601P
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024 · X-Plane 12
Ted Smith's piston twin, later produced by Piper as the Aerostar.
Aerostar 700P
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024 · X-Plane 12
Ted Smith's piston twin, later produced by Piper as the Aerostar.
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