Piper PA-33 prototype information.

Thanks for chiming in.

Status so far; PA-24 400 wings, Twin Comanche landing gear ? ( I seem to have read somewhere that the Twin Comanche had the same main gear as the 400), Lycoming O-540 or IO-540, speed up to 250 mph.

Not much I’m afraid. I have tried contacting the Piper Museum archives, but not heard back from them yet.

Stepwilk: Would appreciate if you could check with Dick Collins if he knows anything.

The only known photo of it on ground:
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Comparing this to photos of the PA-24 or PA30, it seems the main gear has been extended a little.

John Boyle, I’m flattered that you should think I’m any kind of expert here, even though I owned a Comanche 250 and appreciate the Frati reference in the above post, since I built a Falco. But I don’t remember ever hearing anything about a pressurized Comanche when I was at Flying. My only excuse is that this airplane apparently flew a year or two before I went to Flying, when I was still a baby pilot and barely knew what a Comanche was.

However my pal Dick Collins, with whom I’m still in occasional touch, would know everything about this airplane and then some, and probably flew it.

The PA-33 has a touch of Stelio Frati’s Falco about it…maybe just the front end

Looks to be an early Navajo with PT-6s. Note, unlike real Cheyennes, it’s not pressurized. Pressurized Navajos had fewer and smaller windows.
The Cheyenne had to wait until Piper developed a pressurized Navajo.

The pressurization requirement is why the French conversions of early Beech Barons weren’t too successful and why the King Air was (based on the pressurized Queen Air).

The Cheyenne came out in 1974 some 7 years after the photo was taken.

Also notice the Navajo, early Cheyenne proto?

The Swearingen element is interesting; now you mention it there is also something of the look of the early Merlins!

The Air Britain book has it being produced by Swearingen as a pressurised Comanche. It had a 260 hp Lycoming,TwinCom landing gear, Comanche tail and wings and a new fuselage. First flight 11/3/67 but crashed on takeoff from Lock Haven 23/3/67 when the pilot had problems with the electric nosewheel. The project was then cancelled and removed from the Register in 1969. Pity as Hooligan says, it looked like an early Malibu.

Good luck, developmental histories on GA types seem to be thin on the ground and when they are found, many consist of just the basics stating pretty much what you already know and just stated.
In the competitive Piper vs Cessna vs Beech days, makers kept prototypes under wraps, making your question more difficult.
Swearing’s Texas firm was often used by Piper to build prototypes and proof of concept aircraft. He did the first Twin Comanche and later built the line Merlin and Metroliner turboprops.

A couple of suggestions:
-Check the Air-Britain Piper book.
-One of the frequent posters here, Stephan Wilkinson was the editor of the American general aviation themed Flying magazine in the 60s-70s. He might know something. His name here is Stepwilk.
Find the recent thread he started about the Elsan toilet and PM him.

I try to collect general aviation aircraft histories, and usually I could recommend a number of books, but not in this case.

Not seen a pic of it before, almost looks like an early concept for the Malibu!