Well, it took a couple of months, but April 4 2018 was the day I took possession of my new (to me) 1974 Pressurized Skymaster.
I purchased N70S from szwinger, after he replied to my want-to-buy post in January. The aircraft was in the middle of an extensive annual, so it took until now for us to be able to complete the transaction.
I am very happy with the aircraft, which on the first flight, performed a little better than book in terms of speed (when referenced to power settings and fuel flows). Of course, the aircraft was a couple hundred pounds under gross, so that helped.
At 12,500 feet, 33"MP, 2450RPM, 80pph fuel flow per engine, 2 Celsius, TAS showed as 190kts, which is right on book. At 17,500 feet, 33"MP, 2500RPM, 85pph fuel flow (book calls for 80, but temps called for 85) was 198kts, also conforming to book. Am very happy with my new airplane. The more weird that ordinary pilots think she is, the smarter I feel
Mine has a Horton STOL kit, and I feel I need to reach out for advice about the best way to land the aircraft. The nose is an awful long way up in the air when trying to stall it on at 65kts. But slowing down any more than that requires pulling up even further. Opinions appreciated.
Thanks to all who have supplied information on this board. It was all very useful as I came to my purchase decision.