Aero Commander 500
| Aero Commander 500 | |
|---|---|
 Aero Commander 690A |
|
| Type: | Business jet |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
April 23, 1948 |
| Production time: |
1948-1985 |
| Number of pieces: |
approx. 2000 |
The Aero Commander 500 is a light twin-engine propeller-driven aircraft that was developed by the Aero Design and Engineering Company in the late 1940s . The company was taken over by Rockwell in 1958 . In 1967 the model was renamed the Shrike Commander .
history
The idea for this aircraft came from two employees of the Douglas Aircraft Company , who founded their own company in 1944 to make the model a reality. The designers designed an all-metal aircraft that was designed as a shoulder- wing wing and had a retractable nose wheel landing gear . The aircraft had space for five people and was powered by two piston engines.
The first prototype flew on April 23, 1948 under the designation L-3085 . In the following 37 years, twenty-nine versions were created based on the Aero Commander 520 . Some variants received turboprop drives and were then called Turbo Commander or Jetprop Commander . The last models had up to eleven seats in the stretched trunk, some of them had a pressurized cabin . After about two thousand aircraft, production ceased in 1985.
variants
- Aero Commander L-3805
- Prototype, one copy built.
- Aero Commander 520
- First production version, a developed L-3805 with a larger vertical tail unit and a larger cabin with two 260 hp Lycoming GO-435-C engines , 150 units built.
- Aero Commander 560
- Model 520 with swept tail unit, increased take-off weight, seven seats, more powerful engines (two Lycoming GO-480B engines) and improved wings, 80 units built.
- Aero Commander 560A
- New landing gear, extended fuselage and numerous other improvements, 99 units built.
- Aero Commander 560E
- Enlarged wings and a larger payload, 93 units built.
- Aero Commander 360
- Light version of the 560E with four seats and two 180 hp engines, one copy built.
- Aero Commander 500
- Economy version introduced in 1958, as the 560E with 250 hp Lycoming O-540-A engines , 101 units built.
- Aero Commander 500A
- First Aero Commander model - new nacelles with injection engines, 99 pieces built.
- Aero Commander 500B
- 560E with injection engines Lycoming IO-540 engines, 217 pieces built.
- Aero Commander 500U / Shrike Commander
- 500B with a pointed nose and modified rear end, two 290 hp Lycoming IO-540 engines, replaces 500A, 500B, 560F and 680F, 56 units built.
- Aero Commander 680 Super
- Further development of the 560A with supercharged 340 hp Lycoming GSO-480-A engines and increased fuel capacity, 254 units built.
- Aero Commander 680E
- Light-weight 560E with 560A-type chassis, 100 pieces built.
- Aero Commander 680F
- 680E with new landing gear and charged injection engines Lycoming IGSO-540 and new nacelles, 126 pieces built.
- Aero Commander 680PF
- Version of the 680F with pressurized cabin , 26 units built.
- Aero Commander 680FL Grand Commander
- 680F with an extended fuselage and a larger tail unit, 157 units built. Named Courser Commander after 1967 .
- Aero Commander 680FL / P Grand Commander
- Version of the 680FL with a pressurized cabin, 37 units built.
- Aero Commander 680T Turbo Commander
- 680FL / P with Garrett TPE331-43 - turboprop engines built 56 pieces.
- Aero Commander 680V Turbo Commander
- 680T with increased take-off mass and slightly improved loading capacity, 36 units built.
- Aero Commander 680W Turbo II Commander
- 680V with a pointed nose, modified tail unit, a panorama and two small cabin windows and weather radar, 46 pieces built.
- Rockwell Commander 681 Hawk
- 680W with improved pressurized cabin, air conditioning and nose, 43 pieces built.
- Rockwell 681B Turbo Commander
- Marketing term for economy version of the 681, 29 units built.
- 685 Rockwell Commander
- Version of the 690 built from 1972 onwards, powered by two 435 hp Continental GTSIO 520k piston engines, 66 units built.
- Commander 690
- 681 with new wing center section and new motors moved further outwards, two AirResearch TPE331-5-521 turboprops, 79 units built.
- Commander 690A
- 690 with modified cabin design and increased pressurization, 245 units built.
- Commander 690B
- 690A with improved sound insulation and internal toilet, 217 pieces built.
- 690C Jetprop840
- 690B with enlarged wingspan, wing fuel tanks and winglets, two 840 HP TPE331-5-254K turboprops, 136 pieces built.
- 690D Jetprop900
- Similar to 690C with extended aft cab, improved pressurization and five square windows, 42 pieces built.
- 695 Jetprop 980
- Similar to the 690C with 735 hp TPE331-10-501K engines, 84 built.
- 695A Jetprop 1000
- 690D with higher takeoff weight and more powerful TPE331-10-501K motors, 101 units built.
- 695B Jetprop 1000B
- 695A with minor changes, six built.
- Aero Commander 720 AltiCruiser
- Pressurized cabin version of the 680, 13 units built.
- YL-26 → YU-9A
- Aero Commander 520 tested by the US Army, three pieces built.
- YL-26A
- Aero Commander 560 tested by the US Air Force, one copy built.
- L-26B → U-4A
- Aero Commander 560A sold to the US Air Force, 14 units built.
- L-26B → U-9B
- Aero Commander 560A sold to the US Army, 1 piece built.
- L-26C → U-4B
- Aero Commander 680 Super sold to the US Air Force, 2 pieces built.
- L-26C → U-9C
- Aero Commander 680 Super sold to the US Army, 4 pieces built.
- RL-26D → RU-9D
- Commander 680 for the US Army with SLAR ( side view radar ), two pieces built.
- NL-9D → NU-9D
- One copy built
use
The versions used by the military were initially named L-26 in the system used by the US Air Force and US Army until 1962 . In the common designation system for aircraft of the US armed forces in force from 1962 , the former USAF aircraft were then designated as U-4 and the former US Army aircraft as U-9 .
An L-26C served Dwight Eisenhower as a presidential aircraft from 1956 to 1960, making it the smallest Air Force One . It was also the first with the typical blue and white paintwork. The Prime Minister of Australia also used this type of aircraft at times.
Military users
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- air force
- marine
- air force
- army
- air force
- army
- marine
- air force
- marine
- air force
- air force
Civil users
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data Rockwell Aero Commander 500S | Data Rockwell Jetprop Commander 1000 |
|---|---|---|
| span | 14.95 m | 15.89 m |
| length | 11.22 m | 13.10 m |
| height | 4.56 m | 4.56 m |
| payload | 961 kg | |
| Takeoff mass | 3060 kg | 5080 kg |
| Passengers | 5 | 6-10 |
| crew | 1 | 1-2 |
| Cruising speed | 312 km / h | 474 km / h |
| Top speed | 346 km / h | 571 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 5,915 m | 10,000 m |
| Range | 1915 km | 2430 km |
| Engines | 2 × Lycoming IO-540 -E1B5 piston motors with 214 kW (290 PS) each | 2 × Turboprop Garrett TPE331-10-501K with 610 kW (830 PS) each |
Incidents
- On February 23, 1989 , an Aero Commander 690D crashed the Rhine Valley flight into Lake Constance. The cause of the accident is unclear.
See also
Web links
- U9 - Pictures and Information ( Memento from December 22, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ To the renaming
- ↑ Michael Gasser: The drama about flight "Rheintal 102". In: Vorarlberger Nachrichten. February 15, 2014, accessed July 15, 2015 .