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34-573: The Westwind was originally designed in the United States by Aero Commander as a development of its twin-propeller namesake aircraft , first flying on January 27, 1963, as the Aero Commander 1121 Jet Commander. After successful testing, the aircraft was put into series production with deliveries to customers beginning in early 1965. After initial testing of the prototype, it was modified to production standard with an addition of 2.5 ft to

68-632: A Bob Hoover tribute routine. One U-4B became a presidential transport aircraft for Dwight D. Eisenhower between 1956 and 1960. This was the smallest " Air Force One ", and the first to wear the now-familiar blue-and-white livery. This aircraft is now owned by the Commemorative Air Force . As of 2004 Shrike Commanders remained in service with the United States Customs Service , United States Coast Guard , and United States Forest Service . A single 560F

102-533: A problem, since Rockwell already had an executive jet of its own design, the Sabreliner , and could not keep both in production because of antitrust laws . Therefore, the company decided to sell off the rights to the Jet Commander, which were purchased by IAI in 1968. Jet Commander production amounted to 150 aircraft in the United States and Israel before IAI undertook a series of modifications to create

136-509: Is a maritime surveillance aircraft, and the 1124 was renamed Westwind I after the introduction of the 1124A Westwind II. The 1121C is an unofficial designation for 1121 aircraft modified under a Supplemental Type Certificate with an increased all-up weight available from 1971. The 1123 Westwind was stretched by 22 in (56 cm). Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1982-83 General characteristics Performance Aero Commander 500 The Aero Commander 500 family

170-642: Is a series of light-twin piston-engined and turboprop aircraft originally built by the Aero Design and Engineering Company in the late 1940s, renamed the Aero Commander company in 1950, and later a division of Rockwell International in 1965. Final production occurred under the Gulfstream Aerospace name. The initial production version was the 200 mph (320 km/h; 170 kn), seven-seat Aero Commander 520 . An improved version,

204-603: The 500S , manufactured after 1967, is known as the Shrike Commander . Larger variants are known by numerous model names and designations, ranging up to the 330 mph (530 km/h; 290 kn), 11-seat Model 695B/Jetprop 1000B turboprop. As of recent, the Aero Commander is known as the Twin Commander. The idea for the Commander light business twin was conceived by Ted Smith , a project engineer at

238-567: The Douglas Aircraft Company . Working part-time after hours throughout 1944, a group of A-20 engineers formed the Aero Design and Engineering Company to design and build the proposed aircraft with a layout similar to their A-20 bomber. Originally, the new company was going to build three pre-production aircraft, but as the first aircraft was being built, they decided to build just one prototype. The final configuration

272-649: The critical engine , at that), then both engines out, and gliding. Then in his final airshow performance, in a supreme demonstration of conservation of momentum, he did all that, then landed the Shrike Commander dead stick (engines off), coasted the airplane down the runway then from the runway down the taxiway and silently let the craft roll slowly to a full stop right in front of the crowd. The turboprop twin-Commanders—with much more powerful engines (and most with longer bodies, allowing greater rudder leverage, critical for single-engine control ) – came out on

306-585: The 1123 Westwind. These included stretching the fuselage and increasing maximum takeoff, maximum landing, and maximum zero-fuel weights, with the wing modified to incorporate double-slotted flaps and drooped leading edges and tip tanks. The trimmable horizontal stabiliser was also modified to have increased span and more travel. Not long after the aircraft went into production, the original General Electric CJ610 turbojet engines were replaced by more fuel-efficient Garrett TFE731 turbofans Numerous airframe modifications also were made, such as drooped leading edges on

340-500: The 1960 introduction of the Twin Commander. With the advent of the small gas turbine engine, the 680 T model was released in 1964, followed by the 690 series in 1971, and the JetProp series in 1979. The company later incorporated other aircraft types developed at smaller companies and marketed them as components of the Aero Commander line. It also developed a business- twinjet , the 1121 Jet Commander. The production of this aircraft

374-532: The Shrike Commander 500S for decades in a variety of "managed energy" routines, including single-engine and engine-out aerobatics. His Shrike Commander is displayed in the colors of his last sponsor, Evergreen International Aviation , at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum . Bob Odegaard continued the tradition in 2012, flying a 1975 Shrike 500S in

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408-798: The Westwind as the basis for a maritime patrol aircraft, which became known as the IAI Sea Scan. It had originally been developed to meet a requirement for the United States Coast Guard to replace the Grumman HU-16 Albatross, but they selected the Dassault Falcon instead. In 1980, deliveries of the Model 1124A commenced; modifications included a new wing centre-section and the addition of winglets to

442-470: The company leased, at no cost, a new 26,000 square feet (2,400 m ) factory at Bethany near Oklahoma City to build a production version, certified on 30 June 1950. Nearly 10,000 hours of redesign work went into the model, including more powerful Lycoming GO-435-C2 engines, with a combined rating of 520 horsepower (390 kW). The production model was named the Commander 520 . The first Commander 520

476-718: The company was reincorporated as Twin Commander Aircraft, LLC. In 2005, the company was acquired from Precision in a management buyout . Ag Commander was a brand name used by Aero Commander for their line of agricultural aircraft . Two unrelated aircraft were marketed under this name: the CallAir A-9 , sold as the Ag Commander A-9 and B-9 , and the Ayres Thrush (aka the Snow S-2 ), sold as

510-405: The company's early efforts: Philadelphia attorney George Pew and Oklahoma City brothers William and Rufus Travis Amis . In September 1950, it became the Aero Design and Engineering Company of Oklahoma . Its facilities consisted of an aircraft hangar and 26,000 sq ft (2,400 m ) manufacturing facility located at what is now Wiley Post Airport near Oklahoma City . In August 1951,

544-588: The conventional manner. The flight received nationwide coverage in the press. In 1979, the National Transportation Safety Board reviewed light-twin engine-failure accidents, involving the 24 most popular model-groups of light twins between 1972 and 1976. They found that the piston -engined twin-Commanders had averaged slightly over 3.4 engine-failure accidents per hundred-thousand hours, the second worst number of all aircraft under review. The most engine failures were suffered by

578-426: The developers were working to satisfy Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) regulations for certification of the 500, they chose a novel method of demonstrating its single-engine safety and performance: they removed one of the two-bladed propellers, secured it in the aft cabin, and flew from Bethany to Washington, D.C., on one engine. There they met with CAA personnel, then replaced the propeller and returned to Oklahoma in

612-537: The early 1980s, was powered by Dash 10 engines. In December 1985, Gulfstream Aerospace was acquired by Chrysler Corp . With a new focus on the business jet market, production of the Twin Commander ended in 1986. In 1989, the Twin Commander Aircraft subsidiary of Gulfstream was acquired by Precision Aerospace Corporation. With this acquisition, the company transformed from an aircraft manufacturer to an OEM parts, service, and support provider. In 2003,

646-531: The first half of 2024. Beginning in June 1991, senior engineers met with FAA officials to discuss concerns over the Aero Commander's main wing spar, which was believed to be susceptible to stress fatigue and subsequent cracking, and was believed to have resulted in a number of fatal crashes. From approximately 1961 to 1993, 24 aircraft crashed when spar failures caused the loss of the wing in flight. 35 more spars were found cracked during inspections. In 1950, when

680-504: The first production Aero Commander, the piston-engined model 520, rolled off the assembly line. It was designed as a business class twin-engine aircraft for corporate travelers. In 1954, the 520 was replaced by the 560 and 560A featuring a larger cabin and more powerful Lycoming piston engines. In 1955, the U.S. Air Force selected the Aero Commander as the personal transport for President Dwight D. Eisenhower , ordering 15 aircraft, two of which were used by The White House . This aircraft

714-503: The fuselage length and increased payload and maximum weights. The second prototype first flew on April 14, 1964, which was followed by the first production aircraft in November 1964. Type approval was awarded by the FAA in November, enabling the first customer delivery on January 11, 1965. Shortly thereafter, Aero Commander was acquired by North American Rockwell . The Jet Commander created

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748-523: The opposite end of the rankings, with one of the lowest rates of engine-failure accidents of all "light" twins examined, at only 0.4 per hundred-thousand hours. Data from Jane's all the world's aircraft 1976–77. General characteristics Performance Aero Commander Aero Commander was an aircraft manufacturer formed in 1944. In subsequent years, it became a subsidiary of Rockwell International and Gulfstream Aerospace . The company ceased aircraft production in 1986. Aero

782-460: The rear fuselage, but the wings were mounted halfway up the fuselage instead of the typical low-wing arrangement of aircraft in this class. At FL310 and Mach 0.74 (436 kn; 808 km/h), the 1124 burns 1,600 lb (730 kg) per hour, and 1,200 lb (540 kg) at Mach 0.7 (413 kn; 764 km/h). The 1122 Type Certificate was cancelled, the two airplanes manufactured have been converted to model 1123. The 1124N Sea Scan

816-577: The small-engine versions of the Piper Apache , at 6.9 failures per hundred thousand hours; the third-worst, the Beechcraft Travel Air , averaged 2.9 failures; the average for all models was only 1.6. Countering the statistical evidence, Rockwell demonstration pilot Bob Hoover 's famous airshow stunt routine, with the Shrike Commander, included a full aerobatic routine performed first with both engines, then with one engine out (and

850-559: The tips. The revamped aircraft was called the Westwind II, replacing the original design in production. IAI built its last Westwind in 1987, after a total of 442 Jet Commanders and Westwinds had been built, switching production to the Astra . By 2018, 1980s Westwind 1124s were priced from $ 300,000 to $ 700,000. The Jet Commander/Westwind was of broadly conventional business jet arrangement, with two engines mounted in nacelles carried on

884-584: The wings, a dorsal fin, revised engine pylons and nacelles, and further increases in maximum takeoff, maximum landing, and maximum zero-fuel weights. With improvements to a number of onboard systems incorporated, as well, these changes resulted in the 1124 Westwind delivered from 1976. In 1976, in the wake of the terrorist takeover of the Savoy hotel in Tel Aviv, the Israeli Air Force decided to use

918-581: Was a military version of the Aero Commander and was assigned a liaison function. It was used by Eisenhower to travel from Washington, D.C. to his farm at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania . In 1958, the Company introduced the first pressurized business aircraft in the form of the model 720 Alti-Cruiser. The company was acquired by Rockwell-Standard in 1958 and changed its name to Aero Commander Inc. in late 1960. The aircraft added fuel injection engines and other modifications to increase performance, resulting in

952-559: Was completed in July 1946 and was designated the Model L3805 . Registered NX1946 , the prototype first flew on 23 April 1948. The L3805 accommodated up to five people and was powered by two Lycoming O-435-A piston engines ., it was an all-metal high-wing monoplane with retractable undercarriage using components from a Vultee BT-13 Valiant . The market segment planned for this aircraft to be sold to small feeder airliner firms and

986-454: Was delayed with the company finally delivering to its first customer, Timken Roller Bearing Corporation, on January 11, 1965. Aero Commander sold the manufacturing rights to Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), who produced it as the Westwind . In February 1981, Rockwell International sold the Aero Commander division to Gulfstream Aerospace . The final Twin Commander model 1000, released in

1020-601: Was formed in Culver City, California , in 1944 to design and manufacture a light twin-engined transport aircraft. Ted Smith , a former project engineer at Douglas Aircraft Company , assembled a team of 14 engineers to design what would be the Aero Commander. Preliminary design was completed in 1946. The first prototype took flight on April 23, 1948, and was certified by the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) in June, 1950. Three men funded

1054-536: Was operated as a small package freighter by Combs Freightair in the 1970s and 1980s, and by Suburban Air Freight in the 1980s and 1990s. The aircraft was popular with pilots, because it was extremely "pilot friendly" and with its 380 hp (280 kW) supercharged engines did well in icing meteorological conditions. A number are still operated on contracts for cargo and fire control applications, as their piston engines offer good fuel specifics at low altitudes and longer loiter times. Suburban retired their last 680FLs in

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1088-580: Was operated by the Belgian Air Force as the personal transport of the late king Baudouin of Belgium from 1961 to 1973. According to the July 1, 1968, Frontier Airlines system timetable, series 500 aircraft were being operated on scheduled passenger flights by Combs Aviation on behalf of Frontier via a contract agreement with service to several smaller communities in Montana and Wyoming at this time. The unpressurized, long-fuselage 680FL

1122-496: Was originally designed to carry seven passengers, but instead found use in the private business aircraft and military market. Walter Beech test flew the aircraft in 1949 and expressed interest in buying the project, but passed on it, to instead develop the Beechcraft Twin Bonanza . Fairchild Aircraft also evaluated the prototype at its Hagerstown, Maryland , headquarters. The prototype flew successfully and

1156-823: Was rolled out of the new factory in August 1951. Serial number 1 was used as a demonstrator, then sold in October 1952 to the Asahi Shimbun Press Company of Tokyo. In military service it was initially designated the L-26 , though in 1962 this was changed to U-4 for the United States Air Force and U-9 for the United States Army . Under ownership of Rockwell in the 1960s, World War II pilot R. A. "Bob" Hoover demonstrated

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