Twin Commander 500/680

While not personally or directly familiar with issues surrounding geared engines, I do understand that they add quite a bit to the maintenance and overhaul budget.

I do know about one story a long time ago where the owner of a Queen Aire landed in a GA airport in Nebraska (I won't mention the name) with a sick engine. When he researched what the engine would cost to overhaul, he simply handed the airport manager the keys and said "It's your airplane" and left. The engine cost more to overhaul than the Queen Aire was worth!

Not sure if that applies to the Twin Commander or not but it could possibly be so as well.

What about a Shrike Commander? I don't think they contain geared engines. (someone correct me here if I am mistaken)

Planeflyr

 

I believe the Commander 680 was the first Air Force 1 which was commissioned for President Eisenhower.

Planeflyr

 

I thought so. For a time that aircraft was here in Colorado at J.W. Duffs boneyard. I don't know if it's still there. It was several years ago and he likely sold it. I hope so, and I hope it went to a museum somewhere. It would be an undignified ending for such a historic aircraft.

Planeflyr

 

You don't want a 680. Trust me on that... it was a great airplane for it's day, but unfortunately that day was 40 years ago.

A Shrike is a decent airplane if you need a large cabin, but the performance isn't great. I've got some time in Shrikes, and I've never really cared for them. And they're getting awfully long in the tooth as well.

I'd go for a Baron 58 in that class, myself, or a Seneca.

 

You are looking at antiques, why not look at something with great potential for investment and fun. A friend of mine had one twenty years ago, they are not unavailable, when clean, they appreciate in value and draw a crowd everywhere: BEECH 18. Warren had a Volpar conversion (nosewheel), and it was SWEET. (Think: SKY KING ).

 

Didn't Sky King fly a 310?

However, I agree-- a Beech 18 would be cool. Get a tailwheel version, though!

I have several friends who flew cargo in those Volpars-- they all hated them, but I think it had more to do with the mission than the airplane.

 

His first songbird was a B18. He switched to the 310 quickly, I think because of noise and how distracting it was from He and Penny. Bill

 

That could well be, I was eight years old I think. But I fell in love with the 310 and all Cessna twins watching Sky head off the bad guys. Thanks. There's a T-50 in a pile at our museum, I couldn't find any Bamboo, but an awful lot of Spruce, Fir, and Pine.

 

i seem to remember that Sky king flew a bamboo bomber when he first came on the air ( tube) and switched to the all metal twins afore- mentioned. I have flown the T-50 twice, not checked out in it, and I liked it very much for its solid stability on two engines and being fun to land. When I was working at Sarasota airport in 1947 one of the operators used one as an ambulance airplane until until the fabric blew off the top of the fuselage one flight when a patient was being transported. Both survived the flight but the airplane was relegated to another job. I flew it after we repaired the cover.
I crewed two Beech AT-7's at Hondo and they also were good little airplanes but they now have to have the center section spars beefed up and that is ugly.
Switches