Aero Commanders?

Now you have me worried about my obvious oncoming dementia! I only ever recall visiting Ford on one occasion, but don’t remember seeing an Aero Commander of any type there. There was a cut up Gemini fuselage there though…:confused:

In fact, Ford was something of a minor centre for Aero Commanders in the late-60s! In addition to the odd visitor such as G-ASJU, Commander 680s N6300 and N1186Z (later G-AWXK and G-AWXL respec.) were long term residents from late-1967 onwards with N6300 being converted to Turbomeca Astazou power. In addition, Commander 200D N2965T (later G-AWYH) resided for some time and I recall two Aero Commander 100s with US registrations being assembled there and flying off with German regs. As a kid, I was pretty much resident there myself in those days.

The cut up Gemini fuselage was almost certainly G-AJOJ (red and white) although small bits of the Miles Aries G-AKFX were there too. ‘JOJ was used in the restoratioin of George Miles’ G-AKKB and was eventually burned.

Now you have me worried about my obvious oncoming dementia! I only ever recall visiting Ford on one occasion, but don’t remember seeing an Aero Commander of any type there. There was a cut up Gemini fuselage there though…:confused:

G-ARJJ and G-ASJU were taken at Biggin Hill. G-ASJU famously lost a main wheel on take off one day and had to be landed wheels up. Although repaired I don’t think it flew again and ended its days on the fire dump.

The colour photo of G-ASJU (middle, top row) is definitely not at Biggin Hill but Ford in Sussex, despite the caption. The hangar is one of the old FAA ones and at the time of the photo was used by Miles Aviation (R&D) Ltd. I recorded G-ASJU there in early September 1970 after arrival from Biggin Hill with the aformentioned belly damage. It was complete, not dismantled, so may actually have flown in with the damage as opposed to coming in by road. It left Ford on November 5th the same year by air for Booker with Chipmunk G-APSB acting as crew ferry. As an aside, the grey caravan in the background of the photo was being used at the time as an office by Neville Duke who was engaged in some test flying for Miles.

If I remember correctly from working on them many moons ago there was a lack of wing inspection panels to check the spars, they had a quite low life on them and a couple had previously failed, Rockwell did a design relife study that added inspection panels and increased the life on those inspected, but if I remember rightly got concerned over product liability, so did not release the info or about the access mods, however they got out and were modified accordingly.

Don’t know if it’s relevant, but ours hit a swan at cruise, at altitude, and the leading-edge damage was bad enough that my friend the late Joe Mesics, who was flying it–ex-USMC NA Fury aviator–couldn’t get under about 140 knots on the approach before the roll became uncontrollable.

The airplane had to go back to the factory–OKC, aI remember–because of suspected spar damage. Whatever they did to fix it, I was happy to keep flying it on my personal C150 budget…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZBcapxGHjE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

G-ARJJ and G-ASJU were taken at Biggin Hill. G-ASJU famously lost a main wheel on take off one day and had to be landed wheels up. Although repaired I don’t think it flew again and ended its days on the fire dump.

G-ARJJ was broken up at Biggin. I remember coming across one of the wings in the grass on the east side of the aerodrome in the late 1960.s. Photo would have been taken between 1966 and 1969.

Yes, they could both have been at Biggin. I was going by the hangar, which is like Elstree’s. I recall seeing G-ASJU many times at Biggin, usually in a state of disrepair. In fact, I don’t thing I ever saw it in the air.

I have a few more pics of them somewhere, including a highly polished one at Riverside CA in 1998. They will come to light eventually!

Nice to see a shot of G-ARJJ – I recall this aircraft when, for a year or two in the early 60s it was based at Coventry (Baginton). In those days it stood out from the crowd as a very state of the art machine.

Tim

If I remember correctly from working on them many moons ago there was a lack of wing inspection panels to check the spars, they had a quite low life on them and a couple had previously failed, Rockwell did a design relife study that added inspection panels and increased the life on those inspected, but if I remember rightly got concerned over product liability, so did not release the info or about the access mods, however they got out and were modified accordingly.

Here are a few I took on Heathrow South, early seventies
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Aero-Commander-680F(P)/2072773/&sid=4ef9a2e86f9961f8c2eba757231c1fc7
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Aero-Commander-680V/2041310/&sid=4ef9a2e86f9961f8c2eba757231c1fc7
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Ehrenström-Flyg/Aero-Commander-680F(P)/0946759/&sid=4ef9a2e86f9961f8c2eba757231c1fc7
and a Turbo Commander
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Rockwell-690-Turbo/2070058/&sid=c95df5e189b647aa5e828d97bdfc4aa0

G-ARJJ and G-ASJU were taken at Biggin Hill. G-ASJU famously lost a main wheel on take off one day and had to be landed wheels up. Although repaired I don’t think it flew again and ended its days on the fire dump.

G-ARJJ was broken up at Biggin. I remember coming across one of the wings in the grass on the east side of the aerodrome in the late 1960.s. Photo would have been taken between 1966 and 1969.

This is one of theirs Longshot, based at Gamston and operated by Coopers, tends to be at East Midlands during part of the summer months

http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1091441/

http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1106420/

Think they have 2, but both are on US register now.

I just signed the pledge , Stepwilk :)…..Re Ziff-Davis, I’ve just noted that Google books have fixed the gaps in their Online Archive of Flying Magazine…I’ve just broused the September 1942 RAF Special…Heavyweight stuff Colour photos by Charles E Brown ‘specially flown over in a Ferry Command aircraft’ writing by Flight Lieutenant H E Bates….that’s me occupied for the next six Months!http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Flying_Magazine.html?id=8BVI6sNpT4wC&redir_esc=y

I put a lot of hours on Flying Magazine’s Shrike Commander, all over the U. S., the Bahamas and the Caribbean. (Those were the days…)

Real BTO (Big Time Operator) airplane, great big yoke, fistful of throttles.

Ours was very handsomely outfitted, with four-leather-chair club seating and a small bar between the rear two seats, complete with an ice cabinet. Flying one day on a trip with a girlfriend (as I said, those were the days), she had to pee, but I’d gotten us up into a nice tailwind at 11.5 or so, maybe 13.5, and I didn’t want to give up the altitude to land, so I told her to just use the [empty] ice bucket, which she did.

Couldn’t help chuckling to myself thereafter whenever I was acting as the Ziff-Davis Publishing Co.’s quasi-corporate pilot with a quartet of suits in the back, and I’d hear one or another of them say, “Another drink, Ed? Scotch on the rocks, was it?”

Hallo TonyT….where’s here?….A Turbo Commander was doing parallel paths over Penzance in January 2011….I assumed it was for Bing Online Maps but maybe it was for the OS

I used to maintain one Lee, nice aircraft if it doesn’t clap it’s wings, there is one normally based here during the summer doing mapping for the OS.

I put a lot of hours on Flying Magazine’s Shrike Commander, all over the U. S., the Bahamas and the Caribbean. (Those were the days…)

Real BTO (Big Time Operator) airplane, great big yoke, fistful of throttles.

Ours was very handsomely outfitted, with four-leather-chair club seating and a small bar between the rear two seats, complete with an ice cabinet. Flying one day on a trip with a girlfriend (as I said, those were the days), she had to pee, but I’d gotten us up into a nice tailwind at 11.5 or so, maybe 13.5, and I didn’t want to give up the altitude to land, so I told her to just use the [empty] ice bucket, which she did.

Couldn’t help chuckling to myself thereafter whenever I was acting as the Ziff-Davis Publishing Co.’s quasi-corporate pilot with a quartet of suits in the back, and I’d hear one or another of them say, “Another drink, Ed? Scotch on the rocks, was it?”

Great aeroplane, thanks for posting…very nice to fly.

Neat airplane…designed by Ted Smith who worked on the A-20 and A-26 (note the family resemblance…especially on the 7B prototype?) for Douglas.

Many have been wfu, but there are a few out there flown as “antiques”.

Here’s a shot of one used by Eisenhower while president for the short flight between Washington and his weekend place at Gettysburg.

I used to maintain one Lee, nice aircraft if it doesn’t clap it’s wings, there is one normally based here during the summer doing mapping for the OS.