Aircraft: Aero Commander

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About Aircraft: Aero Commander

This group is for pictures of Single Prop 100, 112, 114 and Twin Prop Aero Commander 500 & 600 aircraft.

Aero Commander 500/600 family

The Aero Commander 500 is the first in a series of light-twin piston-engined aircraft originally built by the Aero Design and Engineering Company in the late 1940s. In 1950 it became the Aero Commander company, and a division of Rockwell International from 1965. The initial production version was the Aero Commander 520. Versions manufactured after 1967 are known as the Shrike Commander.[1]


Design and development

The idea for the type was conceived by Ted Smith, a project engineer at the Douglas Aircraft Company.[2] Douglas was not interested, so in 1944 a group of company engineers formed the Aero Design and Engineering Company to design and build the proposed aircraft.[2] 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.[2] The final configuration was completed in July 1946 and was designated the Model L3805.[2]

Registered NX1946 the prototype first flew on 23 April 1948.[2] The L3805 accommodated up to five people and was powered by two Lycoming O-435-A piston engines.,[1] it was an all-metal high-wing monoplane with retractable undercarriage.
The prototype flew successfully and the company obtained finance to build a new factory at Bethany near Oklahoma City to build a production version named the Commander 520. The first production aircraft was rolled out of the new factory in August 1951.


Operational history

In military service, it was initially designated the L-26 though in 1962 this was changed to U-4 for the USAF and U-9 for the US Army.

One U-4B became a presidential transport aircraft for Dwight Eisenhower between 1956 and 1960. This was the smallest "Air Force One", and the first to wear the now-familiar blue-and-white livery.

As of 2004, Shrike Commanders remained in service with the United States Coast Guard and United States Customs Service.[1]

A single 560F was operated by the Belgian Air Force as the personal transport of the late king Boudewijn from 1961 to 1973.[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_Commander_500_family