Aero Commander (aircraft)
| Aero Commander 500 series Shrike Commander |
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|---|---|
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| Aero Commander model 695A operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | |
| Role | Utility and transport aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Aero Design and Engineering Company/Aero Commander |
| First flight | 23 April 1948 (Model L3085) |
| Introduction | October 1952 |
| Produced | 1951-1986 |
The Aero Commander 500 family 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 a division of Rockwell International from 1965. The initial production version was the Aero Commander 520. Piston-engined versions manufactured after 1967 are known as the Shrike Commander.
The idea for the Commander light business twin was conceived by Ted Smith, a project engineer at 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 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 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 to develop the Beechcraft Twin Bonanza. Fairchild Aircraft also evaluated the prototype at its Hagerstown, Maryland, headquarters.
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