Pressurized Twin

pilotb59

pilotb59

New Member
Currently flying an Aztec E and considering moving up to pressurized twin like perhaps Rockwell Commander 700, Baron 58P or?? Want to fly higher with family, not a commercial operation so passengers will be family mainly, so nice and comfortable and don't want to wear masks.

Anything really special other than Insurance requirments that I sohuld be aware of? So far I have realized the the commander is very limited in production numbers and I have heard under powered, but not sure for what use it was being used for when the comment was made?

Thanks for any info
 
421

X gets the square.

Insurance will require school, so that'll take care of training. Shouldn't have any problems after simcom or FSI.

Oh...and Lean of Peak! Do your engine a favor.

-mini
 
Commander 700's look really nice, but they are rare. Seems to be a couple for sale right now, which may/may not be worth looking at. You could look at the high wing Commanders (like a 680FLP), if you want pressurization. As has been said, you've got the 421 range, and perhaps even the 340, depending on how many people you need to move.
 
pilotb59 said:
Currently flying an Aztec E and considering moving up to pressurized twin like perhaps Rockwell Commander 700, Baron 58P or?? Want to fly higher with family, not a commercial operation so passengers will be family mainly, so nice and comfortable and don't want to wear masks.

Anything really special other than Insurance requirments that I sohuld be aware of? So far I have realized the the commander is very limited in production numbers and I have heard under powered, but not sure for what use it was being used for when the comment was made?

Thanks for any info
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Where would the plane be based? I see your location is Chatham. Is that Chatham, MA? I'd say that 3000' runway might be a little small for a full-up 400-series Cessna.
 
I am in Chatham Ontario Canada, an hour from DTW. We have a 5k ft runway. Normal passenger load would be around 3 to 5 including me, and not all adults. I do LOVE high wing Commanders, however I have been scared away but the Geared engines, and I admit I have no experience on operating them, so that has scared me away, and the few I have looked up, have short TBOs which also bother me..... should it? Thanks
 
pilotb59 said:
I am in Chatham Ontario Canada, an hour from DTW. We have a 5k ft runway. Normal passenger load would be around 3 to 5 including me, and not all adults. I do LOVE high wing Commanders, however I have been scared away but the Geared engines, and I admit I have no experience on operating them, so that has scared me away, and the few I have looked up, have short TBOs which also bother me..... should it? Thanks
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Only if you let the airstream drive the props. The Quatro Vente Uno is the same, and can be a great bird if you take care of it.
 
pilotb59 said:
I am in Chatham Ontario Canada, an hour from DTW. We have a 5k ft runway. Normal passenger load would be around 3 to 5 including me, and not all adults. I do LOVE high wing Commanders, however I have been scared away but the Geared engines, and I admit I have no experience on operating them, so that has scared me away, and the few I have looked up, have short TBOs which also bother me..... should it? Thanks
Click to expand...

Hmm, so far everything but the Pressurized Barron and Commander 700 is going to be running with geared engines. Something to consider, I suppose.
 
pilotb59 said:
I am in Chatham Ontario Canada, an hour from DTW. We have a 5k ft runway. Normal passenger load would be around 3 to 5 including me, and not all adults. I do LOVE high wing Commanders, however I have been scared away but the Geared engines, and I admit I have no experience on operating them, so that has scared me away, and the few I have looked up, have short TBOs which also bother me..... should it? Thanks
Click to expand...

If you don't want geared engines, check out a 414. It's pressurized as well, but has direct-drive engines (310 horsepower each I believe).
 
I was just involved in purchasing a 414. We got ours for 125k w/ the annual pre-buy included. The engines are 200 from tbo and the paint was a 4 with the interior being a 6. He just dropped 125k on paint, panel, and interior. Have a pretty kick ass airplane for a quarter mil minus the engines. They are Ram 6 now and when update will be Ram 7. Probably another 150k on the engines and props when those come up.
 
dasleben said:
If you don't want geared engines, check out a 414. It's pressurized as well, but has direct-drive engines (310 horsepower each I believe).
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Yes, all the presurized piston Commanders (600 and 700) series have geared engines. Stay away!
 
KSCessnaDriver said:
Negatory. The Fuji/Rockwell Commander 700 runs TIO-540's. Last I checked, those aren't geared. The 680's would be geared, however.
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Yeah, any high wing piston Commander that is pressurized is a MX hog. If you have any questions, PM me and I'll relay is on to my boss who has about 30k hours is all sorts of different Commanders.
 
SIUav8er said:
huh?
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Buy an airplane and immediately dump money into paint and interior, rather than making it mechanically sound. Actually, JHugz didn't really say that it was mechanically bad...but that is all too often the case. There is a reason my boss gets dollar signs in his eyes when an airplane with new P&I comes in for annual...
 
kiloalpha said:
Yeah, any high wing piston Commander that is pressurized is a MX hog. If you have any questions, PM me and I'll relay is on to my boss who has about 30k hours is all sorts of different Commanders.
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I'd imagine so, but the Commander 700 isn't a high wing. It's kind of the orphan of the family.

commander700_johndavies.jpg
 
Thank you kiloalpha for the offer to pm and chat with your boss, I tinhk I'll just stay away from high wing pressurized commanders. I do love the look though and really love the 500B and 500S.

I have been getting more and more interested in the Commander 700 though. From what I read so far, and starting to exchange emails with one past owner, other than they are runway hogs and takeoff/initial climb are not good, they are a nice comfortable cabin class strong aircraft. Roomy for family and all.

Fairly fast, decent range. Looking at some flights on flightaware.

Thanks alot for all the info...
 
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