Rockwell Commander

[vabsie]

Hi All ..

Did my usual Sunday trip (for an hour) to Stapleford to check out some aeries.

Was wondering if any of you could comment. Noticed an aeroplane which I believe is a Rockwell Commander (by looking on the net and mags .. has a higher elevator) .. it's engine sounded quite beefy (healthy).

Are they good aircraft? They seem to be quite a bit more expesive than your average entry level aircraft such as the PA28.

If you have any experiences in one or perhaps own one would be geat to hear your views .. purely out of interest.

Cheers
S

[Final 3 Greens]

Hi Vabsie

Its one type I've never got around to flying, but they look great don't they.

Peeps who have flown them say the 112 is underpowered, but the 114 is a nice aircraft.

[Kiltie]

114 260hp six cylinder. Nice wide cabin 4 seats with centre armrests. Cruise speed suffers with the big cabin and they are not short strip machines. Servicing and parts availability more tedious than Cessna / Piper. Nice wide track trailing link tough undercarriage.

Originally manufactured by Rockwell and then latterly by "Commander". I'd say they are a half way house if you want to upgrade a Piper but can't afford a Beech.

[vabsie]

Thanks Kiltie ..

I think it especially drew my attention as it's engine sounded really powerful, and this particular one looked as if it was in great condition.

S

[IO540]

Before buying a plane like this, it's worth doing some "due diligence" and visiting a number of maintenance companies, and ask for their views.

[vabsie]

IO540 - Good advice thx .. however I'm far from in a position to consider buying an aircraft .. but trying to read up and find out as much as possible on the various types as I can.

[A and C]

I very much enjoyed flying this aircraft and the performance numbers are tyipical of most of the aircraft in the class.

All the aircraft should have had all the spar problems "sorted" long ago so buying one should not hold more than the usual problems on aquireing an aircraft.

Having flown the 114 and the TB20 quite a lot I could not slide a cigarette paper between the examples of the aircraft that I have flown in terms of performance but for reasons that I cant quite make out I found the Rockwell a nicer aircraft to fly.

I have no doubt that owners of the types involved will get out the books and take issue with what I have said in the paragraph above but in practical terms I found it to be true.

[DBisDogOne]

There is a chap on Jersey that runs a course (high-performance) using Commander 114. Try www.commanderflying.co.uk (http://www.commanderflying.co.uk) I spoke to the owner last year, he seemed very knowledgable.

[vabsie]

Thanks for all the replies!

Also cheers for the link DBisDogOne .. and for the PM IO540!

S

[commanderb]

Although the 112 is reputed to be underpowerd it would pay to consider how many pob at any one time.The vast majority of my flying is either 1 or 2 up and there really is nothing I would rather be flying more than my 112 commander.Operating out of a grass strip 4 beefy individuals have sometimes been carried aloft in the 112 with no problem.The usual caveats apply however and commen sense and a good working knowledge of the plane is (as it always should be) is the secret to a good time being had by all.