My first aircraft - the ferrying of my old Aero Commander twin back to California.
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Los Angeles, USA
Age: 52
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Thanks for asking, Arc.
Return trip went pretty much without hickups. Getting out of Nashville in terrible weather proved an ordeal, and I had to return after only 30mins to sit and wait it out. Thankfully the fronts were moving east, so after a few hrs I could fight my way through it to to the tail end of the front. After Texas it was clear skies all the way back to LA. It was horribly cold over the mountains, though, and as I'm terrified of running the Janitrol, I suffered through it in full ski gear. The cabin was -10 degrees for most of the second day and it wasn't very pleasant. Note to self: always bring thermos with hot chocolate when flying high in winter.
I got a thorough workout the last hour coming in to LA - I wrote about in other thread so no need to repeat myself.
http://www.pprune.org/private-flying...flustered.html
Oil pressure has worked perfectly ever since except for one very brief instance on a takeoff roll. I was on my way to my mechanic only 10 mins away at HHR, so I continued takeoff. I was very low on oil, so that was probably the reason and it hasn't happened since. Or maybe a gaging problem. We know the pressure in the engine is OK as it has been tested.
Waiting out the s**t weather in Nashville before return to California.
Return trip went pretty much without hickups. Getting out of Nashville in terrible weather proved an ordeal, and I had to return after only 30mins to sit and wait it out. Thankfully the fronts were moving east, so after a few hrs I could fight my way through it to to the tail end of the front. After Texas it was clear skies all the way back to LA. It was horribly cold over the mountains, though, and as I'm terrified of running the Janitrol, I suffered through it in full ski gear. The cabin was -10 degrees for most of the second day and it wasn't very pleasant. Note to self: always bring thermos with hot chocolate when flying high in winter.
I got a thorough workout the last hour coming in to LA - I wrote about in other thread so no need to repeat myself.
http://www.pprune.org/private-flying...flustered.html
Oil pressure has worked perfectly ever since except for one very brief instance on a takeoff roll. I was on my way to my mechanic only 10 mins away at HHR, so I continued takeoff. I was very low on oil, so that was probably the reason and it hasn't happened since. Or maybe a gaging problem. We know the pressure in the engine is OK as it has been tested.
Waiting out the s**t weather in Nashville before return to California.
Arclite01,
I'll answer for Adam since he might be asleep or zooming along in the Flight Levels
The answers to your questions are No and Yes.
See here:
http://www.pprune.org/private-flying...t-upgrade.html
and here:
http://www.pprune.org/private-flying...pictorial.html
I'll answer for Adam since he might be asleep or zooming along in the Flight Levels
The answers to your questions are No and Yes.
See here:
http://www.pprune.org/private-flying...t-upgrade.html
and here:
http://www.pprune.org/private-flying...pictorial.html
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India pretty much summed it up. Thanks for asking.
Plane is sold, but I still have aircraft in my possession as they haven't paid fully yet. Flew her for an hour just last week and she's never run better. Since my new one is in for engine overhauls, it keeps me current. I've been drip feeding her 20gals of fuel here and there just to cover the shorter flights I do to keep the juices going, and boy, does that old girl get going with empty tanks! Last week there was a training Cessna 172 on the upwind when I got cleared for takeoff, so I asked if I could get an early turn and get in front of them, which was approved. I only had about 30 gals in total onboard and a pretty stiff headwind. I was in the air in less than 600ft, was at 1000ft by the crosswind and at 1500ft by the time I rolled out on downwind! I was out of the circuit before that Cessna even turned crosswind. At moments like that I wish I could keep her. It would be fun to do a STOL competition for twins only, like they do in Valdez with the singles. I think the 520 would have a good chance of beating just about anything.
Plane is sold, but I still have aircraft in my possession as they haven't paid fully yet. Flew her for an hour just last week and she's never run better. Since my new one is in for engine overhauls, it keeps me current. I've been drip feeding her 20gals of fuel here and there just to cover the shorter flights I do to keep the juices going, and boy, does that old girl get going with empty tanks! Last week there was a training Cessna 172 on the upwind when I got cleared for takeoff, so I asked if I could get an early turn and get in front of them, which was approved. I only had about 30 gals in total onboard and a pretty stiff headwind. I was in the air in less than 600ft, was at 1000ft by the crosswind and at 1500ft by the time I rolled out on downwind! I was out of the circuit before that Cessna even turned crosswind. At moments like that I wish I could keep her. It would be fun to do a STOL competition for twins only, like they do in Valdez with the singles. I think the 520 would have a good chance of beating just about anything.
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A little update to this age old thread for those interested.
About a year ago Sergei and his companions flew to Los Angeles to pick my old Commander up to fly her back to Russia. It was a 8000 mile trip to be done VFR in a plane that hadn't had an annual in over a year. It was almost a documentary in the making.
We took her up for a short spin on her new Russian registration in Los Angeles ("cleared for takeoff RA-…..ehum….01803..") and I showed them the ropes very briefly. She'd run rough on one mag on the ground, but I knew it was just oil that had collected in bottom plug after sitting for more than 6 months. Cleared up right away after 5 minutes of flying.
The Russians just before departure from LA.
They took her up to Northern California for a good once over at some mechanic's place, then flew up to Alaska. Returned to Russia via Nome and crossed over that way. Not without troubles, I later heard. Some of the bottom plugs had fallen out and oil pressure had dropped as they departed Alaska. They turned back and managed to get it fixed, apparently. A week or so later I got word they'd landed safe in Vladivostok. Not bad for a 60 year old girl.
Today, she lives somewhere in eastern Siberia and Sergei sent me this photo from this winter. Apparently, they don't fly her in the winter months, which sounds sensible to me. The new owners love her and she's perfect for their smaller strips and lack of Avgas.
Her new home in Siberia.
About a year ago Sergei and his companions flew to Los Angeles to pick my old Commander up to fly her back to Russia. It was a 8000 mile trip to be done VFR in a plane that hadn't had an annual in over a year. It was almost a documentary in the making.
We took her up for a short spin on her new Russian registration in Los Angeles ("cleared for takeoff RA-…..ehum….01803..") and I showed them the ropes very briefly. She'd run rough on one mag on the ground, but I knew it was just oil that had collected in bottom plug after sitting for more than 6 months. Cleared up right away after 5 minutes of flying.
The Russians just before departure from LA.
They took her up to Northern California for a good once over at some mechanic's place, then flew up to Alaska. Returned to Russia via Nome and crossed over that way. Not without troubles, I later heard. Some of the bottom plugs had fallen out and oil pressure had dropped as they departed Alaska. They turned back and managed to get it fixed, apparently. A week or so later I got word they'd landed safe in Vladivostok. Not bad for a 60 year old girl.
Today, she lives somewhere in eastern Siberia and Sergei sent me this photo from this winter. Apparently, they don't fly her in the winter months, which sounds sensible to me. The new owners love her and she's perfect for their smaller strips and lack of Avgas.
Her new home in Siberia.
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Not sure Adam but if interested the log books are there somewhere - i doubt they are high time. I imagine a few £k would buy it and there would be support to get it flying as no one wants to see it rot away.
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I live in the US these days and to get it exported and over here is just too big of a task, otherwise I would have been interested.
I don't understand why someone hasn't picked up this plane. They're economical twins to run, comparatively. And well suited for Europe with their short takeoff and grass capabilities. Have they advertised it at all?
They should advertise it on the new Twin Commander Forum. I'm a moderator there:
www.twincommandergroup.com
I don't understand why someone hasn't picked up this plane. They're economical twins to run, comparatively. And well suited for Europe with their short takeoff and grass capabilities. Have they advertised it at all?
They should advertise it on the new Twin Commander Forum. I'm a moderator there:
www.twincommandergroup.com
