She's giving you the stink-eye, Tracy...

I told Drew he would probably talk me into Stephenville on Friday with the Shrike. Hope to see ya'll there!

Gary

Can't wait to see you there. I'll bring the Tbone so we can compare tails.... See whose is taller.

I think the doodler on an Aero Commander drags the ground.
I remember seeing Eisenhower driving one.

Let me know if ya'll get tired of these. What Chester said:

A what?

Ohhhhhh.

Gary,

The body of the Aero Commander looks low to the ground. Just curious, what is the short field and grass/soft field capabilities of the plane?

Tim

Tim:

With main tires that size I am not sure that water landings are not out of the question! Short and soft field landings are not an issue, as the aircraft normally assumes a fairly nose high attitude prior to impact. High grass may be an issue as you only have about a foot's worth of clearance . . .

Gary

That's what they call Ramp Appeal. Would love to hitch a ride in one someday.

There are many wonderful things about the Shrike... Hydraulic nosewheel steering is cool.... The cockpit is very well organized, except for the overhead which is a bear for those of us with Bi-focals.... the cabin is spacious and quiet... reasonable legroom for club seating..

But still the best part of the Shrike is the wing... It really is a magical flying airplane...

Interesting way to describe your landings........

Interestingly, The main tires on an Aero Commander are the same size as on a Tbone...
8.5" x 10"

Don:

Just more testaments to the structural integrity of the Shrike! For those of us who have never done a, ahem, firm landing in a straight legged aircraft . . .

And Doug is right. There are very few light twin out there that handle like the Shrike does. The wing is a huge contributing factor. Another one is the fact that the control column runs across the floorboard just about below your knees, and the vertical portions of the column provide for incredible feel in pitch. The Shrikes also have bob weights, etc., use conventional control cables, and possess a significant amount of dihedral. The Aerostar, on the other hand, features a control column that goes straight into the instrument panel, use push-pull tubes, which makes it very sensitive in pitch, and has zero dihedral.

Also interesting is the fact that the Shrike almost always flies in a plus trim condition, and has almost zero down trim even available, while the Aerostar, again a testament to the design, almost always flies at zero trim, or even slight negative if it is just my overweight body and full auxiliary fuel.

Gary

Great pictures!