There's a sucker born every minute, apparently. Yep, it had to be me. Just put down the down payment on that old Turbo Commander.

I’ve been hankerin’ (as you say here) for a turbine for some time, but this was the right plane at an affordable price for me. Affordable: as in pay not so much now, but through the nose over time…

A good compromise between the old and the new: don’t have to follow the newer 690’s onerous spar and pressure vessel AD’s, nor do I need to do the gear overhauls every 5 years, but still have the speed of the later model. It’s also a Commander, which is familiar territory for me.

The panel is from hell (a messy nightmare), the interior is a pink leather bad dream and it certainly is no one’s idea of a pretty paint scheme, but hey, it’s a turbine! She’s been decently kept after on a 135 certificate. About 1000hrs left on the 5400hr TBO engines. One of them has only got 100 cycles left on the engine (a new concept for me), so will need a hot section inspection in about a year. This was reflected in the price.

I’ve done my research on this model with both my old Commander guru and other owners. I’ll be burning 60-65gal/hr, which is double of what I’m burning now. But Jet A1 is also cheaper and I’ll go about 50kts faster. Per nm it’s probably a wash. An owner I spoke to in San Diego says his operating costs are about $650/hr, which is only about $200 more than the Aerostar. Only time will tell if that holds up.

I have no illusions, this will end up costing me more per year. But not by as much as people seem to believe according to the owners I've spoken to. And for that I get all weather capability, reliability, speed, long range (1200nm) and no more avgas constraints. This one I can take on my dream trip to Europe and feel safe and confident she’ll get there. Will pick her up in a few weeks and get her up to scratch – needs some pressurisation work and a phase inspection.

The journey begins. Hey, you only live once. And you can't take it with you...

I was wondering when this post would appear. Keep us updated, I think this will be an interesting thread to follow.

congrats Adam, very cool. I'll be following your journey with interest...i share your turboprop dream

Cool.. Congratualtions

How bout some pics inside? We don't care if the color is ugly, we still want to see it.

Congrats!

Congratulations. I hope you keep sharing your experience.

Jimmy Elza

Sure thing.

I'm not very interested in sports, therefore I don't remember who it was, but it was some NFL footballer who used to own this plane. He said the colour pink "made him calm", so that's why the whole interior is in pink leather!




As you can see, there's an ancient Apollo GPS in there, and the Honeywell H14 autopilot is probably older than I am. But it works - I don't need a fancy autopilot anyway. But the GPS will have to go. Probably stick a GTN 650 in her when I get around to doing the panel. It's not the first priority.




It's even got two cabinets!

It's a beautiful thing Adam...congrats! Welcome to the wonderful world of JET-A!

BTW...you'll probably soon be getting over the saying "I love the smell of jet fuel in the morning"

Congratulations Adam! I like your style. I also like that panel the way it is now, very unique.

Congrats. EAM in Scottsdale is the goto place for Commanders. You can also get very cheap Jet-A there if you have a CAA card.

They can probably help you with that panel and any maintenance (and engines). They usually have 5-6 in the hangar and a bunch on the ramp.

-jason

Adam. You are my hero.
Snappy attire was one thing. Turbine commander... "Fuhgeddaboutit"

Congrats!

Leather seats can be refinished in a new color, done correctly, they will look like new

Exactly! I'll wear the pink socks to match interior.

What would a ballpark interior be?

The panel doesn't look that bad.

It's more "modern" than many of the old BE200s and early BE300s I fly at work.

It's light years ahead of E-2C Hawkeyes, which have been built in the last decade. Seriously, that's a nicer panel than an E-2C I picked up factory new, in 2010.

You don't need glass to go fast.