Pretty awesome Adam! You gonna keep it at KVNY?

No, it will based KEMT, unless I can find a cheap hangar somewhere else..

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

What would a ballpark interior be?

Must be an A* thing. Good friend of mine has the same hankering to move up to Commander...

Yup...me too but it will probably be a few more years before I am ready.

Both Ted Smith creations.

Adam: Congrats!

Glenn

Congrats, that will be a fun plane. There will always be people standing around offering a million reason not to do something, and usually they just stay there, not going anywhere. Commanders fly like airliners, they are built like tanks. That panel looks like a real airplane is supposed to look like, looking at glass reminds me of being at work. And the leather, thats not pink, it's sand. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. It looks like a Hummer that just got back from combat in the middle east. Fly that thing to Houston so I can go for a ride!

Tens of thousands of dollars.

But you don't need that. Just have all of the leather taken off the seats and take them to someone to get dyed. You can't make them white, but something neutral and darker than current should be easy to do. Might be able to do it under $1K. You don't need an aviation shop, just anyplace that works with leather. Couch upholstery place could probably do it.

If your FD and HSI are working well, I'd say that's a super functional panel. You can do a hell of a lot with an ipad and a heading bug these days.

Would a 750 fit where the radar is? (assuming you can get the radar to play with the 750.)

Does the radar play with the 750? That would be great if it did. I've heard the Bendix RDR's only display on Avidyne.

Digital radars generally play on the GTN750 and G600, and that's great, but I don't see the need. If you've got a color radar and you know how to use it you're in good shape, the display hasnt really mattered to me. I've got a bitchin' stabilized radar in the Solitaire that will play with the G600, but I'm not even going to bother. The Avidyne works well, and it ain't broke, so I won't fix it.

I know you just got your instrument rating, so I'm guessing you haven't messed around with picking your way through embedded thunderstorms yet, but let me tell you: if you've got XM or ADSB WX on one box (handheld is fine, stratus with iPad mini is great) for long range planning and tactical radar swinging up front, your mission capability goes up to almost always being able to launch in the summer months.

Do you know how to use the radar?

Great deal Adam. I was toying with the idea of trading up to a MU-2 after attending the last P.R.O.P. with the MU-2 association. Some of the folks there claim the MU-2 costs no more than the Aerostar.

The Commander seems like a great aircraft.

Adam, I've been biting my tongue too long here. Congrats mate, she's a friggin beaut.

Got me all jealous!!!!!

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

What would a ballpark interior be?

Look at his panel. The _need_ is a usable place to put a 750 without major panel surgery. Now if you have to replace (or retire) the radar, that's a different issue.

But a 650 in swap for the current GPS would work well also.

Tell you what- I've got a 650 in my A* and I LOVE it. Best box I've ever used, hands down. I can literally put in routes quickly enough to do it on the fly as NY tracon is firing it off at me.

It sucks that aviation has been on the decline for years and that the golden age has come and gone, but man, I can't believe how many great gadgets we have now. I remember being astounded by my first KLN89B and Argus moving map, this stuff we have now is amazing.