Commander fly in Pine Mtn, Ga

Unit74

Unit74

Final Approach
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Mar 8, 2014
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Unit74
I flew in for some gas and saw what I'd say was about 15 Commanders on the ramp. 112, 114, 115 and even an "experimental" one.

Any TC drivers know what's going on?
 
Awww, I wish I'd been there! I'm jonsing for a Commander
 
Acrodustertoo said:
Pics or it didn't happen
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Man, I was just stopping for gas and was on a mission to get home. I thought about pics after I had left. After I left, I heard three more on CTAf landing. One was Canadian.
 
Unit74 said:
Yea, I really wanted one too. Great cabin, great gear system, poor performance.
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Well I wouldn't call it "poor" performance. It's still a 160kt bird, it just uses a TON of fuel to do it! Great payload, but the penalty for all of that wide cross-section is a lot of drag hurting the top-end. I'm always amazed at how well they hold their value in the market. I've never sat in one, but from the reputation there's not a more comfortable piston single to fly. They are one of the best-looking 4/5 seat piston birds out there with the trailing-link gear and the cruciform tail. It's just a more-refined version of the PA-24 in terms of market segment/capability.
 
NJP_MAN said:
Aren't "TCs" multi piston or turbine ?
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Depends on how you're using the abbreviation. They made 114TC/115TC as well as the "Hot Shot" 112 which were all turbocharged variants. However, if "TC" is being used as Turbo Commander, that's the piston twin.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Depends on how you're using the abbreviation. They made 114TC/115TC as well as the "Hot Shot" 112 which were all turbocharged variants. However, if "TC" is being used as Turbo Commander, that's the piston twin.
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I see. And OP referenced 114 and 115 so I see my mistake there. I need to learn more about the commander is what I really learned.
 
They are nice planes. The 112A version suffers from low useful load though. A friend owns one and says there is also an issue with the air intake such that it never gets full sea level manifold pressure. He has added a turbo charger to his 112A. The cabin is wide with a center arm rest, nice seats and good appointments, including map lights for the pilot's lap (to light up the sectional or low enroute chart) on their lap. The luggage compartment is a good size and holds quite a bit of weight, more than many other single engine piston planes.

I flew his plane some, but the low useful load, mid 800 lbs comes to mind, meant that even when my kids were small we were banging up against the max weight with the fuel at tabs; his plane has 68 gallons of fuel capacity. With 200 hp it didn't climb fast as we got higher with the weight near max. The turbo charger helps as it can get the manifold pressure up to sea level and it will maintain 200 hp up into the teens.

The landing gear is stout, and is trailing-link gear; helps make more landings "good landings".

Nice planes. The 112A version without a turbo charger is not a great performer though. One of the 114/115 is much better and turbo charged versions kick up the speed even more.
 
The useful load on most 114/115 models is between 1,000-1,200 lbs. They certainly don't have the speed of a Bo, but they look better and are wide enough so that it's just like riding in a modern sedan. The Super Commander is about a 200Kt bird, but the fuel burn would make you think it was a twin!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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