Aero Commander was an
aircraft manufacturer
An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology industry.
...
formed in 1944. In subsequent years, it became a
subsidiary
A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...
of
Rockwell International
Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate involved in aircraft, the space industry, defense and commercial electronics, components in the automotive industry, printing presses, avionics and industrial products. R ...
and
Gulfstream Aerospace
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is an American aircraft company and a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics.
Gulfstream designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and services business jet aircraft. Gulfstream has produced more than 2,000 ...
. The company ceased aircraft production in 1986.
History
Aero was formed in
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...
, in
1944
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 2 – WWII:
** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...
to design and manufacture a light twin-engined transport aircraft.
Ted Smith, a former project engineer at
Douglas Aircraft Company
The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...
, assembled a team of 14 engineers to design what would be the Aero Commander. Preliminary design was completed in 1946. The first prototype took flight on April 23, 1948, and was certified by the
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) in June, 1950. Three men funded the company's early efforts: Philadelphia attorney George Pew and Oklahoma City brothers William and
Rufus Travis Amis
Rufus Amis (February 13, 1912 – January 12, 2007) was an American entrepreneur who served as co-founder and CEO of Aero Design and Engineering Company. The company built one of the first twin engine planes for private use in the US, the Aero Co ...
.
In September 1950, it became the Aero Design and Engineering Company of
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
. Its facilities consisted of an aircraft hangar and manufacturing facility located at what is now
Wiley Post Airport
Wiley Post Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located seven nautical miles (13 km) northwest of the central business district of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. The facility covers 1,143 acres (463 ha) and has three runways ...
near
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...
. In August 1951, the first production Aero Commander, the piston-engined model 520, rolled off the assembly line. It was designed as a business class twin-engine aircraft for corporate travelers.
In 1954, the 520 was replaced by the 560 and 560A featuring a larger cabin and more powerful
Lycoming piston engines. In 1955, the
U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
selected the Aero Commander as the personal transport for President
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
, ordering 15 aircraft, two of which were used by
The White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
. This aircraft was a military version of the Aero Commander and was assigned a liaison function. It was used by Eisenhower to travel from Washington, D.C. to his farm at
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg (; non-locally ) is a borough and the county seat of Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) and President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address are named for this town.
Gettysburg is home to th ...
. In 1958, the Company introduced the first pressurized business aircraft in the form of the model 720 Alti-Cruiser.
![Aero Commander U-4B USAF](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Aero_Commander_U-4B_USAF.jpg)
The company was acquired by
Rockwell-Standard
Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate involved in aircraft, the space industry, defense and commercial electronics, components in the automotive industry, printing presses, avionics and industrial products. R ...
in 1958 and changed its name to Aero Commander Inc. in late 1960. The aircraft added
fuel injection
Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines.
All comp ...
engines and other modifications to increase performance, resulting in the 1960 introduction of the Twin Commander. With the advent of the small
gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...
engine, the 680 T model was released in 1964, followed by the 690 series in 1971, and the JetProp series in 1979.
The company later incorporated other aircraft types developed at smaller companies and marketed them as components of the Aero Commander line. It also developed a business-
twinjet
A twinjet or twin-engine jet is a jet aircraft powered by two engines. A twinjet is able to fly well enough to land with a single working engine, making it safer than a single-engine aircraft in the event of failure of an engine. Fuel efficien ...
, the 1121 Jet Commander. The production of this aircraft was delayed with the company finally delivering to its first customer, Timken Roller Bearing Corporation, on January 11, 1965.
Aero Commander sold the manufacturing rights to
Israel Aircraft Industries
Israel Aerospace Industries (Hebrew: התעשייה האווירית לישראל ''ha-ta'asiya ha-avirit le-yisra'el'') or IAI (תע"א) is Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both mi ...
(IAI), who produced it as the
Westwind.
In February 1981, Rockwell International sold the Aero Commander division to
Gulfstream Aerospace
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is an American aircraft company and a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics.
Gulfstream designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and services business jet aircraft. Gulfstream has produced more than 2,000 ...
. The final Twin Commander model 1000, released in the early 1980s, was powered by Dash 10 engines. In December 1985, Gulfstream Aerospace was acquired by
Chrysler Corp
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subs ...
. With a new focus on the business jet market, production of the Twin Commander ended in 1986.
In 1989, the Twin Commander Aircraft subsidiary of Gulfstream was acquired by Precision Aerospace Corporation. With this acquisition, the company transformed from an aircraft manufacturer to an OEM parts, service, and support provider. In 2003, the company was reincorporated as Twin Commander Aircraft, LLC. In 2005, the company was acquired from Precision in a
management buyout
A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena of 1 ...
.
Aircraft
![Aero Command 200D - N898LF](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Aero_Command_200D_-_N898LF.jpg)
Ag Commander was a brand name used by Aero Commander for their line of
agricultural aircraft
An agricultural aircraft is an aircraft that has been built or converted for agricultural use – usually aerial application of pesticides (crop dusting) or fertilizer (aerial topdressing); in these roles they are referred to as "crop duster ...
. Two unrelated aircraft were marketed under this name: the ''
CallAir A-9
: ''For the USAF unmanned Quail drone aircraft, see ADM-20 Quail.''
The IMCO CallAir A-9 is a small agricultural aircraft that first flew in 1962, a development of the company's previous successful crop-dusters. It is typical of aircraft of it ...
'', sold as the ''Ag Commander A-9'' and ''B-9'', and the ''
Ayres Thrush
The Ayres Thrush, formerly the Snow S-2,Macdonald, 1964. p.138. Aero Commander Ag Commander, and Rockwell Thrush Commander, is an American agricultural aircraft produced by Ayres Corporation and more recently by Thrush Aircraft. It is one of th ...
'' (aka the ''Snow S-2''), sold as the ''Ag Commander S-2''. Both aircraft were originally the products of smaller manufacturers that Aero Commander had purchased. The ''Ag Commander'' brand was dropped in 1970 when Rockwell dissolved the Aero Commander division.
See also
*
Ayres Corporation
Ayres Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer owned and run by Fred Ayres.
History
In 1977, Ayres bought the Albany, Georgia division of Rockwell International, which made the S2R Thrush Commander agricultural aircraft. Before this, ...
*
Intermountain Manufacturing Company
The Intermountain Manufacturing Company (IMCO) was a US aircraft manufacturer of the 1960s based in Afton, Wyoming that produced agricultural aircraft.
IMCO was formed in 1962 to purchase the assets of the failed Call Aircraft Company, and th ...
*
Meyers Aircraft Company
The Meyers Aircraft Company was a US aircraft manufacturer established by Al Meyers in Tecumseh, Michigan in 1936 in aviation, 1936 at what is now Meyers–Diver's Airport.
History
Originally, the company produced a biplane trainer, the Meyers ...
*
Snow Aeronautical
Snow Aeronautical was an American aircraft manufacturer established in 1956 in Olney, Texas by Leland Snow to manufacture and market agricultural aircraft of his design.
History
Leland Snow, a graduate of the aeronautical engineering program ...
*
Volaircraft
Volaircraft Inc was a US aircraft manufacturer established in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania in 1958 by Jack Gilberti to produce a light utility aircraft, known as the Volaire. The firm and the rights to its aircraft were purchased by North American Roc ...
References
;Other sources
Rockwell U-9A Aero Commander
External links
*
ttp://home.iwichita.com/rh1/hold/av/avhist/acm/acm_hist.htm The Aero Commander Line – a short history
{{Aero Commander aircraft
Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States
Manufacturing companies established in 1944
Defunct manufacturing companies based in Oklahoma
Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1986