AEROMEDIA
The Italian Aerospace Information Web
by Aeromedia - corso Giambone 46/18 - 10135 Torino (Italy)

LE FOTOGRAFIE / IMAGES

Commander Aircraft Commander 114B D-ESAT (n/c 14551 del 1994, marche prova N6000Z) in rullaggio a Torino/Aeritalia l’8 aprile 2026. Era arrivato all’aeroporto subalpino il 1° aprile con un volo di quasi otto ore da Aarhus in Danimarca. I modelli originali 111 a carrello fisso (solo 2 costruiti) e 112 a carrello retrattile furono progettati dalla North American Rockwell a fine anni ‘60 per il fiorente mercato dell’aviazione leggera. Il primo prototipo volò il 4 dicembre 1972. Il costruttore decise di procedere con la produzione del solo modello 112 e del successivo 114 con un sei cilindri Lycoming IO-540 da 260 hp. Quando la North American Rockwell incorporò la Aero Design and Engineering Company, che produceva i bimotori Aero Commander, i due monomotori, per analogia, furono ribattezzati Commander 112 e Commander 114. Col ridimensionamento del conglomerato Rockwell, i diritti dei due monomotori furono ceduti alla Gulfstream Aerospace che tuttavia non li mise in produzione. Nel 1992 la nuova Commander Aircraft riattivò la linea di montaggio dei due modelli cui si aggiunse il Commander 114B con varie migliorie e successivamente il 114TC turbocompresso e l’addestratore avanzato 114AT. Nel 2002 la produzione fu nuovamente interrotta dopo 200 esemplari. La Commander Premier Aircraft Corporation, che produceva solo i pezzi di ricambio, tentò invano di riavviare la produzione. In trent’anni sono stati costruiti quasi 1.500 Commander dei successivi modelli. (Aeromedia)

Commander Aircraft Commander 114B D-ESAT (c/n 14551 built in 1994, test marks N6000Z) taxiing at Turin/Aeritalia Airport on April 8, 2026. It arrived at the subalpine airport on April 1st after a nearly eight-hour flight from Aarhus, Denmark. The original fixed-undercarriage Models 111 (only two were built) and 112 with retractable undercarriage were designed by North American Rockwell in the late 1960s for the burgeoning light aircraft market. The first prototype flew on December 4, 1972. The manufacturer decided to proceed with the production of only the Model 112 and the subsequent Model 114 with a 260 hp six-cylinder Lycoming IO-540 engine. When North American Rockwell took over the Aero Design and Engineering Company, which produced the twin-engined Aero Commanders, the two single-engined aircraft were similarly renamed Commander 112 and Commander 114. With the downsizing of the Rockwell conglomerate, the rights to the two single-engined aircraft were sold to Gulfstream Aerospace, which, however, did not put them into production. In 1992, the new Commander Aircraft reactivated the assembly line for the two models, which were joined by the Commander 114B with various improvements and subsequently the turbocharged 114TC and the 114AT advanced trainer. In 2002, production was halted again after 200 Commanders had been built. Premier Aircraft Corporation, which only produced spare parts, attempted unsuccessfully to restart production. Over thirty years, nearly 1,500 Commanders of various models were built. (Aeromedia)

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