New Commander owner. 114B or 115!

[will]

Good evening everyone,

I'm a pilot and rural producer based in Brazil.I am interested in acquiring a Commander 114B or 115 for 140nm trips.

Since I'm new to the Commander family, I'd love to hear from the experienced owners here. What are the main things I should look out for during a pre-buy inspection on these specific models?
What would be the real-world difference in cruise speed and rate of climb between a clean 114B (without TKS) and a 115 equipped with the IO-580 engine and TKS?
Down here, temperatures are consistently above 85°F, and both airfields are at 3,500 ft MSL. This 140 nm flight would make up about 80% of my flying, so the larger tanks on the 115 wouldn't be strictly essential for my mission. I’ve been keeping an eye on the market for a few years now, but I’ve never found an airframe that REALLY checked all the boxes for me. Payload required around 400-500 pounds.


Any tips, recommendations, or leads on good aircraft currently on the market would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

 

[sshore]

First of all, join COG and you will gain access to a huge amount of information. At this stage in your search, the "Commander Inspection Guide" will be very important once you find an airplane that you are interested in.

Right now, start with the "Commander FAQ" which will give you details about the different models.

The 114B and 115 are both the same basic airframe. Very minor differences. Both models came standard with the IO-540. The "TC" designation would come with a TIO-540 - turbocharged but with no intercooler. The IO-580 came by an STC - this engine never came on a factory Commander. I have flown a "Super Commander" with this engine. It is 310 hp and naturally aspirated. It definitely gives superb performance but at a large increase in fuel consumption. A 90 gallon tank would be very helpful with this engine.

The IO-580 will get you 160 KTAS @ 8-10,000 which would be about 10-15 kts faster than a regular 114B. Fuel burn is much higher. The real benefit of the IO-580 is a much improved climb to cruise. It goes - but at the cost of fuel.

 

[will]

To keep my initial post from getting too long, I left out that I've been following the market for years and have already read and reread the FAQ and all the previously posted data. Right now, I'm mainly looking for first-hand feedback from owners and operators to get a better real-world baseline for comparing the 260hp and 320hp models.
Thank you for the information!

 

[David Price]

Will, what planes are you flying now?

 

[will]

Will, what planes are you flying now?

Owned C182, SR22's, Bonanza A36TC, Bonanza Propjet, Turbo Arrow's and a PA34 Seneca. Now we own a King AirF90.

 

[Commander91gm]

Owned C182, SR22's, Bonanza A36TC, Bonanza Propjet, Turbo Arrow's and a PA34 Seneca. Now we own a King AirF90.

Nice