New Commander Owners

[jwhite]

After being a member of the COG for nearly a year and lurking on this site for that time, we finally have purchased a Commander --- a 1996 114B, S/N 14647, N823JW. It was most recently owned (for the past 10+ years) by Mr. Eugene Goetz of Minneapolis. The Hobbs meter passed 1400 hours TT on the trip home from Minnesota. It is in great shape, each from the standpoint of its airworthiness, avionics and esthetics. The avionics suite is a perfect match with my personal preferences so we look forward to a long and satisfactory ownership of N823JW.

I need to note and acknowledge the assistance which Ms. Anderson provided during a phone call and several e-mail messages late in 2016 and earlier this year. She was very helpful in supplying some background information about this aircraft --- much more than what was available from the FAA's CD. Also, she provided more details about the Commander fleet and what I might expect as a prospective owner. Thank you, Judi.

We are making changes to our aircraft ownership, largely because my age is becoming a problem with insurance underwriters --- they don't wish to provide liability insurance at anything close to a reasonable premium price. With the addition of the Commander, we own four airplanes: A Varga-Kachina, a Cessna 180K and a Piper Cheyenne I. It is the Cheyenne and the 180 which are problematic for liability insurance. We've been informed that this will be the last year we will be able to purchase insurance without having a qualified pilot in the right seat(s) when I am the PIC. For those who may be curious, I turned 75 this past December. So, the Cessna 180 is in the process of being sold and the Cheyenne will "go down the road" later this year.

By now, I have enough time in the Commander to appreciate it flying characteristics and it structural integrity and CAC's choice of equipment and components are appreciated, too. After about 10 hours of PIC experience, I now better understand the exceptional support for the single engine Commanders which is repeatedly demonstrated by this group of owners and fans. To repeat myself, I look forward to the ownership and use of this very special airplane.

 

[VGIAMPA]

Re: New Commander Owners

Allow me to be one of the first to congratulate you on your decision to join the ranks of Commander owners. You'll love your Commander and will enjoy the benefits of joining the Commander Owner's Group.

Be sure to check out the Member's Only Forum. And hope that you and yours can join us at this year's Annual Fly-in September.

 

[billpat1]

Re: New Commander Owners

James, welcome to the flock! We love our 112A, and appreciate it's design and engineering more every time we fly it. Think you will too!

 

[gmores]

Re: New Commander Owners

Welcome James!

 

[wiguy]

Re: New Commander Owners

Welcome, sounds like a very nice Commander.

There is talk of a mid June, informal get together around MI too. I see you are kinda close, you could join up at Mackinac Island or one of the other stops if it works.

 

[rringgold]

Re: New Commander Owners

Congratulations Jim, you'll find this group very helpful in dealing with all things "Commander". Has the Cessna 180 been sold already?

 

[painlesspotter]

Re: New Commander Owners

------- For those who may be curious, I turned 75 this past December. ---------

Jim W
I am 81 and got denied by 7 of 10 ins. companies---finally got coverage out of QBE if Australia. Costly. Send me email if you want details.
John P

 

[TKutchera]

Re: New Commander Owners

Congrats and welcome to the best owner group out there.

Hope to meet you in COS at the fly in this fall

Tim

 

[TSHEMMEN]

Re: New Commander Owners

Good to have you as a member...enjoy your new Commander!!

 

[jwhite]

Re: New Commander Owners

Thank you all for the warm welcoming comments. The COG has already been very helpful --- during the pre-buy evaluation and the subsequent annual inspection. I have a mechanic certificate with airframe and power plant ratings (but no Inspection Authorization). The technical support and knowledge within this group is outstanding --- a key factor in the decision to purchase a Commander.

To: Rolf (rringgold): I have a signed purchase agreement for the Cessna 180. Ownership should transfer later this week.

To: John (painlesspotter): My agent believes that he will be able to obtain liability insurance for me for at least the next five years. After 2017, this coverage will only be for the Commander and our Varga 2150A.

Jim (N823JW)

(P.S. I dislike the "vanity" registration, but it was requested from the FAA by the original owner and I will learn to live with it.)

 

[RNC]

Re: New Commander Owners

Welcome, Jim.

I have a 1995 model. It seems that 20 years or so is the typical life expectancy of the wing seals, and as I'm sure you know you have wet wings. Those are the main 'gotchas' with the mid 90s model Commanders. In the three years I've owned mine I had both wings start leaking, and I completely resealed them both. A rusty color leaking through the rivets on top of the wing is a good sign of a leak getting started. On the bottom the most likely spots are of course around the gear wells.

The fuel cap assemblies tend to rust, but you can get new stainless/aluminum ones from folks on here (I think Jim Richards @ Aerodyme is selling them now). Good thing about the factory being gone... when there are poor designs we can actually fix stuff like that. Would be worth taking a look below that flapper with your borescope and if you see any rust on the cap assemblies, plan on replacing them when you have to re-seal a wing.

If you search my post history you will find a thread about the mechanical fuel pump. There is an AD on the original Romec pumps due to leaks. It's not something most people find because Lycoming changed suppliers and that changed the part numbers. Both of my mechanics missed it in all of my annuals because it's not something you find doing a normal paperwork search due to that part number change. You can get an AD cancelling pump with different diaphragm material from QAA in Tulsa (same part number ending in /M), or a new pump from Hartzell that also cancels the AD. If you notice wild fluctuations in fuel pressure while taxiing at low RPM and/or if it dies on you while taxiing at low RPM, that's a good sign that yours may be sucking air.

If you start getting nose gear shimmy, plan on getting the bolt/nut/bushing kits from Jim @ Aerodyme for your nose gear. Even if you don't have shimmy it would be a good thing for the first annual. After 20 years they will wear, and the shimmy dampener may hide it but it will cause the dampener to fail prematurely as the knee gets more slop due to the worn bushings. You can tell if it's coming, jerk on the knee on the nose gear with the plane on the ground, any slop is a sure sign that the bushings are worn out. This is a low cost thing that's easy to do while the plane is on jacks, and will avoid further damage from a complete dampener failure on roll out that can become quite violent.

It's not a bad idea to keep a few sets of strut O rings around. They are the same ones that go on a Twin Commander. Spruce has them all but they're bigger than Pipers/Cessnas/Beechcrafts so not a lot of random mx shops have them on the shelf if you blow out a strut away from home.

As I'm sure you've noticed, there's quite a bit of drag from the over-engineered gear. I find it easiest to fly approaches at category B with cruise power settings, using the flaps as speed brakes, saving the gear for the FAF. Since you can get flaps at 150 knots that's the simplest way. I would not make a habit of taking off without any flaps, for the same reason. If your wind dies it can sink on you until the gear comes up.

Whenever you remove the cowlings, as I'm sure you've noticed, it's tricky to get the cowl flap limit switch arm on the lower cowl to line up just right. If it isn't lined up the switch/flap won't work at all, so it's not the end of the world but an annoyance that you can point out to wet-behind-the-ears shop helpers as an example to pay attention .

All in all these are minor common maintenance issues. The only thing of any interest really is those tail spar hinges, for which Jim @ Aerodyme also has effectively a permanent fix. You still have to borescope them to comply with the AD but afaik no one who has gotten Jim's replacements has had new cracks. Of course the downside to a plane that doesn't have any glaring problems is there is no parts money for the factory. I shed a tear for them every time I am not paying Cessna parts markup.

If you run into a need for specific 28v Commander paperwork/manuals/etc that you don't have, me and Todd Hardin (N295TC) have quite a collection, as will whoever winds up buying Elliot DeFalco's plane. Feel free to let us know if you are missing anything.

 

[JayB]

Re: New Commander Owners

Welcome aboard...

 

[janderson]

Re: New Commander Owners

congrats, James. and JW is perfect! ..not "vanity", but Just Wonderful.

Judi

Jim (N823JW)

(P.S. I dislike the "vanity" registration, but it was requested from the FAA by the original owner and I will learn to live with it.)

 

[N4843W]

Re: New Commander Owners

Judi nailed it. Just Wonderful.

And Neal is so typical of the help you can get here, although he has to be one of our most knowledgeable members, there are a ton of others. Whatever you encounter, there are 5 or 10 or more who have run into the same thing and can lend you the benefit of their experience.

Welcome Aboard!

 

[milojevicp]

Re: New Commander Owners

Dear James,

Congratulations on your new acquisition and welcome to this group. As for your age, Commanders don't have a pilot age limit (see John Potter for example.) You may even have lowered the average age of the members of this group!

Safe and Enjoyable Flying to you,

Pete

 

[RNC]

Re: New Commander Owners

Oh and I almost forgot!

I'm guessing based on your experience you may have noticed but there's nothing in the 90s model checklists about checking the emergency gear release before flight. It's not hard to kick it with your foot getting in on the pilot's side.

If you do so and take off toward a mountain you will get a little sweat on your brow until you figure it out (ask me how I know...).

 

[jwhite]

Re: New Commander Owners

Hello Neal,

Thank you for the messages and maintenance tips. I was not aware of the mechanical fuel pump AD, so that will be an early priority for me. (The AdLog kit for the airplane was ordered this morning so I should be able to cross reference the maintenance logs and the AdLog AD lists.)

I was aware of fuel tank "weeping", but there are no signs of this problem --- yet. I do intend to purchase some of the Aerodyme service kits and your recommendation regarding the nose gear scissor linkage will move that kit to the top of the list. The Aerodyme elevator hinge kit has already been installed --- per the maintenance logs and I will make certain to assemble a couple of gear oleo o-ring kits. Copies of the Maintenance Manual and Illustrated Parts Catalog have been made and I already had the appropriate Lycoming manuals plus a number of manuals applicable to the avionics --- especially installation manuals. I will make a note of your offer should I encounter the need for a manual not in my library.

Thus far, my experience with power settings, flaps and gear AND field elevations common in the Mid West, is that 13", 2300 RPM, 10 degrees of flaps, and the gear at the FAF, provides a very comfortable 90K for LPV/ILS approaches. Your point about the emergency gear control knob/linkage is very much appreciated. I hadn't thought of the consequences, but it is quite apparent that gear and flap retraction become priorities as soon as a positive climb rate is achieved on take-off.

Again, thank you for your thoughtful advice and suggestions.

Jim

 

[jrichards]

Re: New Commander Owners

Welcome aboard Jim.

Jim