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stopped at Bethany, OK today

kgrant

kgrant

New member
Supporting Member
Bolivar, MO
Aircraft Year
1977
Aircraft Type
112TCA
Reg Number
N4645W
Serial Number
13175
Dropped a pax at Wiley Post (Atlantic) this afternoon. Walked in the fancy customer lounge where important people were waiting to board their rented kerosene mounts.

After finishing a phone call to get my pax a ride -- the guy at the counter announced that my airplane "wasn't in the system". His tone took me by surprise.

I simply turned to him and announced to the lounge full of people that my Commander was built right across that ramp over there in 1977. What do you mean it isn't in your system. It took it's first flight here before you were born.

You had to have been there.
 
Re: stopped at Bethany, OK today

That's awesome. How did he reply to that.
 
Re: stopped at Bethany, OK today

I don't think he even realized the significance of what I was said. Too busy trying to type me in his computer. The reaction from several obviously senior exec types in the room was priceless.

Funny I wasn't "in the system" I had been to Atlantic twice this yr and three or four times previously. They had closed the self-serve. Maybe that's why he waived the $40 ramp fee with the $6.18 fuel purchase (sigh).
k
 
Re: stopped at Bethany, OK today

I had an interesting discussion with Cleveland Centre last Saturday as they could not find a Commander 'in the system'. We went back and forth

- try 'aero commander'........NOPE
- try 'rockwell commander'.......NOPE
- try 'commander'.......NOPE
- try 'AC112'.......NOPE
- try 'C112'.......BINGO ! The computer accepted it !

The poor bugger was vectoring traffic in between all of these calls while trying to stuff me into a box on a screen and was elated when the C112 worked. I doubt the database had that as a Commander 112 but what the heck..... it was funny.
 
Re: stopped at Bethany, OK today

Don't know what a C112 is but it not us. He was happy to find something that worked.

Anyway, our type is an AC11
 
Re: stopped at Bethany, OK today

hljr said:
Anyway, our type is an AC11
Click to expand...

Correct.

However, some of the FBOs don't hold the complete FAA type designator chart in their system. In our case, the FAA shows three different entries for AC11, but lots of databases only hold one entry per code. As a result, the AC11 code is often associated only with the 114. So it's not unusual for them to be unable to find "Commander 112" or "Commander 112TC".

Whenever I call in to ATC I try to remember to lead off with, "Commander 127XY, Type Alpha Charlie One One". Then I follow with location, altitude, and request. If the controller does ask again for aircraft type (or if I forgot to include it) then I always respond with AC11, never Commander 114.

Even doing that, though, I sometimes will have ATC or a tower controller call me up as "Twin Commander 7XY". Just recently I had a tower controller contact me as "Commander Jet 7XY" (not kidding). Must have been a stronger tailwind than I realized.
 
Re: stopped at Bethany, OK today

I've never had an issue with ATC using the AC11 identifier but haven't found an FBO yet that knows of it. They always want to charge me for a twin when coming up with ramp fees. Actually had to take one desk person by the hand to show her I only had one fan on 10J! :p
 
Re: stopped at Bethany, OK today

Hmmm....would have never thought of AC11. I will try that tomorrow.
 
Re: stopped at Bethany, OK today

proppilot said:
Hmmm....would have never thought of AC11. I will try that tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Tony

Frank is right - AC11 is the correct designation. Never had any issues when using it.
 
Re: stopped at Bethany, OK today

Likewise useAC11. No problem

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2
 
Re: stopped at Bethany, OK today

Commander91gm said:
Tony

Frank is right - AC11 is the correct designation. Never had any issues when using it.
Click to expand...
When they ask me 'Type Aircraft' I always say AC11 4 cyl, just so they don't think I'm a '300hp' 114. When heading W, crossing the Appalaichains will add 'turbo'. Sometimes they know AC11, sometimes not.
 
Re: stopped at Bethany, OK today

Just to confuse things, I believe the Transport Canada lists the 112's as AC12 and the 114's as AC14.

Don
 
Re: stopped at Bethany, OK today

Look on the type of certificate

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2
 
Re: stopped at Bethany, OK today

I always get excited when I see another Commander here at Wiley Post.
It is hard to see both the original Rockwell facilities still sitting vacant
and the CAC facility still has the image of the signage burned in the side
of the metal building. I learned to fly from a flight school occupying some
of the space there.
I hanger right behind Atlantic Aviation at the hanger 4 area along with another commander 114 N4944. A couple of weeks back I saw my opposite, N4981W, I did a double take thinking someone had moved my plane out onto the ramp. Last year when I had just brought Rocky home ATC was asking the designator(AC11) quite often. Lately I think most of the locals have learned my N number and they have quit asking. Maybe I will catch your
plane on the ramp someday.
 
Re: stopped at Bethany, OK today

Just for fun tell them you're an OV-10 and let them chew on that for a while
 
Re: stopped at Bethany, OK today

Just tell them your ICAO is AC11 is the correct one for both the 112 and 114 models which I thought was strange for two different airspeeds is what ATC is interested in. I went into JFK a couple of weekends ago and landed on 22L and when they asked if I could maintain 140 knots I told them I could give them 150 knots if they let me start down now and always makes them happy if you can give a higher speed than you than they request, departed after picking up my relative from Paris on 13R with 14,511 feet of runway to takeoff.

On a Saturday I was #35 for takeoff on the taxiway and told ground I could accept an intersection departure which usually gets me good results and get to cut the Congo Line, no luck this time and took about an hour before I was number one and launched. Taking off there was still about 30-35 heavies all backup and not sure why they were only running one runway 13R, could be it was all the overseas flights taking off at 6PM and needed 13R with the 14,511 of runway.
 

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Re: stopped at Bethany, OK today

wake turbulence smorgasbord :eek:
 
Re: stopped at Bethany, OK today

proppilot said:
wake turbulence smorgasbord :eek:
Click to expand...

No wake turbulence as the heavy that just departed in front of you probably took 10K feet of the runway or more to takeoff, and thats were the tornado's are and you wont want to liftoff at that spot on the runway. All you will get from the tower is the standard caution wake turbulence and they want you to wait three minutes before takeoff, I always ask to wave the three minute delay as you are rotating way before about 1,500 feet in the 114 so nothing to worry about as all the bad air is very far ahead of you were the heavy rotated.
 
Re: stopped at Bethany, OK today

An hour is quite a wait. I never thought about needing to switch fuel tanks twice while still on the ground :)

I was coming back from Greensboro this Saturday and got the usual route directly over JFK so I got to watch some of the show. An amazing number of aircraft coming in and out of there.
 
Re: stopped at Bethany, OK today

proppilot said:
Hmmm....would have never thought of AC11. I will try that tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Tony ... I used in with Toronto Center several times last week ... worked every time!
 
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