Old 680V for sale with original engines.

[Adam Frisch]

Here's an old -43 powered original 680V for sale.

https://www.controller.com/listing/for-sale/202832213/1967-commander-680v-turboprop-aircraft

[Kzastrow1]

What’s the -43 get you? 

Amazing what 150k can buy these days (says the guy with the 1969 MU2) 😁

[donv]

This is a 680T, isn't it? No picture window?

Does it have bleed air pressurization or hydraulic? I'm guessing the latter, since I think that was part of the Century upgrade, in which case Glenn can tell us all about that system.

Also interesting that, while the last annual was in January 2019 (according to the ad), flightaware shows flights up until October 2020. That's both good and bad... bad if it was flown illegally, but good that it was flying at all.

I think the purchase price is just a down payment on this airplane... can you still do the Century conversion?

[Bruce Byerly]

....

I think the purchase price is just a down payment on this airplane...

So my question is, would it be worth buying if it was free?

[donv]

I don't know, but Adam's thread about his airplane should be required reading for any potential purchaser!

[EricDapp]

....

I think the purchase price is just a down payment on this airplane...

So my question is, would it be worth buying if it was free?

I would take it for free. I would put it at the end of my driveway as yard art.

Anyone remember this yard art?

[donv]

Having wasted some time with google, I believe this airplane is one of the airplanes originally built as a 680T and then reworked into a quasi-680V, possibly before it was even sold for the first time. The reworking involved changing the engines (to the -43), modifying the wing and the gear and some other things.

They had to do this because they had made some representations about the performance, and the 680T didn't meet those.

Unless I see anything to the contrary, I would assume this airplane still has the hydraulic pressurization just like Glenn's 680FP. It would be interesting to know if it works. Apparently the -43 didn't have enough power to provide both bleed air and climb. Thus the hydraulic pressurization... plus they already had that system.

[Adam Frisch]

Although I didn't do many things right in my ownership of my 680V (which is also a converted 680T, actually), I did have the foresight to at least buy one with Century engine upgrade! Even I knew a -43 would be a bag of rear pains!

[Roy]

Adam,

When you say -43 engines, is that "-43BL's"? I had a little time (as a young "co-pilot") in what I thought was a 681 "Hawk" conversion and had -43BL's on it.

I'm far from expert but curious of the derivatives.

Roy

[donv]

I believe the "BL" stands for "bleed air"-- the original -43s didn't have enough power to support bleed air pressurization, while the BL did.

The -43BLs and bleed air pressurization were the big improvement of the 681 over the 680V.

Of course, the ultimate was the "Century" conversion, which put -1s on both the 680V and 681, with much more power.