This is a partial republish from another forum from the beginning of the year:I was stuck in a hotel room for work in Slovenia of all places. Jetlagged, and a little drunk, I decided to browse the Controller website. Shouldn't have done that. I was a happy Aerostar owner and had just overhauled both engines on it, planning for the next upgrade when...I saw the ad. A first generation Turbo Commander 680V with the Century engine upgrade - at a price that was pretty much equal to what I could get for my Aerostar… Three minutes later I was on the phone to the owner in Alaska and arranging to to come see it upon my return to California. And as I suspected, all it took was one visit. The old girl spoke to me. Just always wanted a Turbo Commander, and this was the entry ticket into the club - the later models were above my pay grade.
There a sucker born every minute, apparently.
What kind of makes it a good first turbine is it's a good compromise between the old and the new: don’t have to follow the newer 690’s onerous spar and pressure vessel AD’s, nor do I need to do the gear overhauls every 5 years, but still have the speed of the later models. It’s also a Commander, which was familiar territory for me. I and been missing the bush capabilities of my Commander. Knowing you can get in and out of almost all airfields.
The panel is from hell (a messy nightmare), the interior is a pink leather bad dream and it certainly is no one’s idea of a pretty paint scheme, but hey, it’s a turbine! About 1000hrs left on the 5400hr TBO engines. One of them has only got 140 cycles left on the engine (a new concept for me), so will need a hot section inspection in about a year. This was reflected in the price.
I’ve done my research on this model with both Morris and other owners. I’ll be burning 55-65gal/hr, which is double of what I’m burning now. But Jet A1 is also cheaper and I’ll go about 50kts faster. Per nm it’s probably a wash. An owner I spoke to in San Diego says his operating costs are about $650/hr, which is only about $200 more than the Aerostar. Only time will tell if that holds up.
I have no illusions, this will end up costing me more per year. But for that I get all weather capability, reliability, speed, long range (1200nm) and no more avgas constraints. This one I can take on my dream trip to Europe and feel safe and confident she’ll get there.
The journey begins. Hey, you only live once. And you can't take it with you…
There she was. Love at first sight.
"Welcome Mr. Adam"
Pink leather interior from hell. Notice the trademark big picture windows that came with almost all Turbo Commanders (900 and 1000 models did not have it).
More pinkness.
Panel from hell
More panel from hell.
Even more panel from hell.
It's even got cabinets!
Say hello to $1000+ fillups. There's 334gal that needs to be filled if you want to go all the way.
GPU is a good idea for ground starts as the Garretts are rather power hungry. Especially the first start of the day. Most FBO's have them free of charge, but there are also battery powered ones you can take with you.
This is Ted, who used to fly her for the part 135 op she was owned by. Here he's doing the usual Garrett prop spin before start. They say 8 full revolutions is a good number.
Taxiing out for my first turbine taste at Bermuda Dunes early 2015.
Out for a little spin! Thing climbs and accelerates to almost redline immediately. Even though my Aerostar is a great performer, turbines are a different animal. Lightly loaded she'll climb 3000fpm easily on a cold day.
Banking to final at Thermal/Jackie Cochran Airport.
Eventually it was time to drop her off at Morris's for the stuff needed doing….
Plane wouldn't pressurize properly - door didn't seal, all windows leaked, pedal boots leaked, the fuel nozzles hadn't been overhauled, the starter generators were bad, the front windscreens were scratched, exhaust pipes cracked etc. A lot to do.
Cowling off for the fuel nozzle removal and phase inspection. These are the TPE3310-1-151K engines, also called the Century model. This was an upgrade to the 680V via STC, making it more like a later 681 model. If it hadn't had this, I would never have bought the plane. The old -43 engines were no good and are hard to support.
Now, almost a year later the progress has been much slower than I'd hoped for as Morris has been so busy. It's been a long wait for parts and the time needed to get her ready. Hopefully I'll get her flying before Xmas. Thankfully, it's not been too costly as of yet. About on par with what it cost to get my old piston 520 flying straight.
Windcsreen coming off to be sent off for polish and repairs.
A sad sight when planes look like they've been stripped of all their dignity.
Some anti-corrosion has been applied whilst waiting for windscreen to be sent back.
Spinnerless. The Hartzell Q-tip props are an aftermarket upgrade. The original Hamilton Standards are getting harder to overhaul. Don't think the Hartzells deliver any better performance, they're just easier to service.
Exhaust stacks are off for welding and repair. You want to try to avoid buying these factory new if you can, as Honeywell really knows how to charge for a piece of bent pipe...
680's are becoming rarer. And unless they've had the engine upgrade like mine, they're probably an almost extinct breed in their original form. Here's a nice one with fresh paint. A new paint job is certainly on the agenda for the future.
That's it for now. I'll keep updating as it progresses.
