10/4/2015
This is a story about a childhood dream that eventually came true. It's also a funny story that once things started rolling, turned into a bit of an adventure (and still is). I have been flying since I was 10 years old thanks to my Grandfather. He had me at the airport most every weekend and flew with me every time I wanted to get in a plane. I've been getting instruction and advise ever since that first ride and I hope one day my son enjoys the same world that I grew up in.
I'm not really sure when it happened but at some point I got around a Twin Commander and fell in love with the airplane. Those high wings, big engines and low fat fuselage just looked awesome to me as a young kid and I swore one day I'd have me one. Of course my grandfather was quick to point out it was utterly ridiculous that I got something so big and hungry for fuel. It was way more plane than I'd ever use and I'm sure if he were still alive today he'd still be saying the same thing.
A few months ago I purchased Moe's 680Fp. Of course, I started my twin engine flying with a Cessna 310Q that I purchased about a year and half ago. It also needed quite a bit of work before I could start flying it but since then I've built up almost 400 hours in it and plan to do the same with the Commander once I get it going. This story is about the preparation and eventual purchase of N680RR and hopefully the many years I'll be flying it.
I was in the market for a Cessna 421 for my company, but am really not a fan of the low wing airplanes. My family has been going on business trips with me all over the country and while we've never had any issues getting everything into the 310, it is usually a bit stressful for me flying through the mountains out west. Having supercharged engines and a pressurized cabin should make things a bit more comfortable on the longer trips.
I ran across a nice 421 and on the page where it was listed I saw 680RR. That was it, I decided right then and there that if it fit my flying needs I'd be getting a Commander. In my research, I ran across someone back in 2008 stating that if someone wanted to know anything about Commanders they should call Morris and it had his number listed. I wasn't sure if he was still around or if he'd even speak to me, but figured it wouldn't hurt to try.
After the 30 minutes on the phone with me and listening to me explain to him the type of flying I was doing and wanted to do, he told me the Commander might not be the right bird. That it would be more expensive to maintain and that 18,000 would be the top of where I could go. He also said it wasn't as fast as a 421, nor as roomy inside.
My wife, 3 year old son and I were on our way to California and spent the night in New Mexico. I realized that the airplane was only 40 minutes from where we were staying and decided that we'd just swing by and take a quick look to see what she looked like. My wife had never been around a Twin Commander so it would be a chance for her to see it up close and personal.
When we got there, the plane looked great on the inside but was leaking oil really badly from the left engine and in fact from both engines. The door was really difficult to get into but we eventually got it opened. My wife still was not a huge fan of the plane by the time we left but I was hooked. I decided that if I could get Morris to come out with me and he didn't find anything major wrong with it that I was going to buy it.
Here is where the true adventure begins:
After numerous conversations with Morris and a lot of Google searches I happened across Gary Gadberry in TN who happened to know a Commander mechanic in TN that was willing to go out with me to do a pre-buy. I had been trying to line Morris up but he was really busy. I decided I'd give it one more try to see if Morris could come out the weekend I had scheduled the mechanics and as fate would have it he was available and willing to come.
The plan was to meet up with the TN mechanics in Texas as they had to ferry a 340 out there. Then the 3 of us would fly to New Mexico and pickup Morris and then fly up to the final airport where the plane was waiting to do the pre-buy. It was all coming together. :-) That's airplane talk for watch out, you're about to have some fun.
My first stop was to get fuel at a small airport on the way. I landed, fueled up and got ready to depart but my left engine wouldn't start. I decided to start the right one instead and ended up having to get out to see what was going on. It didn't seem to have any fire so I decided to remove the cowling in the hot Texas sun and remove the p-leads to see if I could get it to fire up. I tried to call for a mechanic but there was no one on the airport and no apparent services. The guy I spoke with said the only mechanic was hours away and no chance of him getting there any time soon. Luckily the p-leads did the trick and I was on my way to Spinks in short order.
Sitting on the ramp at Spinks
The mechanics were late getting to KFWS Spinks TX and upon landing started hauling out half their shop from the rear of the 340. I asked if they'd forgotten we were flying a 310Q the rest of the trip and they stated we'd be fine. They also reported their weights as true women would as both were a good 30-50lbs heavier than I was told. Add in the 100lb battery pack and two tool boxes and we were at or slightly above gross leaving Dallas. The guys were both very funny to hang around with though so the 3 of us were having a blast.
The storms had built up and were all over the place. There was a quick talk about staying the night in Texas but I told them if we did we'd be loosing out on most of the day on Saturday. I had plotted a course around the storms and was pretty sure everything would be fine and if not we'd just land and stay somewhere else closer to our destination. Shortly after departing though we realized the winds were a lot worse than forecast and we were likely to not have enough fuel or would be very close to reaching our destination.
Around 11pm we changed our destination to KROW Roswell NM and setup to land there. I canceled the IFR flight plan and we setup to land on the most massive runway I'd ever landed on. While taxing up the taxiway you could just make out massive silhouettes of planes all up and down the runway. It was late and the airport was closed. We had to call in for fuel and the guy said he'd be there in about 30 minutes. We took the time to walk around the old jets and scope the place out. It was quite an adventure and we were all amazed at what we'd have missed if we hadn't run into all the storms and had to land short of our destination. This was truly an awesome experience.
Walking around grave yard
Cockpit View
I called ahead to Morris to make sure he was still ok coming out to get us so late once we reached KAEG Double Eagle NM which was still another hour away. He said he was fine and to just call him once we landed. The guys were both starving but I told them we had to keep going or we were not going to have a ride when we got there.
After fueling up we headed on and an hour later we were in Double Eagle (which happens to be one of the most well lit airports I've ever seen) waiting on Morris. There is something about standing around an airport late at night waiting on a car to pick you up while everyone else sleeps that makes for an awesome day. Talking and joking around with all the airplanes sitting there quiet.
For those never having the privilege of riding with Morris at midnight down dark country roads at 90mph, it might actually be more dangerous than flying through a thunderstorm head on. The guys in the back seat looked like they were about to jump out every time he hit the brakes and it was actually pretty funny. None of us really knew Morris at the time, so no one wanted to ask him to slow down but all of us were thinking we might be in some trouble. Sorta like poking your head through that dark cloud thinking it wasn't very thick, to find out it was a monster.
On the way to KFMN
I'm happy to say we all made it to the hotel and were in for one more ride with Morris back to the airport at 7am to head on to KFMN Four Corners NM. I told everyone that despite their best efforts my 310 would not be lifting off the next morning with everyone on board. I planned to fly 1 of them and all of the tools up to get started and would then come back to pick up the other two people. This turned out to be a very wise move as we were knocking gophers off their mounds when we took off in the non turbo 310Q. I seriously doubt we'd have made it with everyone on board.
KFMN Ramp
It was a beautiful weekend and everything went really well. We found quite a few things wrong with the plane not the least of which was the fact that both props were going to need to be overhauled due to cracked pins and they wouldn't come out of feather. The oil leaks were less of an issue as it all seemed to be coming from the oil lines that just needed to be replaced and a few gaskets that needed replacing. There were 2 very low compression cylinders on the left engine but we felt it was ok to fly home and do the work in TN at the shop while they were bringing it back into annual.
The plan at the end of the day Saturday was to spend more time Sunday morning tweaking things for the flight back and to make a decision on the purchase. If I decided it was a go we already had the ferry permit to take it home and we'd fly Morris back to Double Eagle and then meet up with Andreas and the Commander at KOWP Pogue OK. We could not have asked for a better day to fly, so we set out around lunch. Andreas was going to fly the airplane over the mountains and land just afterwards to refuel and to check things out. We were going to wait for him at Double Eagle to call and would take off once he contacted us.
We departed an hour later and headed to Pogue. Again, it was a perfect day for flying and we arrived 3 hours later to find the Commander at the fuel pumps. Man did she look good :-) Then…
Upon pulling up we see Andreas sweating with tools in hand. Upon landing he said he saw a cloud of skydrol blowing out of the left engine area and we were done until we could find some more skydrol. He kept working on the plane while I started calling airports all around to see if we could find some of the magic juice. Once I concluded there was none to have we decided that we'd at least find the leak and could try to find some the next day in TN and then fly back out to get the plane.
Arriving to Pogue and seeing skydrol all over ramp. Not a good sign
My 2 170lb mechanics ;-)
I'm sitting in the cockpit pumping the flap handle to try to relieve as much pressure as possible when I look out the window and notice the front tire on my 310 is completely flat sitting at the pump. At this point I put the brakes on the entire operation and told the guys they needed to plan to spend another night in a hotel. Two planes down at the same pump wasn't a good sign and I wasn't going to fight it. Turns out, this was where things got interesting, really interesting.
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Flat tire on 310
A helicopter took off across the runway from this massive hanger and started making practice runs with a sprayer up and down the runway. We decided to go ask them if they might have some skydrol and this turned out to be the best decision of the day. First off, there were kids swimming in a hot tub when we first got there. We walked into the office area and found out it was actually a massive home in which they were preparing dinner. They had ribs cooking on a grill outside and everyone was extremely nice. Oh, and did I mention beer?
Andreas happily taking bath in Skydrol
Andreas happily beating 310 tire off rim.
We make him work for his food
After talking to them for a few minutes we decided that we needed to try to figure out how to fix the 310 or we'd be stuck there. Andreas mentioned there was a Cessna 150 up the runway that didn't look like it had been flown for some time and that maybe we could take the rear wheel, fly home and come back with their wheel the next weekend. That's when the guy that ran the hanger offered to give us their front tire off their 414 and would also hanger the Commander until we got back. Oh, and did I also mention they gave us free beer, ribs, beans, salad and a car to drive to the hotel? I told them if breaking down turned out like this I'd be purposely breaking things from now on.
Andreas happily stealing wheel assembly from new friends plane
Andreas and Daniel watching their weight :-)
The broken part on the Commander
The Commander waiting on our return
Waking the kids from a good nights sleep
It took us a week to secure the parts with the help of Morris. We scheduled to return to Pogue and my wife and son came along for the ride. The guys at the Pogue hanger left us a car and left the hanger open as they were all off on jobs when we arrived. Andreas and I replaced the wheel on the 414 that night and the next morning we got started replacing the broken valve in the left wing so we could fly it home. This took a couple of hours and upon taxing the airplane back to that pesky pump the right wheel started smoking like crazy and dripping more skydrol. This turned out to be from a completely destroyed caliper that had been broken for some time but finally locked up. The locking pin that attaches to the piston had become wedged in a 1/16th inch deep groove it had cut and just let the fluid drip out.
Taking a nap on the way back to get the Commander (there is a kid back there too but he's still up with his daddy)
If you look close you'll see the skydrol leaking from the left brake
By the time Andreas landed at KMMI McMinn TN, all of the skydrol had leaked out again and he had just enough brakes to stop the plane at their hanger. The circle of skydrol still sits on the taxiway to this day (3 months later).
Since being at the shop we've replaced the caliper, replaced all of the o-rings in every hose in the airplane, removed the floor board which didn't look like it had been done in a very long time. In fact the metal was cracked in a number of places and 2 new panels had to be made. All of the lines in the nose gear area were disconnected and checked and we flushed the tank in the rear.
We also had to replace a number of scat tubes as the skydrol had leaked onto them and eaten them up. The wing inspection plates didn't look like they had ever been removed since the last paint job which I believe was in 2005 or so. 80% of the screws in the right wing had their heads stripped off when they were removed. The caliper had never been off the plane, I would assume, due to it being damaged so badly and I'm not sure why the skydrol system hadn't been repaired as it was making a total mess of the tail section.
I also had them remove the leaking fuel bladders and send them off for repair. Upon doing this they discovered that whoever put them in, again in 2005, had used duct tape to cover the wing area and the bladders were leaking due to rubbing on the wing.
So far the worst expense (other than labor) was sending the props off to get them zero timed. They sent them back 2 months later and hadn't properly fixed the left one. They installed the wrong plates on the hub which resulted in shearing off 2 bolts and it having to be returned for installment of the proper plates and to remove the bolts that broke off. At the time of this writing I still don't know the result of this mess, nor when I'm getting the prop back.
I've now owned my first ever Twin Commander for almost 3 months and was hoping to fly it to the Bahamas in a few weeks but it's looking more and more like the trusty 310 will be handling that job. It has been killing me that I own such an awesome bird and can't fly it. I don't think I'll ever have my plane sitting at a shop that I can't drive to as the experience has been everything but pleasurable. In the end though I'm hoping I have an awesome airplane to fly into the future and that we have lots of memorable trips. The first one surely will not be forgotten any time soon.
I'll attach some pictures later.
