Photograph:
Aero Commander 680 VH-AVC (c/n 464-134) at Bankstown, NSW (David C Eyre)
Country of origin:
United States of America
Description:
Business and executive transport
Power Plant:
Two 283 kw (380 hp) Lycoming IGSO-540-B1A six-cylinder horizontally-opposed air-cooled engines
Specifications:
Length: 12.6 m (41 ft 3 ¼ in)
Height: 4.42 m (14 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 23.69 m² (255 sq ft)
Max speed: 386 km/h (240 mph)
Cruising speed at 55% power at 4,572 m (15,000 ft): 338 km/h (210 mph)
Initial rate of climb: 392 m/min (1,285 ft/min)
Service ceiling: 8,687 m (28,500 ft)
Range at 55% power: 2,108 km (1,310 miles)
Empty weight: 2,329 kg (5,135 lb)
Loaded weight: 3,856 kg (8,500 lb)
History:
In 1955 the Commander 680 Super was introduced to the Aero Commander range and some 295 were built between 1955 and 1958. Two aircraft were supplied to the USAF as the U-4B, four to the US Army as the U-9C, and another two to the latter service with side-looking radar, known as the RU-9D.
The model 680 was basically the Model 560A fitted with 254 kw (340 hp) Lycoming GSO-480-B1A6 engines. The Model 680E appeared in 1958. This had an extended wingspan, supercharged 254 kw (340 hp) Lycoming GSO-480-B1A6 engines and could seat five to seven persons. The Model 720 Alti-Cruiser, which was announced in January 1958, was basically similar to the Model 680E but had a pressurised cabin. One example of the Model 720 has been seen in Australia.
Progressive refinements of the design resulted in 1959 in re-designed engine nacelles, as mentioned in the Model 560 article. This led to the Model 680F which was powered by two 283 kw (380 hp) Lycoming IGSO-540 engines but still had the shorter fuselage of the other models. In 1962 the first of the pressurised models appeared, being known as the 680FP. This was the 680F with pressurisation, and could seat up to seven persons.
On 29 December 1962 the prototype of what was to become the Model 680FL appeared. Its fuselage was extended by 1.8 m (6 ft), thus allowing a high-density arrangement of up to nine passengers, or from five to seven for executive use. Known as the Grand Commander, this model had a two-seat crew compartment divided from the main cabin, and a separate baggage area. Structurally it was similar to the 680F, apart from an increase in tailplane size and wheelbase. Production deliveries began in 1963 and it was joined in 1964 by a pressurised version, the Grand Commander 680FPL. Subsequently these models became known as the Courser Commander and Courser Liner. Initially fitted with 298 kw (400 hp) Lyoming G-50-540-B1A engines with mechanical supeerchargers but these had operating problems and in some aircraft enines wer replaced by 298 kw (400 hp) Lycoming IO-720-B1B (D) engines with Rajay turbochargers.
As production continued the construction of some models ceased and by 1977 only two piston-engined Commanders were in production, the 500S Shrike Commander and the Commander 685. The latter was a development of the 680FP model, with the same pressurised fuselage as the Turbo Commander and standard accommodation for six passengers and a pilot.
Eight examples of the 680 series have been registered in Australia and four in New Zealand. One 680FL VH-EXP (c/n 1490-94), manufactured in 1966, was for a period stored in the open at Cambridge Airport, Tasmania. A model 681 Hawk Commander VH-NYH (c/n 6016 – ex N444JB, [N200TT], [N344AC], N4444JB, N1100M, N126JW, N9067N) after retirement in April 1994 became part of the fleet of aircraft with the Darwin Aviation Museum in the Northern Territory.