Air Command Commander Tandem
| {{Infobox Aircraft Begin
| name=Commander Tandem | image= | caption= }}{{Infobox Aircraft Type | type=Autogyro | national origin=United States | manufacturer=Air Command International | designer= | first flight= | introduced= | retired= | status=Production completed | primary user= | more users= | produced= | number built=At least two | program cost= | unit cost= US$13,895 (kit with Mazda engine, 1998) | developed from= Air Command Commander | variants with their own articles=Air Command Tandem }} |
The Air Command Commander Tandem is an American autogyro that was designed and produced by Air Command International of Wylie, Texas. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition, page 316. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. {{ISBN|0-9636409-4-1}}
The design was later developed into the longer-landing gear equipped and heavier gross weight Air Command Tandem that remained in production in 2014.{{cite web|url = http://www.aircommand.com/models.php|title = Models|accessdate = 22 June 2014|last = Air Command International|year = 2006|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121116133124/http://www.aircommand.com/models.php|archive-date = 16 November 2012|url-status = dead}}
Design and development
The Commander Tandem was developed from the single-seat Air Command Commander and was designed to comply with the US Experimental - Amateur-built aircraft rules. It features a single main rotor, a two-seats-in tandem open cockpit with a small cockpit fairing with a windshield, tricycle landing gear with wheel pants, plus a tail caster and a twin cylinder, liquid-cooled, two-stroke, dual-ignition {{convert|64|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Rotax 582 engine or Mazda powerplant in pusher configuration.
The aircraft fuselage is made from metal tubing. Its two-bladed rotor has a diameter of {{convert|25|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}. The aircraft has a typical empty weight of {{convert|330|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}} and a gross weight of {{convert|790|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}, giving a useful load of {{convert|460|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}.
Operational history
In June 2014 no examples were registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration, although a total of two had been registered at one time.{{cite web|url = http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/AcftRef_Results.aspx?Mfrtxt=&Modeltxt=COMMANDER+TANDEM&PageNo=1|archive-url = https://archive.today/20140622135520/http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/AcftRef_Results.aspx?Mfrtxt=&Modeltxt=COMMANDER+TANDEM&PageNo=1|url-status = dead|archive-date = June 22, 2014|title = Make / Model Inquiry Results|accessdate = 22 June 2014|last = Federal Aviation Administration|date = 22 June 2014}}
Specifications (Commander Tandem)
{{Aircraft specs
|prime units?=imp
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|crew=one
|capacity=one passenger
|length m=
|length ft=15.41
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|width ft=
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|empty weight kg=
|empty weight lb=330
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=
|gross weight lb=790
|gross weight note=
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|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Rotax 582
|eng1 type=twin cylinder, liquid-cooled, two stroke aircraft engine
|eng1 kw=
|eng1 hp=64
|prop blade number=3
|prop name=ground adjustable, composite
|prop dia m=
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|rot number=1
|rot dia m=
|rot dia ft=25
|rot dia in=0
|rot area sqm=
|rot area sqft=490
|rot area note=
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|max speed kmh=
|max speed mph=90
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|cruise speed mph=75
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|disk loading lb/sqft=1.6
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See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.oocities.org/capecanaveral/launchpad/5249/air582tandem.jpg Photo of an Air Command Commander Tandem]
{{Air Command International aircraft}}