SHRIKE FEATURED IN HOOVER TRIBUTE
The opening day of AirVenture 2017 was an experience Bruce Byerly will never forget. Byerly, of Byerly Aviation in Peoria, Illinois, was aboard the Shrike Commander that participated in the Bob Hoover Tribute flight on Monday, July 24. Hoover, who died October 25, 2016, was revered for his flying skills, which he demonstrated at air shows by performing one- and two-engine-out aerobatic routines in a Shrike. He performed the routine at Oshkosh for years, and continued to attend the event after he stopped performing. AirVenture paid tribute to Hoover this year with a fly-by and missing man formation featuring four of the North American/Rockwell aircraft he flew—an F-86 Sabre, T-28 Trojan, P-51 Mustang, and the Shrike.
Months before AirVenture Byerly was asked if he knew anyone who could provide a Shrike for the planned AirVenture Tribute flight. “I’ll be there!” he answered. Byerly called Pat Hossman, Jr., to whom he had sold a Shrike, and Hossman offered his airplane for the AirVenture event. Byerly picked it up in North Carolina and arrived at OSH Sunday evening. The next day all the pilots involved in the Tribute flight met for a detailed briefing, and then took off for a formation photo shoot followed by two low-altitude formation fly-bys for the tens of thousands of AirVenture spectators. On the second pass the P-51 slowly pulled up and out of the formation in a missing man tribute to Hoover.
Byerly flew in the Shrike with veteran air show pilot Doug Rozendaal. “We made a plan, and it was executed like clockwork with military precision,” Byerly said of the Tribute.
“It was an honor and a privilege,” Byerly said of the experience. “Bob Hoover is my hero. He was there from the birth of flight through the jet age, and those guys are few and far between. It was an honor to have known him.”
EAGLE CREEK DISPLAYS COMMANDER 1000 AT AIRVENTURE
Eagle Creek Aviation Services was on the ground at AirVenture with a prominent display featuring a Commander 1000 fitted with the new Garmin 950 electronic panel. Eagle Creek, a regular participant in AirVenture, occupies a spot in the manufacturers’ display area that is on the main thoroughfare adjacent to air show center. Thousands of people walk by the display daily, and it is a preferred spot for watching the air show, especially the Friday night air show.
Eagle Creek also hosted a Tuesday evening barbecue for customers at its RV compound in Camp Scholler, a large campground just to the west of KOSH Runway 18-36 that operates only during AirVenture.
Many companies host evening social get-togethers during AirVenture, and Eagle Creek plans to make the barbecue an annual event.
PERSONALIZE YOUR COMMANDER BELTS
Aircraft restraints—seat belts—typically don’t get much consideration when it comes to adding style and presentation to your interior. Aircraft Belts, Inc. is out to change that perception.
A sister company to Twin Commander Aircraft, Aircraft Belts manufactures and sells aircraft restraint systems for both crew and passengers. Configurations range from traditional three-point restraints (lap and shoulder harness) to five-point crew restraints. Restraint buckles are available in lift-lever, push-button, and rotary configurations.
ABI also is offering replacement restraint systems that feature distinctive custom engraved lift lever lids featuring the Twin Commander head-on or profile view.
If the restraints in your aircraft are looking a bit worn, or are a mismatch with your interior colors, call Brian Harbaugh of Twin Commander Aircraft at 919-956-4385, or email him at [email protected]. He will refer you to Aircraft Belts, Inc. for a quote on a stylish and distinctive set of new restraints.
For more information see http://aircraftbelts.com/.
LAND’S END OFFERS TWIN COMMANDER SWAG
You have the option of having the Twin Commander logo applied at this phase of your purchase.
While you’re adding style to your aircraft interior, why not add some Twin Commander style to your own wardrobe, home, or office. Twin Commander Aircraft has a partnership with Land’s End to provide a full range of quality men’s and women’s clothing, shoes and accessories to Commander owners, pilots, and enthusiasts. A variety of Twin Commander promotional products also are available from Land’s End.
To see Land’s End Twin Commander products, go to:
https://business.landsend.com/store/twin_commander_aircraft/
Depending on the clothing or promotional products you select from the site, you will be given the option of having the Twin Commander logo applied. In many cases, you can specify the logo color and where on the item it will be applied.
SUMMER FLIGHT LEVELS IS IN PRINT
The Summer edition of Twin Commander’s Flight Levels magazine has been published and distributed to subscribers and authorized service centers.
The issue features a profile of Commander 980 owner Steve Binnette, a senior American Airlines pilot who, with his wife, owns and operates a business requiring frequent travel to a variety of U.S. cities. Binnette, who had flown piston Commanders as a young freight pilot, says that when he went looking to upgrade from a Cessna 421, “My earlier experience with Commanders left quite an impression on me. I wanted to get back into a Commander.”
The issue’s “Service Center Profile” features Naples Jet Center, a busy Twin Commander Service Center in Naples, Florida. The accompanying “Commanding Profile” is on Scott Dillon, Executive Vice President of Naples Jet Center and its parent company, Eagle Creek Aviation Services in Indianapolis. Dillon rose from a newly certificated A&P mechanic at Eagle Creek to managing all the company’s properties, which also includes Montgomery Aviation at Indianapolis Executive Airport.
In his “From the Factory” column, Twin Commander LLC President Matt Isley writes about how the concept of reinvention realizes its highest form in Twin Commanders. Advances in airframe, engine, and avionics technology and service have kept Twin Commanders on the sharp edge of the turboprop market, Isley says “Change…is an absolute necessity if you want an airplane that keeps pace with contemporary standards of performance, comfort, and reliability.”
If you do not currently receive Flight Levels, you can sign up for a free subscription at www.twincommander.com
