TWIN COMMANDER FLEET BRIEFING

The Latest News & Events

Twin Commander Aircraft and several of its authorized service centers will be exhibiting at the upcoming National Business Aircraft Association’s (NBAA) 61st Annual Meeting and Convention in Orlando.

The three-day convention, considered the premier event in the world focusing on business aviation, will be held October 6-8 at the Orange County Convention Center. The static display will be at Orlando Executive Airport.

The Twin Commander display will be at booth 5490 in the northeast corner of Exhibit Hall B. Representatives from the factory and authorized service centers will be on hand to talk about exciting new products and services to enhance the purchase, operation, upgrade, and maintenance of any model Twin Commander.

Be sure to stop by and see the Twin Commander family at the NBAA convention. For more information contact Twin Commander Aircraft. Information about attending the convention can be found at www.NBAA.org.

The Grand Renaissance Twin Commander being built for the Kern County, California, Fire Department is the subject of an 11-page feature in the current issue of Twin & Turbine magazine.

The lavishly illustrated story, which details the Grand Renaissance process, includes a two-page photo spread of the disassembled airframe in Eagle Creek Aviation’s shop. The photos provide graphic evidence of the extent of the work that goes into the creation of a Grand Renaissance Twin Commander.

The magazine may be publishing as many as four more stories on the project as it progresses. To see the article go to www.twincommnder.com. For information about subscribing to Twin & Turbine go to www.twinandturbine.com.

The Grand Renaissance featured in the Twin & Turbine article is coming together. As of the end of July technicians at Eagle Creek Aviation Services in Indianapolis were focusing on tasks in three major areas—avionics, airframe, and sheet metal. Rewiring was at the top of the do-list at the end of July, and technicians had completed installation of the aft junction box in the baggage compartment. All-new exterior and interior windows and cockpit windshields had been installed, and installation of new fuel cells was underway.

Wing leading edges were being prepped for new deice boot installation. Delivery of the TPE-331-10T engines and Hartzell Wide-Chord propellers was expected in early August. Installation of the new spar cap and Dash 10T engine kit has been completed.

The more-than 8,000 man-hour project is about 50-percent complete, and is on track for October delivery. You can monitor the project at Twin Commander LLC’s website, www.twincommander.com.

Dennis Borders has joined Twin Commander LLC as Materials Manager. Borders, who has extensive experience and education in the field, replaces Sharon Anderson, who retired recently.

“Sharon did a superb job for Twin Commander Aircraft, especially in our efforts to control the price of replacement parts,” commented Twin Commander Aircraft LLC President Jim Matheson. “We are sorry to see her go, but we are confident in Dennis’s ability to contribute significantly to our mission of providing the best possible parts and technical support to Twin Commander owners and operators.”

Borders has spent his career in materials procurement and management, working for a variety of companies in Washington state including several in the aerospace industry. He was at B/E Aerospace Flight Structures Inc. in Marysville, Washington, for more than 10 years managing a $35 million annual materials budget. Most recently he was manager o materials/procurement at Intermec Technologies in Everett, overseeing $320 million in annual spending.

He earned a B.S. in Business Administration/Accounting at Central Washington University, and is a certified member of the Institute for Supply Management.

Want to convert your Twin Commander to TPE331-10T engines? How about a total Grand Renaissance airframe rejuvenation? With more than half the year already gone, there is no time to waste if you’ve been considering either of those upgrades and want to take advantage of generous tax advantages contained in the federal Economic Stimulus package implemented earlier this year.

According to tax expert and attorney Lou Meiners, Jr., who authors the “Business Flying and Taxes” column in Twin Commander’s Flight Levels magazine, a provision in the Economic Stimulus Act includes an unlimited 50-percent bonus depreciation for new assets placed in service during 2008. A complementary provision extends to the purchase of both new and used assets and provides for an immediate expensing for qualified small business taxpayers.

The new law includes an immediate deduction of up to $250,000 for investment in new or used equipment for qualified small business taxpayers (generally must invest less than $1,050,000 in equipment during 2008). This deduction is limited to taxable income. Joint purchasers may each qualify for a $250,000 deduction under certain conditions.

It also provides for a 50-percent bonus depreciation on purchases of new assets in 2008. This includes new improvements to used aircraft, such as the Dash 10T engine upgrade and Grand Renaissance airframe refurbishment. If you convert your engines, the entire cost qualifies for bonus depreciation. If you purchase a core and convert, all new components and their installation qualify for bonus depreciation.

All new improvements qualify for bonus depreciation, but note that the improved aircraft must be placed in service in 2008. Thus, the Dash 10T and/or Grand Renaissance upgrades must be completed and the aircraft placed in service in 2008. That’s why it is important to act immediately to take advantage of the program.

For more information, see “Economic Stimulus Package Can Benefit Aircraft Owners” by Meiners in the Spring 2008 Flight Levels.

The high-wing configuration, stability, and performance of a Twin Commander make it ideally suited for a variety of observation roles, and the Mexican government is taking full advantage of those capabilities for an unusual mission—monitoring the behavior of the Popocatepetl volcano, an active volcano southeast of Mexico City.

More than 20 major eruptions have been recorded at the volcano, including a major one in 1947. In December 1994 and again in December 2000, thousands were evacuated from nearby towns and villages when the volcano threatened to erupt again.

Popocatepetl lies between Mexico City and Puebla, so tens of millions of people could be affected by another major eruption. For that reason, the Highways Agency in the Ministry of Communications and Transportation has been tasked with continuous monitoring of the volcano. Since 1994 that job has been handled by a pair of 690B Twin Commanders.

According to Captain Jorge Rojas Castilla, Captain Ulises Sarabia Miramontes, and Engineer Luis Zaragoza Jimenez, who crew one of the Commanders, the mission calls for them to overfly the volcano at 23,000 feet and take photographs of the crater. The photos are then given to a laboratory to precisely measure contour lines. By monitoring changes in contours of the crater, scientists can better predict volcanic activity. Early warning of an eruption allows for orderly preparation and, if necessary, evacuation.

Volcanic ash is especially harmful to an aircraft engine, windshields, and other components, so preventive maintenance is critical. The Mexican Commanders receive regular SOAP analyses, compressor washes, hot section inspections, and engine overhauls. Thus far, no damage has been detected.

After 14 years of flying the volcanic mission, the Commanders have proven to be ideal, the crew says. The interior is spacious enough to accommodate special photography and navigation equipment, and the aircraft is capable of the speed, service ceiling, power, and safety necessary for the mission.

At this writing one of the volcano Commanders was at Global Aviation Services in Houston for completion of a service bulletin and installation of a new interior.

The Summer 2008 issue of Twin Commander’s Flight Levels update magazine is in the mail. The 16-page issue features profiles of three Twin Commander operators who are enjoying the benefits of the fuel-efficient Honeywell TPE331 engines that power all turboprop Twin Commanders.

In his “From the Factory” column, Twin Commander Aircraft President Jim Matheson looks at how Twin Commanders compare to other turbine-powered aircraft on the “green” front (the answer is quite well, thank you). FlightSafety International’s pilot-training experts review techniques for flying a safe, no-surprises final approach, and Honeywell’s Helmuth Eggeling discusses the EGT/ITT temperature compensator.

There’s much more useful information about owning and operating a Twin Commander in the summer issue. If you are not receiving Flight Levels, go to www.twincommander.com to sign up for a free subscription.