Legacy Aviation Services Filled with Commanders
November has been a busy month for Twin Commander Factory Authorized Service Center Legacy Aviation Services. The Oklahoma City-based facility has worked on 11 different Twin Commanders over the past two weeks, with no signs of slowing down. Legacy’s RJ Gomez said the customers had come in from all over North America, including three from Mexico, and others from the West Coast, New York, Florida, and Arizona. Gomez attributes the recent success to Legacy’s central location, their reputation and expertise in maintaining the airplane, and their on-site hydraulic component repair and overhaul facility. The company also stocks an extensive array of Twin Commander parts, which makes 150-hour inspections faster and more efficient. “We’re serving our customers well from our in-house parts inventory,” he said. “And we’re doing our best to promote Commanders all over the world.”
Byerly Aviation Maintains Focus on Twin Commanders
Owners and operators often lament that there is a lack of specialization in aviation, especially amongst shops. Technicians are generalists who don’t fully understand the airplane and how to troubleshoot problems, the thinking goes. That’s why the Twin Commander Factory Authorized Service Center Network is such a compelling resource, and why Byerly Aviation is a great example of how institutional knowledge and a focus on serving a specific community can raise the bar. The privately owned full-service FBO has been involved with Twin Commanders for nearly 70 years, and the commitment continues today. CEO Scott Welch is an accomplished pilot and is passionate about the future of the company, and serving Twin Commanders owners and operators. “There’s never been an aircraft made to replace the Commander,” he said. The airplane still makes up 80 percent of Byerly’s maintenance business, and he doesn’t see that changing. “We’re Commander people.” You can read the full interview and much more, in the latest Flight Levels Online.
Ike’s Bird Helps Celebrate Air Force History
Every Commander has history, but only one can say it flew a president. Dubbed Ike’s Bird, a Twin Commander L-26B now owned and operated by the Commemorative Air Force (CAF), was used by President Dwight Eisenhower to reach his farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The airplane, which was restored a few years ago, was asked to help celebrate the recent seventy-fifth anniversary of the Air Force at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. Andrews is of course home to the 89th Special Missions Air Wing, the unit that operates a fleet of executive aircraft, including the Boeing 747s that currently serve as Air Force One. The wing operated Ike’s Bird as an executive transport from 1955 to 1960, and was one of a handful the Air Force ordered for the job. Since Eisenhower was a pilot, he was known to personally fly the airplane to and from the farm. The CAF owns and operates the only flying example of an L-26B used by the unit, but others exist in museums.
Name That Model
Turbine engines, a large picture window, and a shorter wing. All these are clues that can help narrow down the choices for this issue’s Name That Model, but the most important detail can’t be seen in the photo. Yes, we know it’s cheating, but even so,
