Rockwell or Aero Commander version of the 172?

jonvcaples

jonvcaples

Pre-takeoff checklist
Gone West
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Aug 28, 2019
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395
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Colorado, USA
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Sasquatch
Many years ago did Rockwell or Aero Commander make a copy of the 172? Back in high school I remember the state of GA had one or two that used to fly into the airport where I worked as a line boy.

The state also had a couple of T-34's they used for forest fire spotting. One of my CFIs flew one for a while and loved it!
 
This line of aircraft originated with the three-seat, 135 hp Volaire 10 of 1960, which morphed into a 150 hp four-seater.



Aero Commander, wanting an entry-level single-engine product, bought the design and called it "Aero Commander 100". In 1968 Aero Commander (now owned by North American Rockwell) adopted bird names for its airplanes and the 100 became "Darter Commander".



About that time an upgraded, slightly cleaned-up and more powerful (180 hp) version was introduced, the "Lark Commander" (Model 100-180).

 
*why have one landing light way out on the wing tip? This always bothered me on certain highwings. Odd.
 
68D6F854-4B34-4121-A545-39EE7ABCD583.jpeg

Aero Commander was not the only 1960s manufacturer to build a ‘tribute’ to the C172... There are still quite a few of these P.66s flying in their home country and Vulcanair is trying to sell a modernized version now. Note the same naming convention as Tecnam, which reveals Tecnam’s roots.
 
Tantalum said:
*why have one landing light way out on the wing tip? This always bothered me on certain highwings. Odd.
Click to expand...

Mainly got it away from the vibration of the engine which kills tungsten bulbs in the pre-LED days.

Was always replacing bulbs in the 182 cowl before we swapped to LED. Annoying.
 
denverpilot said:
Mainly got it away from the vibration of the engine which kills tungsten bulbs in the pre-LED days.

Was always replacing bulbs in the 182 cowl before we swapped to LED. Annoying.
Click to expand...
Another reason for the outboard location on some airfoils was the addition of a stol kit and the leading edge cuff. Our Centurion has a Horton STOL mod and they moved the lights out to the end of the wing because of the leading edge change at the original light location. I almost look forward to the bulbs burning out and changing to LED’s and adding the wig-wag option!
 
There's a Model 100 Darter Commander rotting away at our airport. Apparently, it belongs to an airline pilot that now lives in the east coast. It's a sad sight.

Last summer while refueling my 182, I looked over from the ladder upon which I stood & said to my wife "we should buy that thing & restore it". She got excited about the idea. I then did a ton of research & found out parts are almost impossible to get & there was very little resale on the aircraft.

I remember seeing a new Lark Commander pull up to the gas pumps when I was a line boy in the 70's. I thought it was really sharp.

Meanwhile, the Darter at our little airfield serves as a perch for passing hawks.
 
Tantalum said:
*why have one landing light way out on the wing tip? This always bothered me on certain highwings. Odd.
Click to expand...
To shine the light where you want it, without it reflecting off the prop into your eyes. It’s also pretty easy to access for maintenance, as well as the vibration issue mentioned above.
 
Thanks @Salty and @denverpilot .. one of the (dumb) reasons I used to like renting our club's PA-28-181 vs the highwings was the PA28 had tip landing lights on both wings, always thought that looked pretty cool
 
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