Neil wrote:
If it’s safe why does it need mandatory training?
I wouldn’t call it absolutely safe, but the training has obviously helped statistically. Any plane that uses spoilers rather than ailerons, will inherently be a little less safe. But the main culprit was that pilots retracted flaps in an engine out scenario, which is how you would do it on any other twin, but here that made things worse. The training needed was largely to re-learn and do things opposite of what you’d do on other twins.
AdamFrisch wrote:
I wouldn’t call it absolutely safe, but the training has obviously helped statistically
Seeing as how 200 out of less than 800 built have been involved in accidents I think that’s rather an understatement!
Avionics shop done now. Pick her up next week.
Turns out the IFD540 cutting out as soon as I transmitted was a bad antenna…. Unfortunately the A/P computer had to be disconnected as it was somehow interfering with the HSI and the glide slope. So I’ll have to deal with that separately and probably send the A/P computer away for overhaul. It’s a very old unit, so only one or two that can work on it. I hate A/P troubles as they’re always really time consuming and hard to diagnose.
Never give up Adam. I second you should approach some tv show producers and star in a dedicated show. Some serious perseverance shown by you.
Btw, is it possible to check out your plane (is it close to LA)?
Ordered new ELT battery today. $33 at Aircraft Spruce. See, not everything is expensive on turbines! 
Mine are D cells
What a long year it has been. With a new very costly startup endeavor, family, a turndown in assignments in my regular job (and a general sense the economy isn’t doing as well as everyone keeps projecting), it’s been financially one of the toughest years in my career. Add to this getting out of the claws of the old maintenance shop with a lot of work still undone, aviation had to step back. It was discouraging at times, the frustration over the time wasted in combination with downturn in economy meant I couldn’t just throw money at things to finish her up.
Flown very little this year, mainly flying to and from to visit new maintenance options, or repairing autopilot etc. Last local shop here, that had some Commander experience, was going to seal the floor and then go straight into the annual/phase. But after 3 months, they mentioned they had 10 other airplanes still ahead of me and couldn’t get to it until Feb 2019 for the annual… Would have appreciated that info beforehand. But they did do a nice job otherwise, and communicated reasonably well, so won’t slag them off. Just disappointed that so many shops just can’t manage time in any sensible way. Finally decided to bite the bullet and take it to a service center, which in hindsight I should probably have done from day one.
I arranged everything with AeroAir and after weeks of constant rain and ice, there was an opening to get up to Portland in half decent weather. With my boots in bad shape, I did not want to be in heavy IMC this time of year. Did the ILS into Hillsboro down to close to minimums, but that was the only real IMC I encountered. Good flight.
Service center welcomed me in a nice way and immediately showed the professionalism I’d been missing for so long from most facilities. Plane got wheeled into hangar immediately, they all sat down and spoke to me about what needed to be done, took notes, listened, what the goals were, timeframe etc. Two days later a fellow Commander guy at the field sent me photos of my bird and his and they’re already well underway with the annual on mine – panels out, on jacks, wheels removed etc. Wow! They did not waste any time, which is great to see.
So, maybe in 2019 I actually get to fly my plane and use it as intended, rather than chase maintenance shops around constantly? 
Early morning start.
Tower was still closed, so had to get a clearance void time over the phone, as there was a low layer over airport.
Had aimed for 16000ft, but pressurization diff was even lower than last time we flew (maybe the door seal had dried up?), so had to drop down to 12000ft. Here she burns 74gal/hr, rather than 64gal/hr, so this put a dent in my range. But was stopping halfway anyway, so didn’t really make a difference. You can see the thin layer covering the valley below.
The face of a battered aircraft owner.
Crater Lake, obviously named.
On the ramp at Hillsboro, Oregon.
Two days later I get this photo from the owner of the foreground Commander. Mine is already on jacks, panels and wheels are off, props are feathered – music to my eyes!
I like to see this kind of professionalism. It’s been sorely lacking in most of my encounters over the years with maintenance shops. The shop that took care of my Aerostar were great and showed this same ethos, but unfortunately they didn’t want to take on the Commander as they only had PT6 experience.
Bottom line is, your choice of maintenance is probably the most important part of a successful aircraft ownership. And it’s also, by far, the hardest one to navigate and vet and get your head around. It can take years and years for things to crystalize or come to the surface, relationships to solidify and trust to be built (or destroyed). Chose wisely.
What is special about a Service Center? Is it somehow factory related? I thought the factory was long gone.
so many shops just can’t manage time in any sensible way
Indeed… many theories on that problem which is endemic in GA.
Mine is that since “everybody” gets 5 quotes for installing a transponder, and then turns up in a 40 year old plane which has about 10kg of wiring which has no known purpose (and no wiring diagram, work pack, etc for previous jobs – itself the result of disreputable practices combined with a lack of engagement by the various owners, known and unknown, in the 40 years), the shops have to make a living by scraping out the bottom of the barrel serving the lowest common denominator; in effect a race to the bottom. It is only occassionally that somebody turns up with a juicy 5-figure job and leaves a signed blank cheque on the seat, and that also supports disreputable practices because those owners tend to be no more engaged with the aircraft than those lower down.
Peter wrote:
What is special about a Service Center? Is it somehow factory related? I thought the factory was long gone.
Yes, it’s a factory endorsed service facility, with all that entails (higher price normally, but also higher expertise and experience on type). The Type Certificate has been owned by Twin Commander LLC since Gulfstream sold it and it’s still fully supported. A little worryingly, British BBA Aviation Ltd just bought them, and if Signature’s practices are anything to go by, this probably means the parts prices will hike upwards very shortly…
