Rockwell Commander 112 - Development

Development

In 1970 Rockwell designed and built two versions of a four-seat cabin low-wing monoplane; the fixed tricycle landing gear Commander 111 and the retractable tricycle landing gear Commander 112. Only two prototype Commander 111s were built; the company decided that only the Commander 112 would go into production. A prototype Commander 112 crashed after the tail failed during testing, which led to a redesign of the tail unit; this delayed the delivery of the first production aircraft until late in 1972.

The 112 prototype was powered by a 180 hp (134 kW) Lycoming O-360 engine; this was replaced by a 200 hp (149 kW) IO-360 engine in production aircraft. After 123 production aircraft had been built a number of improvements were made to the 112 in 1974, including an internally redesigned wing with increased fuel capacity and a 100 lb increase in maximum take off weight (MTOW) to 2,650 lb; 112s built to this standard were marketed as Commander 112As. After another 30 112s were built, Rockwell offered an option for increased fuel capacity (68 US gallon vs. 48 gallon standard tanks).

The 1976 Commander line introduced two new models, the Commander 112TC with a turbocharged engine of 210 hp and MTOW of 2,850 lb, and the Commander 114 with a six-cylinder Lycoming IO-540 engine of 260 hp. The 112, 112TC and 114 were all subsequently upgraded, to the 112B, 112TCA and 114A respectively. The final year of production was 1979, by which time the marketing name Alpine Commander was used for the 112TCA and Gran Turismo Commander for the 114A.

Following the end of production Rockwell sold the design rights to Gulfstream American in 1981 along with other designs in the Rockwell stable, but Gulfstream did not restart production as it was only interested in the Turbo Commander.

In 1988 Gulfstream sold the rights to Randall Greene, who set up Commander Aircraft to provide support for existing aircraft and build new aircraft. The new aircraft were designated Commander 114Bs, with deliveries commencing in 1992. Production ceased again in 2002 after about 200 114Bs and turbocharged 114TCs had been built, and Commander Aircraft was subsequently liquidated.

In 2005 the Commander Premier Aircraft Corporation (CPAC) was formed by over 50 owners of Commanders, in order to provide spare parts support for their aircraft. Commander Premier purchased the assets of Commander Aircraft from the bankruptcy trustee in mid-2005 and moved all production equipment from Oklahoma City to a new facility in Cape Girardeau, Missouri., with plans to build a new model in three variants; the Commander 115, the 115TC and the 115AT. CPAC was sold to Ronald G. Strauss in 2009, and was to fall under the ownership of Aero-Base, a firm which Strauss owned. While CPAC had failed to establish a stable aircraft manufacturing operation in the city-financed factory at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, it did at least manufacture parts and provide aircraft service. In October 2011, CPAC was evicted from its city-owned hangar for unpaid lease obligations. By May 2012, CPAC was back in bankruptcy, the deal by Canadian fiancier Strauss having failed to achieve traction, with an unnamed firm not associated with Strauss showing interest in purchasing the company.