AERO COMMANDER 520

By 1951, Ted Smith was general manager of the Aero Commander company and the Model 520 had entered into production. Its twin 260-hp Lycomings turning Hartzell two-blade props enabled the Commander to cruise at 196 mph at 10,000 feet and 60% power. Like its predecessor, it seated six to seven people, but the rear seat was optional. The landing gear was a retractable tricycle type, and fuel was carried in baglike wing cells. The company adopted a policy of assigning numbers to their aircraft that corresponded to the total horsepower of the model, and in 1952, the first Model 520 was delivered. By the time production subsided in 1954 and the Model 560 came into being, approximately 150 examples of the 520 were built.