Aircraft model
AERO COMMANDER 100-180
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Lark Commander is the 180 hp version of the Darter, with a swept fin, a better interior and a noticeably more capable engine. It is a four-seat high-wing fixed-gear aeroplane cruising at 120 knots.
The extra thirty horsepower makes it a usable four-seater where the 150 hp version is marginal, and it is the better of the two. It shares the Darter's fundamental problem: very few were built, Aero Commander dropped the line quickly, and the fleet is small enough that airframe-specific parts are hard to find with no manufacturer to fall back on. The Lycoming O-360 is cheap and well supported. For a buyer who can find one in good condition with a parts source, it is inexpensive; for anyone else it is a risk.
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Put AERO COMMANDER 100-180 side by side with up to two other models.
- AERO COMMANDER 100-180
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-360-A2G |
| Horsepower | 180 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1966 |
| Production end | 1969 |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 120 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 550 nm |
| Service ceiling | 14,500 ft |
| Climb rate | 850 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 48 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,500 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,300 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 950 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 770 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,350 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,400 lb |
| Usable fuel | 30 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 10.1 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $35,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $90,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $32,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $46,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 205 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 72 |
| Median year built | 1970.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 4 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 55.56 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 55.56 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 26 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 36.11 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 1 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 72 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 72 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 72 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 1.7 of 103 |
| Support | 3.2 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 9.7 of 105 |
- Accident record: class median 32.28 · 202 models in class.
- Severity: class median 12.5.
- Access: class median 775.
- Support: class median 147.5.
- Liquidity: class median 19.9.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.