Aircraft model
AERO COMMANDER 500
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The original Aero Commander 500 of 1958: the high-wing twin with two 250 hp carburetted Lycoming O-540s and a 6,000 lb gross weight, about 101 of which were built before the line moved on to the 500A and 500B. It is the aeroplane that established the Commander shape — high wing, twin tail-mounted appearance, and a cabin you can stand up in at the door.
At 250 hp a side carrying the same 6,000 lb that later 290 hp aircraft carried at 6,750, the original 500's single-engine climb and hot-and-high performance are noticeably weaker than the 500B's, and that is the central fact about owning one. Everything else is Commander ownership: a strong, well-built airframe, a type club and a support organisation that have kept the fleet flying for sixty years, and two big Lycomings whose overhaul cost sets the hourly rate. The purchase price is low for the size of aeroplane, which is always a warning as much as an attraction.
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- AERO COMMANDER 500
What it is
| Seats | 7 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 2 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-540-A1B5 |
| Horsepower | 250 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1958 |
| Production end | 1960 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance;multi-engine |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 170 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 850 nm |
| Service ceiling | 17,500 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,200 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 63 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,900 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,800 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 7 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,900 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 964 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 6,000 lb |
| Empty weight | 4,100 lb |
| Usable fuel | 156 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 28 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $90,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $230,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $45,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $64,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 98 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 12 |
| Median year built | 1959.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | — |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | — |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 0 |
| Transfers per 100 active | — |
| Airworthiness directives | 5 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | none |
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing multi-engine, piston, 2 engines, 7+ seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | —3 |
| Support | 1.1 of 104 |
| Liquidity | —5 |
- Accident record: class median 15.63 · 17 models in class.
- Severity: class median 23.08.
- Access: class median 3,096.5.
- Support: class median 121.5.
- Liquidity: class median 23.08.
- 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.