Aircraft model
AERO COMMANDER 500-B
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Aero Commander 500B is a high-wing light twin with the engines mounted above the wing, a configuration almost nobody else used and one that gives it exceptional visibility and a cabin uninterrupted by wing spars. President Eisenhower flew in one, which the company never stopped mentioning.
It carries seven people at 190 knots and handles well — the high wing and the engine placement give it benign single-engine behaviour by light-twin standards. The problems are age and support: Aero Commander passed through Rockwell and then out of the market, the fleet is modest, and airframe-specific parts come through specialists. The IO-540s are well supported. It is a great deal of aeroplane for the money if you can find one that has been maintained by someone who knows the type.
Compare with…
Put AERO COMMANDER 500-B side by side with up to two other models.
- AERO COMMANDER 500-B
What it is
| Seats | 7 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 2 |
| Engine | Lycoming IO-540-B1A5 |
| Horsepower | 290 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1960 |
| Production end | 1967 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance;multi-engine |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 190 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 900 nm |
| Service ceiling | 19,400 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,400 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 66 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,900 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,800 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 7 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 2,450 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,514 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 6,750 lb |
| Empty weight | 4,300 lb |
| Usable fuel | 156 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 32.5 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $150,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $245,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $46,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $66,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 197 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 85 |
| Median year built | 1962.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 5 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 58.82 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 0 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 16 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 18.82 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 9 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 85 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 85 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 85 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing multi-engine, piston, 2 engines, 7+ seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 8.1 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 3.7 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 3.3 of 103 |
| Support | 3.7 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 2.5 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 21.3 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 15.87 · 17 models in class.
- Severity: class median 20.42.
- Access: class median 3,096.5.
- Support: class median 132.5.
- 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.