I really enjoyed watching this video. I was the ORIGINAL owner of this Aerostar, and HK (from the tail number) are my initials. I took delivery from Piper in 1980 and had about 1850 hours on it before selling it. So nice to see the plane is in such great shape!
@Harvey Klein I have always loved the Ted Smith Aerostar since reading about it in Flying Mag. about 1969 or 1970. In 1978-1983 I worked @ International Business Aircraft, Tulsa OK. I remember how solid the wings were. Not soft like Piper or Cessna twins. Solid like the MU2s and jets. Side note, it is a sexy plane too.
I flew This Plane when I was about 30 years old as a up-and-coming commercial pilot. It was the first heavy iron I flew. When you rotated it accelerated once it broke ground it was like a little jet.
Thanks for bringing me back when we were hauling canceled checks in the 600A. We were practically flying the wings off our planes. They were a handful to handle when we were in our early 20´s, but what a beautiful and nice flying machine. Still in love with this “electrical” plane. Even the fuel selectors were electrically. During the early take-off you put the right hand on the electrical (off cause) nose wheel steering and your left hand on the throttles until your rudder started working. Got myself around a 1000 hours in the left seat in this noisy lovely machine. Thanks again for bringing me back.
My old flight instructor used to fly canceled checks at night out of Buffalo NY in an Aerostar. I flew with him a few times and that a/c is incredible!!! We were going into Utica right b4 the sun went down, we were at 9000' with thunderstorms all around, we were headed out to shoot the approach when a break in the clouds appeared, he called the tower saying airport in sight (barely), he dropped the gear and flaps and we dropped like a rock!!! What an outstanding a/c that was way ahead of it's time!!! Thanks for taking us along :-)
I also worked in the Santa Maria plant in the late seventies. Control pushtubes and air conditioning ductwork. Spent the next 37 years in commercial HVAC.
I had the pleasure of flying right seat in one several times, around 1984-85. Having learned to fly in a Grumman AA-1B on a 25ft wide runway, I always liked planes that were on the fast/slippery/demanding side for their size and power.
I must say..... Carol is like the pilot I've always wanted to fly with and have as an instructor.... This entire video just brought a big ole smile to my face, this is why i live in Texas..👍✈
Technically, that wasn't a bad question since the wing is really mid-body; but I think the wing would have to be overhead before calling it a high wing. Also, I clearly remember the reviews for this airplane as far back as 1966 -- and they were only average reviews ...some good, some bad aspects. I can't remember the name of the most popular aviation mag back then. It wasn't "Plane and Pilot" or "Aviation Digest" ...can't recall.
I had a 1981 vintage 600A. Of the 81 different planes I have in my log books, it was the best flying airplane of all of them. Ted Smith was a genius. Pilots used to come up to me all the time and say things like, “Aerostar huh ? I hear you don’t want to get too slow in that pilot killer.” And I’d say, “What airplane do you want to get too slow in ?” Flew it by the book and she was a sweetheart. Even had an engine out in her and it was a non-event.
I have exactly 1,500 hours in one 601P, plus having flown other 601Ps, the Machen 650, 680, and 700. Great airplane(s). I flew the company 601P to St. Thomas with a fuel stop in South Caicos down and on the return. One thing I noticed, he never did sync the props.
Rode in a Smith Aerostar with my instructor back in 1988. He rolled it, as it is a strong design. It was a very fun airplane to fly, not to mention one of the coolest on the ramp. I like this owner, as he seems really cool, and he also seems like a guy you could get into a little trouble with. Fun trouble that is! Great video Bobby.
@@seeingeyegod No, It is not approved for aerobatics, but it is a strong, well designed and built airframe. The same man that designed this airplane also designed the Aero Commander aircraft, and we have all seen what Bob Hoover did with that aircraft. It to was not designed for aerobatics, but is a solid well designed aircraft.
I had a friend in Alabama who worked for Ted Smith. He actually delivered the first Aerostar ever made. One day, he was flying an Aerostar at an airshow/fly-in (not sure where). He rolled it in front of the crowd. After he landed, Ted Smith said, "I appreciate what you were trying to do. But that's not the image we want for this company. It's ok for Bob Hoover, but please don't do it again." I have another friend in Alabama who built a turboprop powered Aerostar when he flew for the Allison NASCAR racing team. It's on display at the Talladega Speedway.
@@faithlifeworshipcenter460 Wow, Really cool story. This is the kind of stuff I enjoy reading. There is some great footage of Jimmy Franklin flying his black Aerostar 600 at airshows, calling himself "Zar". Look for it on RUclips. He does a great performance!
Had a chance to hop on the right seat of one and I loved it! At the time I owned an RV-10, short of about 25 knots cruise and half the fuel consumption per hour, the cabin space and useful load blew me away. Beautiful aircraft.
Wow, memories ! The FBO I was working for in the 80’s, while building time, had a 600 in the company fleet. I flew their Baron more, but went up in the 600 and their Commander several times. It may have seemed “less sporty” than a Baron to some, but I disagree. Plus, it was classy and a LOT more comfortable. It was a treat to get to fly that airplane for me then. Funny, I “think” I remember there was no manual trim on these, which was different at the time. I remember some were converted to “Superstars” too, whatever that entailed. What a beautiful classic airplane and great owner. Thanks Bobby and Carrol for the ride ! 🇺🇸🛫
Oh yeah, you’re right Kimi ! There was a toggle switch on the center console I think, and that WAS strange to me then ! I remember some seat pins too, that we checked and I think the gear was held in the retracted position by pressure alone, no locks at all. So, if you lost hydraulic pressure, the gear dropped (I guess). I wasn’t typed in the 600, but tried to get time in it every chance that was offered.
@@randyporter3491 While doing my technical a senior tech told me that the ailerons and rudder were interchangeable - never got to check this out but if you look at them they certainly look the same..??
Kimi Collier Really ?? That’s interesting. What’s really ironic is after watching this and reminiscing about this airplane, a movie came on tonight with Tom Cruise, called American Made”. He is a pilot and flys this plane. I read that it actually crashed during filming. After watching a few scenes, I’m not surprised it crashed. Had three on board.
@@kimicollier9846 I don't know if the ailerons and rudder are interchangeable. The vertical stabilizer, left horizontal and right horizontal stabilizers are interchangeable. It lowered the cost to manufacture. I have read Jim Bede used interchangeability on the Tiger and Cheetah.
McGregor, TX! I lived in Temple for 40 years, and instructed out of Temple, Killeen, and McGregor. At McGregor, they had a gorgeous Twin Comanche with STEC 60 and Stormscope, with tip tanks. I loved that plane. A pilot ran out of gas between DFW and McGregor, and rolled it up in a ball. Fortunately, he survived. I flew an Aerostar, and they are awesome handling planes. Definitely the best-handling twin I've ever flown. And that goes from G18 to King Air. BTW, if you can fly a Cessna 172, you'll feel right at home in a King Air. A real pussycat. Merlins handle well, for a turbo twin. Somebody make me fly their Piaggio Avanti, please! I was doing a tailwheel transition for the new owner of an old Cessna 120 out of McGregor, and the fuel cap vent was clogged, which sucked a vacuum, killed our engine, and I deadsticked into a grass strip north of McGregor. He had been doing stalls, and after one recovery the engine didn't respond. We bummed a ride into town and called his wife. Talk about a beautiful plane to spin, that 120 was a gem. That and a Stearman (another plane with ball-bearing ailerons like the Aerostar, only a bit ponderous in comparison - just a bit. If you can wangle a ride in a Beech 95, go out of your way to do that. For their day, the 95 and Twin Comanche were and still are unbeatable. That Space-X plant with the little bunkers used to belong to a military munitions manufacturer, which explains the "little bunker" he refers to.
I flew 2nd seat in the 600, carrying fliters from klga to Mt. Washington NH. Our home airport was kpvd. and i remember the vectors they gave us, atc knows real tight turns with Knife wings.
How cool! Great video. I love this channel because I am new to GA and I don't even have a pilot's license. It's fantastic to be able to learn more about these planes and their pilots
Bobby, I was in love with the Turbo Commander until I saw the Aerostar 600. Beautiful airplane in mint condition. It has great performance for a piston with plenty of acceleration on takeoff. I can see why it sold so quickly. An absolutely fantastic airplane. Love your videos and commentary. Take care my friend!
My dad used to have a turbo pressurized Aerostar. It is a beautiful plane!! He doesn’t have it any more. He bought a Golden Eagle 421 and hangers it at Spinks. Nice airport!! Your plane is sharp looking!! Love it!!
For most pilots, the reason you don't lower the gear in a turn in an Aerostar is that if the turn is un-coordinated, you will get side gusts that can damage/remove the main gear doors! If you fly nice coordinated turns, feel free to drop the gear in the turn.
I can remember when I accepted a short test flight in a Piper Aerostar in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1982. The engines on that plane sounded just like the ones in this video. The flight lasted about the same amount of time. I can only wish I could have pursued it further, but there just wasn't enough money.
Mr. Lewis ... I get the feeling you have all the professional skill sets to make flying safe and no-nonsense. I would like to do a video with you on your next high performance airplane!
What a wonderful airplane, I didn´t know about it, looks roomy , fast and the engine sound is like music, perfect!!!!. Carol is a truly caracter, so nice. Congrats on other excellent pice of art man!!!!. Getting better in every vid.
Nice surprise seeing you flying around, Carroll, especially in such a great, fun airplane. Hope to fly with you again sometime. Sure enjoyed the King Air 350 trip to Nashville and Savannah!
Correction on the blue line. That is Vyse, best rate of climb single engine. There is a red line indicating Vmca which is the minimum speed you can maintain directional control with the critical engine inoperative. This is in addition to the other ed line witch is Vne, never exceed speed. I flew both the 600 Aerostar and had factory training on the 601P in Vero Beach, FL.
I was driving the fuel truck at Tulsa Pilots Club about the time you were at Spartan. I actually went to Tulsa to attend Spartan but changed my mind once I got there. Got all my tickets there. Calvin G Bass was my examiner and aerobatics instructor. I have lots of good memories from TUL. When flying charter I had the opportunity to fly Aerostar N300AM. A 601P model that held the fastest global circumnavigation record in a piston twin. I just retired off of the 777 at brand X airline. Seems like I was just in Tulsa a decade ago. Wow.
Hahaha I love this guy! Ah throttle back to 1500 rpm and put the numbers in the windscreen. Couldn’t have said it any better. This guy is like Barry Seal! 😁
I work at an airport in Colorado and we are doing some maintenance on an aerostar 601 so it is pressurized and turbocharged it is a pretty sweet airplane
I have always loved the Ted Smith Aerostar a very under rated twin,so nicely flown he knows that airplane so well,do not be fooled by his fun blase answers because he has become part of that Aerostar it shows. There is still a chance that a twin fan jet version could be built in the future with the right investor,that will be some aircraft and it would find a ready market even with the competition today. Great content Flying Doodles.
Hey man! I’ve got an Aero Commander 100…one of only a handful left in the USA still flying. It’s a beauty and I think you’d find it interesting to fly and do a video on. Love your videos!
Dear Bobby and Laura, it makes absolute sense that you make flight Vlogs as well. My two of five passions you meet. I love aviation and wanted to get my Private's Licence a long time ago -well never did it but I did afford a great privilege of installing Nav equipment; namely, SIMRAD on Commercial Vessels here in Australia. Haven't done either for a while but that's ok 👌 because I love ❤️ your VLOGS. thanks so much. Pete
Did you notice how the Aerostar rides turbulence while Carol was level at 2500 feet? I always loved that wing loading at 32 lbs. My other aircraft a Skymaster had a wing loading of 15 lbs.
So here is a crazy story: I'm a controller at ZMA. I left work early on 12/13/19 to and went straight to the Wellington Green Mall in Wellington, FL (yes I commute) to grab the wife a gift for Christmas. I went inside the mall with my badge still hanging around my neck after my hour plus drive. I'm in the Apple store waiting for my name to be called for assistance. I hear someone ask me if I was a controller due to the FAA lanyard. I say "Yeah blah blah blah...ZMA blah blah blah" The gentleman said he flies falcons and shit. So I'm thinking to myself hold on... I ask him if he flies anything piston powered and he goes with his Texas twang, "I had an Aerostar..." I said I know you from the Flying Doodles video and he goes "Hot Damn!" Pure happenstance! Awesome dude straight up. We had good convo about airplanes and everything well waiting to piss money away. Nice meeting you Carol. That offer for a tour of Miami Center is wide open. Next time you're down here hit me up!
I spent quite a few fire seasons in Canada riding in the right seat of an Aerostar as an Air Attack Officer. They were used by Conair as a bird dog airplane in conjunction with the DC6. The pilot certainly had to keep the speed up at all times even when we were making lead in runs at 100 feet over the trees or doing sharp turns in tight areas. I was lucky enough never to have a serious incident in one but they did lose a couple over the years. It was a tight airplane to work in for long missions especially with the Alberta airplanes which were modified to have an early generation FLIR installed in it with a ball the size of a basketball hanging off the front and a big screen under the dash. Many happy hours in them I will say, although every once in a while in a spare moment I'd look back at the wings and get a bit apprehensive to see a wing that small apparently holding us up! We have switched over the the Turbo Commander as a Bird dog but Conair still has a couple of the old Aerostars in service as parts chasers. Great to see them again every once in a while!
I had a job flying an Aerostar right after I got out of the Marine Corps. I had a chance to fly other light twins but the Aerostar was by far my favorite.
I wonder when he was at Spartan. I attended Sparten and recall a dude in the early 90's from Texas that had a business and was talking about twin cheorkees , twin cessna's, et al.
blue line is the best rate of climb with 1 engine inop. You still have directional control all the way down to red line given a certain set of conditions.
Love watching these videos, I always wanted to learn how to fly , and always put it off , I had a real justification for putting it off as I always wanted to fly a small either a single jet, or duel jet , But saw and looked at the training as too long and too expensive. Too many steps to go through. What a mistake.... As I never really appreciated the beauty of just enjoying the ride. Now thanks to these videos I would not want to fly a jet as I would miss all this beauty and love for the machine, I wasted all this time with such a misconception, as these are beautiful enjoyable air craft , thank you so much ,,, guys what a great service to your community and done such a wonderful job for people watching and leaning. Through these videos.
Quick question guys. As a flying instructor I enjoy walking students around the ramp, examining aircraft and discussing why the manufacturer added certain modifications to their designs. The Aerostar has some interesting additions. First off is the strake on the forward section of the nose. It’s only on the left side. Why is that? (I see it wasn’t there on earlier models.) Secondly, it only has stall strips on one wing. Thirdly, there are vortex generators and a flow diverted forward of the rudder. But only on the left side. How come? Lastly and most perplexingly. There is a small angular strip about 4 inches long above the left engine cowling intake. Only on the one side. What on earth was the reason behind that?! She doesn’t have counter rotating props so the critical engine is on the left. So I’m assuming the above is all related - but what design problems caused all these modifications to become necessary? I’ve looked everywhere for an explanation but am no closer to an answer. Do you guys have any idea?
What a great old aircraft I flew the 601p for about 18 months,in the nth of Australia about 25 years ago Lovely aircraft to fly when things were going well A real handfull max weight in high density on one engine I had 2 separate engine failures in my time flying it and both at max weight She looked after to me on both occasions but not much margin for error
Ah, so he's got the slow version. : ) I did a bunch of flying in the same model Aerostar years ago. The SuperStar 700 is the real hotrod though at 250-260kts. That one-off Aerostar jet had Pratt Canada PW615s, not Allisons.
Spartan grad nice, class of 85 AMT here. I must said, thorough i was in love with the dukes. but now i will have to give the Aerostars another look. This is my kind of piloting.
I used to work at Ted R. Smith in Van Nuys where he had recently re acquired his company from a cement company in Texas! We were prototyping the 601 P’s at the time and I worked the flight line where we maintained many Aerostars. One time we were upgrading the prop governors and testing flying over the Pacific Ocean with engine out procedures to test the governors unfeathering characteristics upon restart. We would do one engine at a time with no problem. So the pilot-in-command boldly said “Hey, give me some altitude and let’s shut both fans off!”...so we did! We were around 15,000 ft just gliding along nice and peaceful like. Enjoying the ride to around 8000 ft. “Okay, enough, fire up the left side.” Cranked for awhile, the prop failed to unfeather. OK try the right side, same thing! We where passing through 5000 ft and starting to get worried. I even pointed out a convenient sail boat out in the channel and we established a nice and easy approach toward her as we were cranking the left engine again with battery power taking a nose dive. Needless to say, we were screaming at each other and I reached around back and grabbed a hatchet to punch out upon our inevitable ditching! At around 1000 ft, we were on finial approach to our sail boat. One more time with the right side, and be damned, it puffed a bunch of white smoke, prop unfeathered and the fan came back to life as we were on short finial! We were able to maintain around 350 ft on a single engine and got the left side vibrating nicely!! Rocked our wings at the hapless skipper on the sail boat and leisurely, nice and easy climbed back to 7500 ft for our flight back to Van Nuys. I had to coyly replace the starter/magneto switch knobs as both were mysteriously bent!! To this day, I can’t figure out how those knobs both got bent!!
Practice approach...is that pilot speak for 'buzz the tower' lol. Great aircraft and such a laconic owner...unstressed and layed back. Lot to like here👍
As for stability, esp for the novice ME, the engines predispose to pendular oscillations about the longitudinal axis , which poses an additional mode of potential instability although usually this is prevented by tiny rudder adjustments rather than ailerons. Vigilance to always keep potential wing engine momentum under careful control is one of the big SE/ME differences.
Love your channel and enjoy the vids very much. I will say though this guys "selling doodles" comment speaks a bit for me. I enjoy the videos with owners who are passionate about their planes and want to keep flying them much more than the videos with a salesman looking to unload one. Takes a bit of the shine off for me. I will say though that this one was better than most of the "for sale" videos because this guy is neat to listen to! Good stick too!
It's a great little twin, the turbo versions are incredible! You should have mentioned its ground steering method, an electric rocker switch on the glareshield. Jim Franklin used to fly an aerobatics routine in one!
My late father took flying lessons from a neighbor who was a full time engineer at Lockheed-Georgia. Tom was laid off with many others in the early 1970's. He ended up getting a new job as a corporate pilot flying an Aerostar. One day we got a call from him. He was in town with the plane, and wanted to know if we wanted a ride. Of course we did! And it was the most exciting flight that I took until the local ANG took me up in an F-4D some 14 years later. That is another story....
I really enjoyed watching this video. I was the ORIGINAL owner of this Aerostar, and HK (from the tail number) are my initials. I took delivery from Piper in 1980 and had about 1850 hours on it before selling it. So nice to see the plane is in such great shape!
@Harvey Klein I have always loved the Ted Smith Aerostar since reading about it in Flying Mag. about 1969 or 1970.
In 1978-1983 I worked @ International Business Aircraft, Tulsa OK.
I remember how solid the wings were. Not soft like Piper or Cessna twins.
Solid like the MU2s and jets.
Side note, it is a sexy plane too.
Harvey Klein Thank You for the comment, icing on the cake for an excellent video, on a beautiful aircraft!
What plane was next?
Cool as. Thanks for commissioning such a cool aircraft.
It's a very nice plane. A real speed demon.
I flew This Plane when I was about 30 years old as a up-and-coming commercial pilot. It was the first heavy iron I flew. When you rotated it accelerated once it broke ground it was like a little jet.
For lovers of the Aerostar, don't miss the movie "American Made", where the Aerostar is stealing the show to Tom Cruise. It's even on the cover.
I didnt remember that..... however I was thinking "this would be a good aircraft to fly cocaine" INSTANTLY when watching this.
I want you to take it for a spin!
@@TheKnightda8 same shit im bitch buddy
They also crashed one during filming
Thanks for bringing me back when we were hauling canceled checks in the 600A. We were practically flying the wings off our planes. They were a handful to handle when we were in our early 20´s, but what a beautiful and nice flying machine. Still in love with this “electrical” plane. Even the fuel selectors were electrically. During the early take-off you put the right hand on the electrical (off cause) nose wheel steering and your left hand on the throttles until your rudder started working. Got myself around a 1000 hours in the left seat in this noisy lovely machine. Thanks again for bringing me back.
My old flight instructor used to fly canceled checks at night out of Buffalo NY in an Aerostar. I flew with him a few times and that a/c is incredible!!! We were going into Utica right b4 the sun went down, we were at 9000' with thunderstorms all around, we were headed out to shoot the approach when a break in the clouds appeared, he called the tower saying airport in sight (barely), he dropped the gear and flaps and we dropped like a rock!!! What an outstanding a/c that was way ahead of it's time!!! Thanks for taking us along :-)
Let me guess, the company's call sign was Star Check. I flew for them back in the day too.
My Dad probably built this airplane. He worked for Ted Smith Aerostar in Santa Maria Califonia from 1977 1981. I would love to have one!
Cool :)
your dad ideas very extremely genius..that why barry seal, CIA n Custom US user this airplane for any fucking missions..
My dad also worked for Ted Smith but at the design shop at Van Nuys CA Airport. It definitely was a trend setting aircraft design!
I also worked in the Santa Maria plant in the late seventies. Control pushtubes and air conditioning ductwork. Spent the next 37 years in commercial HVAC.
I had the pleasure of flying right seat in one several times, around 1984-85. Having learned to fly in a Grumman AA-1B on a 25ft wide runway, I always liked planes that were on the fast/slippery/demanding side for their size and power.
Love the sound of those twin pistons in harmony, so sweet. As a passenger it would sing you to sleep :-) Great clip!
I must say..... Carol is like the pilot I've always wanted to fly with and have as an instructor.... This entire video just brought a big ole smile to my face, this is why i live in Texas..👍✈
Pilot: Are you a low wing or high wing aircraft?
Aerostar 600: *yes*
Bobby Elliott 🤣
Technically, that wasn't a bad question since the wing is really mid-body; but I think the wing would have to be overhead before calling it a high wing. Also, I clearly remember the reviews for this airplane as far back as 1966 -- and they were only average reviews ...some good, some bad aspects. I can't remember the name of the most popular aviation mag back then. It wasn't "Plane and Pilot" or "Aviation Digest" ...can't recall.
@@TheAvenstar Private Pilot or the most widely circulated...... Flying.
Always loved reading Flying.
@@wms1650 You're right -- it was "Flying." -- Thank you.
Mid-wing!
Nice to see a pilot with a sense of humor.
His “sense of humor” is *AWFUL!*
@@heavyizthacrown-5842 found the person with no sense of humor
@@heavyizthacrown-5842 Why, that's just offal! 💩
This guy relaxed me before he even got flying, makes you feel like it's all gunna be alright.
Goes along with being a Texan.
What a Great Dude..... a Joy to Fly with him and his Aerostar!
I had a 1981 vintage 600A. Of the 81 different planes I have in my log books, it was the best flying airplane of all of them. Ted Smith was a genius. Pilots used to come up to me all the time and say things like, “Aerostar huh ? I hear you don’t want to get too slow in that pilot killer.” And I’d say, “What airplane do you want to get too slow in ?” Flew it by the book and she was a sweetheart. Even had an engine out in her and it was a non-event.
I loved how you could visually confirm the front nose gear was 'down' by looking at the prop spinner reflection of lt.
I have exactly 1,500 hours in one 601P, plus having flown other 601Ps, the Machen 650, 680, and 700. Great airplane(s). I flew the company 601P to St. Thomas with a fuel stop in South Caicos down and on the return.
One thing I noticed, he never did sync the props.
I think Bobby had more fun than us watching...... he really seemed to be enjoying himself. I have always loved the Aerostars
If you didn’t tell anyone, this aircraft looks like it’s brand new. The refurb in and out really makes for a very nice GA unit.
I’ve got the Aerostar 601 N77XC it’s a really solid machine but the controls are very sensitive so it takes a lot of experience.
Rode in a Smith Aerostar with my instructor back in 1988. He rolled it, as it is a strong design. It was a very fun airplane to fly, not to mention one of the coolest on the ramp. I like this owner, as he seems really cool, and he also seems like a guy you could get into a little trouble with. Fun trouble that is! Great video Bobby.
is it actually aerobatics qualified or everything "prohibited" like most planes?
@@seeingeyegod No, It is not approved for aerobatics, but it is a strong, well designed and built airframe. The same man that designed this airplane also designed the Aero Commander aircraft, and we have all seen what Bob Hoover did with that aircraft. It to was not designed for aerobatics, but is a solid well designed aircraft.
@@scotabot7826 nice! yeah I'm familiar with Bob Hoovers antics in the AC!
I had a friend in Alabama who worked for Ted Smith. He actually delivered the first Aerostar ever made.
One day, he was flying an Aerostar at an airshow/fly-in (not sure where). He rolled it in front of the crowd. After he landed, Ted Smith said, "I appreciate what you were trying to do. But that's not the image we want for this company. It's ok for Bob Hoover, but please don't do it again."
I have another friend in Alabama who built a turboprop powered Aerostar when he flew for the Allison NASCAR racing team. It's on display at the Talladega Speedway.
@@faithlifeworshipcenter460 Wow, Really cool story. This is the kind of stuff I enjoy reading. There is some great footage of Jimmy Franklin flying his black Aerostar 600 at airshows, calling himself "Zar". Look for it on RUclips. He does a great performance!
Good to see you flying, Bobby !!! Thanks for this, another great video !!!
This would be a big upgrade over a Twin Comanche. We had every gap seal and speed mod available and the best we saw was 206 knots with a tailwind.
This guy is a crack up!! Thanks for sharing. “Somewhere over the blue line” haha!
Haha
Had a chance to hop on the right seat of one and I loved it! At the time I owned an RV-10, short of about 25 knots cruise and half the fuel consumption per hour, the cabin space and useful load blew me away. Beautiful aircraft.
Wow, memories ! The FBO I was working for in the 80’s, while building time, had a 600 in the company fleet. I flew their Baron more, but went up in the 600 and their Commander several times. It may have seemed “less sporty” than a Baron to some, but I disagree. Plus, it was classy and a LOT more comfortable. It was a treat to get to fly that airplane for me then. Funny, I “think” I remember there was no manual trim on these, which was different at the time. I remember some were converted to “Superstars” too, whatever that entailed. What a beautiful classic airplane and great owner. Thanks Bobby and Carrol for the ride ! 🇺🇸🛫
... and electric nose steering....!!
Oh yeah, you’re right Kimi ! There was a toggle switch on the center console I think, and that WAS strange to me then ! I remember some seat pins too, that we checked and I think the gear was held in the retracted position by pressure alone, no locks at all. So, if you lost hydraulic pressure, the gear dropped (I guess). I wasn’t typed in the 600, but tried to get time in it every chance that was offered.
@@randyporter3491 While doing my technical a senior tech told me that the ailerons and rudder were interchangeable - never got to check this out but if you look at them they certainly look the same..??
Kimi Collier Really ?? That’s interesting. What’s really ironic is after watching this and reminiscing about this airplane, a movie came on tonight with Tom Cruise, called American Made”. He is a pilot and flys this plane. I read that it actually crashed during filming. After watching a few scenes, I’m not surprised it crashed. Had three on board.
@@kimicollier9846 I don't know if the ailerons and rudder are interchangeable.
The vertical stabilizer, left horizontal and right horizontal stabilizers are interchangeable.
It lowered the cost to manufacture.
I have read Jim Bede used interchangeability on the Tiger and Cheetah.
‘Blue line’ is best rate of climb single engine (Vyse.)
or sink
@@ED-zf6db lowest rate of sink
Im glad im not the only one who noticed lol
McGregor, TX! I lived in Temple for 40 years, and instructed out of Temple, Killeen, and McGregor. At McGregor, they had a gorgeous Twin Comanche with STEC 60 and Stormscope, with tip tanks. I loved that plane. A pilot ran out of gas between DFW and McGregor, and rolled it up in a ball. Fortunately, he survived. I flew an Aerostar, and they are awesome handling planes. Definitely the best-handling twin I've ever flown. And that goes from G18 to King Air. BTW, if you can fly a Cessna 172, you'll feel right at home in a King Air. A real pussycat. Merlins handle well, for a turbo twin. Somebody make me fly their Piaggio Avanti, please! I was doing a tailwheel transition for the new owner of an old Cessna 120 out of McGregor, and the fuel cap vent was clogged, which sucked a vacuum, killed our engine, and I deadsticked into a grass strip north of McGregor. He had been doing stalls, and after one recovery the engine didn't respond. We bummed a ride into town and called his wife. Talk about a beautiful plane to spin, that 120 was a gem. That and a Stearman (another plane with ball-bearing ailerons like the Aerostar, only a bit ponderous in comparison - just a bit. If you can wangle a ride in a Beech 95, go out of your way to do that. For their day, the 95 and Twin Comanche were and still are unbeatable. That Space-X plant with the little bunkers used to belong to a military munitions manufacturer, which explains the "little bunker" he refers to.
What a beautiful Aerostar! Thanks for the ride. Also enjoyed the glimpse of the SpaceX test stands.
Wow. Neither of these guys knows what blue line is. Yikes.
I flew 2nd seat in the 600, carrying fliters from klga to Mt. Washington NH. Our home airport was kpvd. and i remember the vectors they gave us, atc knows real tight turns with Knife wings.
Beautiful plane! My old flight surgeon who did my physicals had one at Meacham Field. Always wanted to fly that thing.
That is one relaxed gentleman! And a slick ride to go, pity he had to let it go. Nice vid! Keep 'em coming!
How cool! Great video. I love this channel because I am new to GA and I don't even have a pilot's license. It's fantastic to be able to learn more about these planes and their pilots
Bobby, I was in love with the Turbo Commander until I saw the Aerostar 600. Beautiful airplane in mint condition. It has great performance for a piston with plenty of acceleration on takeoff. I can see why it sold so quickly. An absolutely fantastic airplane. Love your videos and commentary. Take care my friend!
My dad used to have a turbo pressurized Aerostar. It is a beautiful plane!! He doesn’t have it any more. He bought a Golden Eagle 421 and hangers it at Spinks. Nice airport!! Your plane is sharp looking!! Love it!!
For most pilots, the reason you don't lower the gear in a turn in an Aerostar is that if the turn is un-coordinated, you will get side gusts that can damage/remove the main gear doors! If you fly nice coordinated turns, feel free to drop the gear in the turn.
I can remember when I accepted a short test flight in a Piper Aerostar in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1982. The engines on that plane sounded just like the ones in this video. The flight lasted about the same amount of time. I can only wish I could have pursued it further, but there just wasn't enough money.
Mr. Lewis ... I get the feeling you have all the professional skill sets to make flying safe and no-nonsense. I would like to do a video with you on your next high performance airplane!
Love the video, Carol is a character. I thought I knew him when the video first started, I want to say we were at Spartan together.
Yeah, that plane sold itself. It's really nice quality work. Great video guys. Thanks a bunch.
What a wonderful airplane, I didn´t know about it, looks roomy , fast and the engine sound is like music, perfect!!!!. Carol is a truly caracter, so nice. Congrats on other excellent pice of art man!!!!. Getting better in every vid.
Nice surprise seeing you flying around, Carroll, especially in such a great, fun airplane. Hope to fly with you again sometime. Sure enjoyed the King Air 350 trip to Nashville and Savannah!
Correction on the blue line. That is Vyse, best rate of climb single engine. There is a red line indicating Vmca which is the minimum speed you can maintain directional control with the critical engine inoperative. This is in addition to the other ed line witch is Vne, never exceed speed. I flew both the 600 Aerostar and had factory training on the 601P in Vero Beach, FL.
Glad to see neither have the mic inside their mouths. I don't understand why pilots feel the need to have the mic pressed up against their lips.
What a cool dude who seems to love what he does. Great video.
I was driving the fuel truck at Tulsa Pilots Club about the time you were at Spartan. I actually went to Tulsa to attend Spartan but changed my mind once I got there. Got all my tickets there. Calvin G Bass was my examiner and aerobatics instructor. I have lots of good memories from TUL. When flying charter I had the opportunity to fly Aerostar N300AM. A 601P model that held the fastest global circumnavigation record in a piston twin. I just retired off of the 777 at brand X airline. Seems like I was just in Tulsa a decade ago. Wow.
Hahaha I love this guy! Ah throttle back to 1500 rpm and put the numbers in the windscreen. Couldn’t have said it any better. This guy is like Barry Seal! 😁
Christian Cormier *1500 inches..😂
Israel Kozlik you would never have 1500 in hg of manifold pressure. It ranges from 0 up to 30 or more.
Christian Cormier @ 16:00 watch it again...
Israel, wow! That's a lot of MP!
Israel, he misspoke, obviously
In 1980 I work at Piper In Santa Maria Ca. In the sheet metal fabrication ,including the stainless steel fire walls.
Okay, "You need your zeal tempered with experience" is getting added to my peer-review rota. Love it!
I work at an airport in Colorado and we are doing some maintenance on an aerostar 601 so it is pressurized and turbocharged it is a pretty sweet airplane
he said the maint. costs are high and that it is heavier so your payload is poor.
Good to see it flying at it's best condition 😀
Hey, my home airport KPWG! I see that plane all the time, it's a looker!
Epic!
This trusty pilot has a great radio voice.
I have always loved the Ted Smith Aerostar a very under rated twin,so nicely flown he knows that airplane so well,do not be fooled by his fun blase answers because he has become part of that Aerostar it shows.
There is still a chance that a twin fan jet version could be built in the future with the right investor,that will be some aircraft and it would find a ready market even with the competition today.
Great content Flying Doodles.
Hey man! I’ve got an Aero Commander 100…one of only a handful left in the USA still flying. It’s a beauty and I think you’d find it interesting to fly and do a video on. Love your videos!
Dear Bobby and Laura, it makes absolute sense that you make flight Vlogs as well. My two of five passions you meet. I love aviation and wanted to get my Private's Licence a long time ago -well never did it but I did afford a great privilege of installing Nav equipment; namely, SIMRAD on Commercial Vessels here in Australia. Haven't done either for a while but that's ok 👌 because I love ❤️ your VLOGS. thanks so much. Pete
Carroll Lewis hasn’t changed a bit in 20 years. Keep the great videos coming!
Yep. He’s a great guy. Just exactly like that in person.
This is real piloting!! Love this driver; one emergency item FLY THE AIRCRAFT! CLIMB OUT SOMEWHERE ABOVE BLUE LINE; GTEAT WISDOM!
Did you notice how the Aerostar rides turbulence while Carol was level at 2500 feet? I always loved that wing loading at 32 lbs. My other aircraft a Skymaster had a wing loading of 15 lbs.
I love watching landing gear move. Thank you. Great video.
So here is a crazy story: I'm a controller at ZMA. I left work early on 12/13/19 to and went straight to the Wellington Green Mall in Wellington, FL (yes I commute) to grab the wife a gift for Christmas. I went inside the mall with my badge still hanging around my neck after my hour plus drive. I'm in the Apple store waiting for my name to be called for assistance. I hear someone ask me if I was a controller due to the FAA lanyard. I say "Yeah blah blah blah...ZMA blah blah blah" The gentleman said he flies falcons and shit. So I'm thinking to myself hold on... I ask him if he flies anything piston powered and he goes with his Texas twang, "I had an Aerostar..." I said I know you from the Flying Doodles video and he goes "Hot Damn!" Pure happenstance! Awesome dude straight up. We had good convo about airplanes and everything well waiting to piss money away. Nice meeting you Carol. That offer for a tour of Miami Center is wide open. Next time you're down here hit me up!
True story! Lets do it.
Last night I was thinking that Bobby needed an Aerostar on his channel, and boom this morning this popped up.
I spent quite a few fire seasons in Canada riding in the right seat of an Aerostar as an Air Attack Officer. They were used by Conair as a bird dog airplane in conjunction with the DC6.
The pilot certainly had to keep the speed up at all times even when we were making lead in runs at 100 feet over the trees or doing sharp turns in tight areas. I was lucky enough never to have a serious incident in one but they did lose a couple over the years. It was a tight airplane to work in for long missions especially with the Alberta airplanes which were modified to have an early generation FLIR installed in it with a ball the size of a basketball hanging off the front and a big screen under the dash. Many happy hours in them I will say, although every once in a while in a spare moment I'd look back at the wings and get a bit apprehensive to see a wing that small apparently holding us up!
We have switched over the the Turbo Commander as a Bird dog but Conair still has a couple of the old Aerostars in service as parts chasers. Great to see them again every once in a while!
Most attractive paint scheme have seen on an AeroStar!
I had a job flying an Aerostar right after I got out of the Marine Corps. I had a chance to fly other light twins but the Aerostar was by far my favorite.
I wonder when he was at Spartan. I attended Sparten and recall a dude in the early 90's from Texas that had a business and was talking about twin cheorkees , twin cessna's, et al.
What a cool beauty of a plane, thanks for sharing Bobby!
blue line is the best rate of climb with 1 engine inop. You still have directional control all the way down to red line given a certain set of conditions.
Love watching these videos,
I always wanted to learn how to fly , and always put it off ,
I had a real justification for putting it off as I always wanted to fly a small either a single jet, or duel jet ,
But saw and looked at the training as too long and too expensive. Too many steps to go through.
What a mistake....
As I never really appreciated the beauty of just enjoying the ride.
Now thanks to these videos I would not want to fly a jet as I would miss all this beauty and love for the machine,
I wasted all this time with such a misconception, as these are beautiful enjoyable air craft , thank you so much ,,,
guys what a great service to your community and done such a wonderful job for people watching and leaning. Through these videos.
Quick question guys. As a flying instructor I enjoy walking students around the ramp, examining aircraft and discussing why the manufacturer added certain modifications to their designs. The Aerostar has some interesting additions. First off is the strake on the forward section of the nose. It’s only on the left side. Why is that? (I see it wasn’t there on earlier models.) Secondly, it only has stall strips on one wing. Thirdly, there are vortex generators and a flow diverted forward of the rudder. But only on the left side. How come?
Lastly and most perplexingly. There is a small angular strip about 4 inches long above the left engine cowling intake. Only on the one side. What on earth was the reason behind that?!
She doesn’t have counter rotating props so the critical engine is on the left. So I’m assuming the above is all related - but what design problems caused all these modifications to become necessary? I’ve looked everywhere for an explanation but am no closer to an answer.
Do you guys have any idea?
Fine airplane. And he is wearing a fine watch to, the Breitling Emergency.
What a great old aircraft
I flew the 601p for about 18 months,in the nth of Australia about 25 years ago
Lovely aircraft to fly when things were going well
A real handfull max weight in high density on one engine
I had 2 separate engine failures in my time flying it and both at max weight
She looked after to me on both occasions but not much margin for error
Ah, so he's got the slow version. : ) I did a bunch of flying in the same model Aerostar years ago. The SuperStar 700 is the real hotrod though at 250-260kts. That one-off Aerostar jet had Pratt Canada PW615s, not Allisons.
Really enjoyed the video. Seems like yall enjoyed a nice flight.
Spartan grad nice, class of 85 AMT here. I must said, thorough i was in love with the dukes. but now i will have to give the Aerostars another look. This is my kind of piloting.
Really like the aircraft and the way it flies! very nice video. 253 mph wow.
Great video. Logged 1 hour in a friend's. Nice plane and a great ride. Take care.
Loved flying the Aerostar! Great airplane. Very fast.
Nice aircraft. Love the room in the back. Beats most of the opposition in that respect n looks great. Would be very comfortable to fly in
The Aerostar is one aircraft I never had the pleasure to fly. Looks nice.
Wow, almost 92,000 views in a week. Lots of aviators out there!
Aerostar is such an iconic aircraft.
My favorite piston twin. Later I flew a number of airliners.
This guy is a great pilot for many reasons, and his style
Nice vídeo... maravilhoso, principalmente a visão da câmera under the plane.
Correction, the 600 came equipped with 290hp Lycoming not 350hp. The modified Superstar came with the 350hp.
I used to work at Ted R. Smith in Van Nuys where he had recently re acquired his company from a cement company in Texas! We were prototyping the 601 P’s at the time and I worked the flight line where we maintained many Aerostars. One time we were upgrading the prop governors and testing flying over the Pacific Ocean with engine out procedures to test the governors unfeathering characteristics upon restart. We would do one engine at a time with no problem. So the pilot-in-command boldly said “Hey, give me some altitude and let’s shut both fans off!”...so we did! We were around 15,000 ft just gliding along nice and peaceful like. Enjoying the ride to around 8000 ft. “Okay, enough, fire up the left side.” Cranked for awhile, the prop failed to unfeather. OK try the right side, same thing! We where passing through 5000 ft and starting to get worried. I even pointed out a convenient sail boat out in the channel and we established a nice and easy approach toward her as we were cranking the left engine again with battery power taking a nose dive. Needless to say, we were screaming at each other and I reached around back and grabbed a hatchet to punch out upon our inevitable ditching! At around 1000 ft, we were on finial approach to our sail boat. One more time with the right side, and be damned, it puffed a bunch of white smoke, prop unfeathered and the fan came back to life as we were on short finial! We were able to maintain around 350 ft on a single engine and got the left side vibrating nicely!! Rocked our wings at the hapless skipper on the sail boat and leisurely, nice and easy climbed back to 7500 ft for our flight back to Van Nuys. I had to coyly replace the starter/magneto switch knobs as both were mysteriously bent!! To this day, I can’t figure out how those knobs both got bent!!
Love Your Channel! ~ I fell in love with this model in 1988.
Practice approach...is that pilot speak for 'buzz the tower' lol. Great aircraft and such a laconic owner...unstressed and layed back. Lot to like here👍
At a non-towered airport I usually refer to it as a "runway inspection" :)
As for stability, esp for the novice ME, the engines predispose to pendular oscillations about the longitudinal axis , which poses an additional mode of potential instability although usually this is prevented by tiny rudder adjustments rather than ailerons. Vigilance to always keep potential wing engine momentum under careful control is one of the big SE/ME differences.
I checked out a 1940 hot rod today. P40 E something. It's awesome some have survived. 1200 HP woot.
Great video. How do you keep finding the great pilots? Also, how do you stick on the outside 200+knot go pro's? 700HP nice!
Mr. Lewis is a natural. What a great video.
Two times the fun!
Great lookin' twin!
Love this Plane 601P would be my plane for sure. Keep them coming
Love your channel and enjoy the vids very much. I will say though this guys "selling doodles" comment speaks a bit for me. I enjoy the videos with owners who are passionate about their planes and want to keep flying them much more than the videos with a salesman looking to unload one. Takes a bit of the shine off for me. I will say though that this one was better than most of the "for sale" videos because this guy is neat to listen to! Good stick too!
Fellow Spartan Alumni! Im class of 93 A&P/FCC
Love your videos especially when you're sailing out and about in different countries.
Nice to see you are doing Flying videos too. Thanks for Sharing.
It's a great little twin, the turbo versions are incredible! You should have mentioned its ground steering method, an electric rocker switch on the glareshield. Jim Franklin used to fly an aerobatics routine in one!
The 600 I flew had the spring loaded rocker steering switch located on the center console.
seems like a really smooth aircraft .. very cool
My late father took flying lessons from a neighbor who was a full time engineer at Lockheed-Georgia. Tom was laid off with many others in the early 1970's. He ended up getting a new job as a corporate pilot flying an Aerostar.
One day we got a call from him. He was in town with the plane, and wanted to know if we wanted a ride.
Of course we did! And it was the most exciting flight that I took until the local ANG took me up in an F-4D some 14 years later.
That is another story....
Have always loved the Aerostar. Great vid! thnx!
I just recently found this channel. Wish I would have seen this years ago!