Aero Design & Engineering AC 100

Aero Design & Engineering Darter Commander

Aero Design & Engineering Lark Commander

Volaire 10

Volaire 1050

 

This design was acquired by Aero Commander and renamed Aero Commander 100. With the merger of Aero Commander and North American Rockwell the name changed again in 1968, this time to “Darter.” In 1969 the price was $8,950.

The AC 100's NACA 2312 airfoil gives it a solid feel in slow flight, and this makes it a pleasant airplane to land, while the fiberglass-sprung gear really smooths out a rough field.

The AC 100 will spin, though it's placarded against it. It does need reasonable rudder-aileron coordination for good turns. Its three-position flaps are quite effective. Brakes are good, operated by a single hand lever as with the TriPacer. A speed check at 5,000 feet, with two aboard and almost full tanks, trued out at 130 mph. As you would suspect, with four large people aboard and full tanks, there's little or no baggage allowance left.

In 1968, Aero Commander announced two "new" airplanes, the 150-hp Darter Commander ($8,950), which was simply the AC 100 renamed and repainted; and the Lark Commander ($12,995), which used the same airframe, with a new swept rudder, re-shaped cowl, and Lycoming 180 hp. But the production life of these craft was short, perhaps due in part to the lack of a proper dealer petwork, and none of the fixed-gear Aero Commanders are exactly plentiful supply in the used plane market today.

Equipped with the 180-hp engine and a fixed-pitch prop, this airplane provided rather unspectacular cruise performance and short field capability for its class. Built with a steel-tube cabin structure, semi-monocoque aft fuselage, steel landing gear legs attached to a 1” x 6” x 25” fibreglass slab spring, and a relatively roomy cabin with two doors.

With the introduction of the Aero Commander 112 (subsequently Rockwell Commander 112), the Lark and Darter both went out of production in the early part of 1971.