I'm in love.

Commonwealth 185 Skyranger, 1946

I (Becky) spent the weekend helping my friend T. do the annual on his Commonwealth. So I got to know his plane from the inside out. He found this plane wrecked from a landing "incident" in CA and bought it and refurbished the whole thing as authentically true to the factory plane as he could. He did an amazing job. This also included the engine (it only has 260 some hours on it). The authenticity is down to the unseen, minute details. The wood ribs in the wings are reinforced with a tape/cloth that is tied in a particular manner to hold everything together but also allow flex in the wings. These are small ties not large ones and we're talking hundreds of them. There is a lot to say about taking pride in your work even when it goes unseen.



Specifications:
Wingspan: 34'
Length: 21' 9"
Engine: 85hp Continental
Top Speed: 110 mph
Weight: 1022 lbs

At the end of World War Two, Commonwealth Aircraft of Kansas City, began the construction of a small civil aircraft at their plant for just one year, 1946. The ‘Skyranger' seats two, and features a steel tube fuselage and wooden wing, both fabric covered. As the anticipated post-war boom in civil aviation never occurred, Commonwealth went bankrupt in 1947. In all, 275 Skyrangers were built and about 100 exist today.

As you can see it is a tail-dragger and it is capable of aerobatics. I have been up with T. in it once and he has promised a ride when it gets out of annual. I am hoping he will let me taxi it and figure out what that is like since our Cessna does not have a tail wheel. There is an art to operating these beauties. I love aviation and I love history. When they come together it makes my heart happy.