Still here. Still busy with fixed wing and fling wing ops.

If you want to read the bible on the differences between these airplanes purchase the book "Stars and Commanders" by Dave Duntz. The most in depth look at these two Ted Smith designs.

Commanders are just cool

I commented before that Mr. Duntz is "proud" of his book. Of course, this was euphemistically in regards to price.

I WAS WRONG. This book is EPIC. First of all, Dave replied to my general email in perhaps 15 mins. He answered specific questions about the book, which I hoped was Commander heavy, but was actually Aerostar heavy.

Did I mention HEAVY? This book requires a hand truck. Im estimating FOUR pounds, but it could be a touch over. The binding is first class. The paper is a thick and heavy bond. The glossy's are stunning and thoughtfully selected.

Dave Duntz produced HIS OWN BOOK that makes me envious of his ability and collection of data. Yes I know we have Larry Ball... with all due respect to "our" bible, this would make Larry Ball drool. Although I am positive Mr. Duntz WILL NOT do the same for Bonanzas, if he did the results would be nothing short of sublime.

If you have a A* or a Commander, this book is a delightful accumulation of a quite interesting history. The level of detail and attention paid to this work is just breathtaking. It now sits in our living room, much to my wife's dismay.

This book is $169... it is easily worth $269. Even though I'm not an A* or Commander driver, this is now one of my favorite aviation books. This is "Larry Ball Good".

Don't think about the price. Think about this masterpiece which you can buy!

BTW- I didn't ask for the inscription. Dave WANTED me to know that what I now own is special. It was something created, as a labor of love. I don't know Dave and I have been given NOTHING for this review. I just thought you should know.

Might have to get that.

I dropped my 601P off at the flight shop for annual on Thursday.
They had a copy of stars and commanders in the lobby, it is an epic book.

At gross weight my 601P with short props and inter coolers 4000 ft is comfortable...
3000 ft without terrain is doable, but your paying attention and if you loose one at the
wrong time your not flying away...

Being the 601P is basically turbo normalized the altitude runway length penalty is less than other planes.

If you stall an aerostar your comatose gives rough honest warning 10Knots before it lets go.

Full flaps are epic, at 40 degrees its like you hit a brick wall...
You do not add full flaps until you are 200% certain the runway is made.

Awesome airplane...

John's comments on the Stars and Commanders book are spot on. I was apprehensive about spending that amount of money on a book, but my first impressions was very impressive. The samples on the website looked impressive enough that I ordered one for me, and one for a friend. I just started reading it tonight. It is an amazing book.

If you are an AOA member, there is a discount. The info is posted in the AOA forum.

Even the box is nicely done. The book is awesome.

Just got mine - what a wonderful book! Totally worth every penny.

No question it’s worth multiple times the asking price imho. It’s priceless! What a great story!

This was one of my favorite pictures back when I flew a 500B Shrike. And yes, that was the correct altimeter setting.