A Commanding Presence

Rockwell is a big name in military aviation and space, but not in general aviation. Arguably, its most well-known product is the B-1 bomber, but Rockwell is an enormous conglomerate. It grew from a small company making truck axle bearings, to a large manufacturer of power tools. The founder of Rockwell, Willard Rockwell, had a knack for mergers and acquisitions, and selling off divisions of the company, and was not averse to moving into new fields. In 1958, a company named Aero Design and Engineering became Rockwell’s. The flagship product of Aero was the Aero Commander 500, a six-seat, light twin piston-engined retractable designed by the legendary Ted Smith, and made famous by pilot Bob Hoover.

The Aero Commander, and it’s derivative the Shrike Commander, were sold under the Aero Commander brand as the 500 series. The Aero Commander division acquired Call Aircraft and Snow Aeronautical Company, and produced those companies’ single-engine designs as the Sparrow Commander, Quail Commander, Ag Commander and Thrush Commander. Aero Commander also gobbled up Volaire Aircraft, with the aim of being able to provide a full range of light aircraft to compete against Cessna, Piper and Beechcraft.

Volaire’s Model 1050 was to compete against the