The only example known to have been registered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was the factory prototype, which was destroyed in a fatal test flight crash in Caddo Mills, Texas in July 1998.[2] [3] [4]
The Commander 147A was designed to comply with the US homebuilt aircraft rules. It featured a Skywheels single main rotor, a two-seats-in side-by-side configuration enclosed cockpit, tricycle landing gear with wheel pants, plus a small tail caster and a Mazda 13B Wankel engine 1600NaN0 engine in pusher configuration.
The aircraft fuselage was made from bolted-together aluminum tubing with a fiberglass fairing. Its two-bladed rotor had a diameter of 311NaN1. The aircraft had a standard empty weight of 7000NaN0 and a gross weight of 15000NaN0, giving a useful load of 8000NaN0.
Factory options included a long-range fuel tank, electric trim and a main rotor pre-rotator.
The factory prototype, serial number 001, registration number N147GY, suffered a loss of rotor RPM while maneuvering over a runway at Caddo Mills Municipal Airport during a factory test flight on 15 July 1998. The rotor blades struck the tail boom, and the aircraft descended and impacted the ground in a nose-low attitude. A post-crash fire consumed the main wreckage, and the pilot, who was the sole occupant, was killed. The accident was attributed to "the pilot's failure to maintain rotor rpm while maneuvering, which resulted in the main rotor blades contacting the tail section of the gyroplane."[4]
By May 2018, no examples were registered in the United States, with only N147GY listed as having been registered at one time; it is listed as "destroyed".[2] [3]
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