First longer xcountry yesterday. Outboard LR tanks leaking, so had to rely on the inbords only, which is 237gal. Gives about 3.5hr endurance, so you kind of want to be on the ground after about 2.5hrs. This necessitated 2 stops between LA and Kansas City – something I could probably have done direct had they not leaked.
1st leg, LA to Gallup, NM: SoCal dicked me around a little getting out of LA, but not too bad and was soon cleared to 17000ft. Some IMC over the Rockies and some trace ice in the clouds. Eventually dropped down to 15000ft to avoid being in them all the time – at 15K I was just skimming the undersides. Pretty bumpy. With my leaky cabin, 17000ft was the limit. I would probably have cleared them at FL210, but the cabin press is not there yet. Landed Gallup at 6500ft fuel elev with a quartering tailwind. It was pretty exciting stuff. Low fuel warning light came on on steep final, got me worried I’d somehow burned more than totalizer said. But it was exactly correct to the gallon when I filled her up. Now I know the low fuel warning light can come on when you have steep descent and fuel gets sloshed around. Learn each plane’s idiosyncrasies as you go along. Self serve Jet A1, good price, around $3.50/gal. Of course I managed to soak myself in jetfuel – never fails. Stank the whole rest of the trip. 2.1hrs
2nd leg, Gallup to Garden City: Took off (the right way, into the wind this time) and picked up IFR clearance with Albuquerque at 10000ft. Cleared direct at 17000ft. Old girl climbed like a bat and got up there pretty quick. Still can’t make more than 2.5psi diff, despite some more sealing of inspection panels. But we’ll get there. Only so many places left to look. ATC offered to steer me around the worst parts of the fronts, but the direct track magically took me between most buildups and I didn’t need much deviation. Eventually it all cleared up and sun set behind me and it was pretty nice leg. by now it was night. Landed visual at Garden City and did quick refuel at FBO. Price a little higher, but not too bad. Another 2.1hrs. Here I toyed with the idea of finding a hotel, staying the night and do the last short leg in morning. But I wasn’t tired, so decided to continue. Quickly filed another IFR flight plan and fired up.
3rd leg, Garden City to Kansas City: Decided to stay at 15000ft, so the cabin stayed well below 10000ft for clarity of mind. Beautiful night – all the stars were visible. By now over the flatlands of Kansas. Humming along. Going into Wheeler Downtown Airport in KC, I tracked the ILS to Rwy 3 and then circled to Rwy 1 for landing. Couldn’t get the GS on my primary instrument, which bummed me out. I know it worked last week – why not now? Checked NOTAMs to see if the GS was out of service, but no. Need to troubleshoot next flight. Tower was still there and dicked me around until I ended up in the laps of Atlantic Aviation, despite asking for transient. But at this point I was pretty tired and it was nice to see someone marshaling you into a parking spot, so decided it was worth it for one night. They were really friendly and even towed it to the transient for me the day after. Fuel was no joke at $6.21/gal, though!
Except for all the cabin pressurization stuff, heating not working well etc, she did good. Great climb and good cruise speeds of about 250kts. About 430lbs of fuel burn/hr (which is about 64gal/hr). IFD 540 is intuitive enough, even managed to load some approaches on first try. Hope to have all the niggly stuff fixed soon – it’s been a lot of wasted time. Just happy she’s back flying regularly and doing well.
I love my Turbo Commander. 
Nice to see you can finally do some trips in it Adam but surprising your maintenance guys can’t sort out the problems. Leaking fuel tanks and cabin are non trivial problems.
What was your total trip time including stop and what would it be if you could do it direct?
The outboard tank fuel leak on one side I suspect developed because she’s been sitting for too long and the fuel bladders dry up and crack when there’s no fuel in them. Didn’t leak in August when I dropped her off, but now they do. They’re probably old and due for a change anyway, so maybe a blessing in disguise. I will tackle this next month.
Trip time was about 5.7 now in the air, maybe another 1.3-1.5hrs for refueling – so 7-ish hours? Flown direct could have prob done it in 4.7hrs.
Adam,
great to see you are finally flying, albeit with problems. It is really amazing that this stuff can’t get sorted out once and for all.
The fuel leak, you are probably right and again, that is something maintenance should have been aware of and prevented. So I guess it’s gonna be new bladders for you then…
Great! In a way, you’re not in Kansas anymore ;-))
Great to see your flying machine up and running !! I understand why you want to enjoy it despite some discrepancies :)
You seem to know her so well btw.
Stunning pictures of landscapes and panel !!
Nice to see the Commander fly, even though there seem to be still a few issues to sort…
No, all this stuff can get sorted out for sure with an open check book, but right now I’m just a little financially challenged and don’t want to drop her off at a new mechanic with all that entails and start the tab going. I decided I will do all the interior cabin seam and inspection panel sealing myself with PRC sealant. Firstly, then I know no stone gets unturned, secondly, the old insulation needs to come out anyway for the new interior, so it’s the perfect time to seal it as well, and thirdly, it’s kind of fun. I never worked much on my planes myself and it’s something I’d like to do more of. Let’s you get to know them and you can do things right and spend time on stuff you could never afford to do at a service center.
Also, some previous owner has caked the floor (which is pressure vessel) with some horrendous bondo-like compound. Probably in an attempt to stop floor leaking. All that stuff needs to get cleaned out (I already started on it and it’s a horrible job) and primed. Thankfully it responds to paint stripper and softens, but that stuff is nasty. Got some on my elbow and it felt like someone was holding a fire log to it!
Last day here in Kansas City, trying to get out tomorrow. Thunderstorms all night and forecasted hail, but thankfully Atlantic Aviation had a space in hangar, so they towed her in there. Didn’t ask the price yet, but I’m sure it will be a pretty penny… Supposed to clear up tomorrow afternoon. See if I make it all the way back or have to stop on the way.
Adam safe landings – no doubt Ted Smith smiles from above as you look after one of his creations.
Doing stuff yourself is wonderful, Adam. You make sure it is done right (by all means get some guidance at the outset, obviously) and you learn about your plane. You spot things which are coming up for fixing at some future service, too.
Also, in terms of total hours spent, most service/maintenance actions on a plane needs very little special skills. Just as well really when you look at some of the people who work in the industry 
