Aero Commander
Jet Commander
AC1121

Unfinished Jet Commander
Photo: Robert Deering 1971

Willy Post Airport (PWA)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
The Jet Commander 1121 was a further development of the twin-propeller Aero Commander first flying on January 27, 1963.  It was of broadly conventional business jet arrangement, with two engines mounted in nacelles carried on the rear fuselage. However the wings were mounted halfway up the fuselage instead of the typical low-wing arrangement of aircraft in this class. After successful testing, the aircraft was put into series production with deliveries to customers beginning in early 1965.

Shortly thereafter, Aero Commander was acquired by North American Rockwell. The Jet Commander created a problem, since Rockwell already had an executive jet of its own design, the Sabreliner, and could not keep both in production because of anti-trust laws. It was therefore decided to sell off the rights to the Jet Commander, which were purchased by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in 1968.

Jet Commander production amounted to 150 aircraft in the United States and Israel before IAI undertook a series of modifications to create the 1123 Westwind and 1124 Westwind.  A search of the FAA data base in January 2014 shows that there are 28 Jet Commander 1121's registered in the United States (only 3 in May 2024).  

Source: Wikipedia