The Shrike Commander is a descendent of the 1948 Aero Commander, L-3805, a light, twin-engine, six/seven-seat, high-wing aircraft built by the Aero Design and Engineering Corporation of Culver City, California. In 1952, the company, in Bethany, Oklahoma, delivered the Model 520 five/seven-place, all-metal, twin-engine, light transport aircraft. The company introduced the more powerful Model 560 with two 350-hp engines in 1954, and then marketed a 290-hp, four-seat version, the 500U, in 1958. In 1960, the company changed its name to Rockwell Standard and then merged with North American in 1967. The 500U became the Shrike Commander, a twin-engine business aircraft powered by two fuel-injected 290 hp piston-turbo Lycoming engines, IO-540-E1B5, with Hartzell constant speed propellers. It was a cantilever, high-wing, four-place, pressurized aircraft that could be converted to a seven-seat configuration with the addition of a rear bench seat. The aircraft was aluminum construction and a semi-monocoque design with retractable landing gear. It cruised at 203 mph, and had a range of 750 miles and a cruising ceiling of 20,000 feet. The aircraft carried a full complement of electronics for all-weather flight, optional de-icer boots, and optional cabin amenities such as curtains, fold-away desk, and storage cabinets. In 1973, the Rockwell International name appeared as a result of more mergers. Between 1968 and 1979, when production ended, Rockwell produced 316 Shrike Commanders.  

Bob Hoover began flying at Nashville's Berry Field in 1937, where he taught himself basic aerobatic maneuvers. He joined the Tennessee Air National Guard and his squadron became part of the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1940. Because of his extraordinary flying skills, Hoover soon became a test pilot, charged with flying military aircraft to the edge of their performance capabilities. Eager to fly in combat in World War II, Hoover was assigned to Corsica and flew 58 missions before being shot down. He spent 15 ½ months in a German prison camp before escaping and commandeering a Focke-Wulf FW-190 for his flight to freedom. In 1947, he was the back-up pilot for Chuck Yeager who flew the Bell X-1 beyond the speed of sound. He became a test pilot for General Motors, and North American Aviation. He also demonstrated the F-86 Sabrejet and flew several bombing missions during the Korean War.

In the 1950s, Hoover began flying North American aircraft, most famously, the P-51 Mustang, at military bases and then at major civilian airshows. Hoover also flew the business version of the T-39 jet, the Sabreliner, and then, in 1968, he began demonstrating the Aero Commander fleet at the National Business Aircraft Maintenance Show in Reading, Pennsylvania. He also set altitude and speed records in North American and Rockwell aircraft. He began flying the Shrike Commander model in 1973.

Shrike Commander 500S, N500RA, was manufactured in 1972. President and C.O.O. of Rockwell International, Robert Anderson, first flew the aircraft, followed by several other owners, before Hoover bought it in 1979. N500RA was a production 500S business aircraft, with the exception of smoke and propeller unfeathering systems. He painted it in a distinctive white and green paint scheme, with his name on the top of each wing. Hoover's routine demonstrated the Shrike's excellent high and low-speed handling capabilities, and its one-engine and no-engine performance. But because it was a stock business aircraft that lacked highly modified engines and quick climb or turn characteristics, the Shrike Commander was a more challenging aircraft for airshow flight than his P-51 fighter. In addition, to sixteen-point rolls and loops, Hoover flew a precise deadstick (no-engine) maneuver with a loop, eight-point roll, a 180-degree turn to a touchdown with first one wheel and then the other wheel, landing, and taxi to airshow center.

One particular maneuver demonstrated Hoover's superb pilot skills in both the Shrike and the Sabreliner, but it is only visible on film. At altitude, Hoover set a glass on top of the instrument panel and proceeded to pour iced tea into the glass from a pitcher in his right hand while using his left hand to completely roll the aircraft. Combining centrifugal force with smooth handling of the controls, he never spilled a drop of tea.

Hoover flew the aircraft at airshows in the United States and around the world until April 1994 when the FAA intervened. In a highly controversial decision, Hoover's medical certificate was revoked, causing an outcry from the aviation community. Hoover submitted to several medical examinations and flight tests, consistently proving his health qualifications and flight proficiency, before his certificate was restored to him, at age 73, in October 1995. In 2000, Hoover, citing high insurance costs, decided to retire the aircraft and offer it to the Museum.

Robert A. Hoover is a past president of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, and has been inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the International Council of Air Shows (ICAS) Hall of Fame. Among many other honors, he is a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Smithsonian Institution's Lindbergh Medal.

In April 2000, Hoover flew the Shrike to Sun'N'Fun, the Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA) Florida fly-in. With a total of 5,385 hours of flight time, N500RA was displayed at the Sport Aviation Museum in Lakeland, Florida, until it was moved to the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center after completion of the new museum.

SPECIFICATIONS
Wingspan 13.43 m (44 ft. 3/4 in.)
Length 13.1 m (42 ft. 11 3/4 in.)
Height 4.42 m (14 ft. 6. in.)
Weight 2,561 kg (5,647 lb.) empty

VARIANTS

Models 500S and 520 The original Twin Commander. The prototype design was certified by the CAA, the predecessor organization to the FAA, in 1950. The first 500S rolled off the assembly line in August of 1951. The 500S was known as the Shrike Commander. Despite its shorter length compared to later models, the 500S could comfortably carry seven passengers and 350 lbs. of luggage. The plane had a maximum range of 693 nautical miles that was considered long for light aircraft of the time period. The unpressurized cabin and piston engines limited the 500S to a 15,000 ft. ceiling. A prototype of the 500S is the model that completed the historic single engine flight from Oklahoma City to Washington D.C. in May of 1951.

Models 560 and 560A (US Military Desigination U-4 and U-9)  Replaced the 500S and 520 models in 1954. The success of the 500S and 520 models allowed engineers at the Aero Design & Engineering Co. to design a larger cabin into the 560A model by adding 10 inches to the overall length of the fuselage. In addition, the 560 series featured improved and more powerful Lycoming piston engines that led to significant performance improvements over the 500S and 520. The 560 series marked a significant milestone for the Twin Commander as well as the general aviation industry. The 560 model was the first light twin engine aircraft considered safe enough by the US Air Force for use by the President. Later variants of the 560 featured more powerful engines, 32 inch wing tip extension, hydraulics modifications, redesigned landing gear, fuel injection engines and minor fuselage changes.

Source: Wikipedia