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The Rockwell Commander 700 is A twin-engine business aircraft with a pressurized wide-body for up to two crew
and seven passengers. The fuselage is constructed mainly from aluminum alloy and the tail unit has swept-back
vertical surfaces and shallow dorsal fin. There is a built-in airstair in the left side of the fuselage. The
Rockwell Commander 700 is fitted with two 340 hp Lycoming TIO-540-R2A piston engines. Development of the
Commander 700 started in 1971, when Fuji Heavy Industries of Japan began with the design and development of
a pressurized wide-body twin-engine business aircraft. Three years later the company entered into an agreement
with Rockwell International whereby the General Aviation Division of the American company would share development,
and would assume responsibility for marketing the aircraft in the US, and for final assembly from Fuji-produced
parts. Six development and certification prototypes were planned, three in each country. The prototype Fuji FA-300
s/n 30001 flew first with testregistration JQ5001 on 13 November 1975; the first Rockwell-assembled Model 700,
registered N700FA, flew first on 25 February 1976. Type certification was received by the JCAB (Japan) on 16 May
1977, and by the FAA (USA) on 30 September 1977. The aircraft entered production with Rockwell and customer
deliveries began behind schedule late in 1978. The Commander 700 proved heavy and underpowered with the 340 hp
Lycoming piston engines, and, with a full load of passengers, range was severely compromised for all but short-haul
journeys. In Japan an uprated 450-hp version, known as the Fuji FA-300 Kai (in the USA as Rockwell 710), flew first
on 22 December 1976, and since appeared with a number of modifications, including Whitcomb winglets. Rockwell did
not take up their option to produce this aircraft. With the death of Willard Rockwell in 1978 and the stepping
down of Willard Rockwell Jr. in 1979, the Rockwell International Corp. started a long series of sell-offs. In 1979,
Rockwell stopped producing the Commander series. By early 1980, 42 shipsets of the Commander 700 had been delivered
to Rockwell, of which only 29 had been delivered to customers, and the Rockwell International Corp. announced the
termination of its joint development and marketing agreement with Fuji. In 1981, the production rights to Rockwell's
General Division went to Gulfstream, who never produced any of either model. Including prototypes a total of 49 aircraft
were produced.
The ICAO Aircraft Type Designator for the Rockwell Commander 700 is RC70. |
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On 18 September 1978, Rockwell Commander 700 s/n 70007 was registered N700GA with Rockwell International Corp., Bethany, Oklahoma. On 26
December 1976, registration N700GA was cancelled as exported to Germany and the aircraft was registered D-IMCB. On 16 October 2006,
registration D-IMCB was cancelled as exported to Russia. The aircraft was delivered to Russia as D-IMCB and registered RF-00730, despite RA-
is the prefix for the aircraft registered in the Russian Federation. Over the years, the aircraft was re-registered RA-00730.
On 22 April 2005,
Rockwell Commander 700 D-IMCB was seen at Verkehrslandeplatz Damme (EDWC) in Germany. |
