Aero Commander 500 vs Cessna 337 Skymaster

Side-by-side specs, range, and real operating costs for up to 5 aircraft.

Aircraft

Search for an aircraft above to begin your comparison.

Mission Performance

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Values normalised across compared aircraft. Fuel Economy is inverted (lower burn = higher score). See table below for raw figures.

Mission Performance Details

Metric Aero Commander 500 Aero Commander Cessna 337 Skymaster Cessna
Stall Speed 63 kts 70 kts
Approach Speed 71 kts 75 kts
Cruise Speed 178 kts 144 kts
Range 955 nm 600 nm
Service Ceiling 22,500 ft 19,500 ft
Rate of Climb 1,400 fpm 1,200 fpm
Fuel Burn 27.2 gph 22.0 gph

Flight Profile

Service ceiling, range, and climb rate.

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Arc represents the climb-cruise-descent profile based on published service ceiling and range. Climb rate annotated on ascent. FL180 (18,000 ft) shown for reference.

Fuel Burn

Based on published cruise fuel flow

Trip distance
50 nm1,0002,000 nm
Metric Aero Commander 500 Aero Commander Cessna 337 Skymaster Cessna
Burn Rate
Trip Fuel
Trip Cost
Cost / hr

Trip time estimated from published cruise speed and distance. Fuel burn is a published cruise figure; actual consumption varies with altitude, loading, and conditions.

Runway Performance

Density altitude adjusted estimates

Outside Air Temp
0°F57°F115°F
Field Elevation
SL4,0008,000 ft
Density Altitude

Takeoff over 50 ft obstacle

Landing ground roll

Base distance DA penalty
Scale: 6,000 ft

FAA 10%/1,000 ft DA rule of thumb (FAA-H-8083-25B). Turboprops and jets are less sensitive in practice. Always verify against the POH.

Estimated Operating Costs

Cost per flight hour

Direct operating cost, split into where the money goes. Re-flows with your fuel and electricity prices above.

Scale:
Aero Commander 500Avgas
$294/hr
Aero Commander 500: $294 per flight hour — fuel $177, maintenance and reserve $117.
Cessna 337 SkymasterAvgas
$263/hr
Cessna 337 Skymaster: $263 per flight hour — fuel $143, maintenance and reserve $120.

Annual costs

Annual fixed costs (insurance, hangar, and inspection) paid whether you fly or not.

Aero Commander 500
$12,098/yr
Aero Commander 500: $12,098 per year — insurance $3,514, hangar $840, annual inspection $7,744.
Cessna 337 Skymaster
$14,733/yr
Cessna 337 Skymaster: $14,733 per year — insurance $3,200, hangar $7,533, annual inspection $4,000.

Estimates only. Costs vary by location, pilot profile, and market conditions. See individual aircraft pages for source notes.

Capability & limits

Each bar stacks your selected occupants against full fuel and the aircraft's useful-load limit (the black line). The open gap between them is spare payload. Add an occupant and the gap closes; once it's gone, fuel has to give.

Occupants at 190 + 30 lb each
1
Aero Commander 500
7 / 7 seats 156 / 156 gal fuel 1,214 lb wet payload 2,150 lb useful 6,000 lb MTOW
Cessna 337 Skymaster
6 / 6 seats 92 / 92 gal fuel 948 lb wet payload 1,500 lb useful 4,630 lb MTOW

Occupants at 190 + 30 lb each (your saved weights); change the count above. Fuel at 6.7 lb/gal jet-A, 6.0 lb/gal avgas.

Dimensions & configuration

Planforms top-down, drawn to one shared scale; configuration chips below each.

Aero Commander 500
49.0 × 35.1 ft 14.5 ft tall
2× Piston Retractable Unpressurized
Cessna 337 Skymaster
38.2 × 29.8 ft 9.3 ft tall
2× Piston Retractable Unpressurized

Payload-Range Map

Full fuel ← → Max payload

Origin: · click map to move

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