The Model 690B was the twenty-fourth to be placed into production, all by the General Aviation Division of Rockwell International Corporation at Bethany (Wiley Post Airport), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The 217 examples were built between September 1976 and September 1979, serial numbers 11350 through 11566. Of these, 16 were initially certified in 1976; 87 in 1977; 66 in 1978; and 48 in 1979.
A factory document describes the Model 690B as, “Certified October 5, 1976. Similar to 690A except for the following changes: a) increased ramp, takeoff and landing weights; b) lead-acid batteries installed; c) maximum seating increased to 10; d) pitot heat added; and e) various interior changes.”
The Model 690B was indeed certified on October 5, 1976 under Type Certificate 2A4. The first 193 had AiResearch TPE331-5-251K engines, while the last 24 had the TPE331-5-252K and they were marketed as the “690B II.” The first three examples built had the 106-inch diameter Hartzell HC-B3TN-5FL/LT10282HB+4 propellers, while the last 214 used the HC-B3TN-5FL/LT10282B+4.
The TPE331-5-251K engine can be upgraded to TPE331-5-252K under STC No. SA1024SO. Some variants of the TPE331-10T “Dash Ten” engines have been installed under STC No. SA236CH.
Gross weight is increased slightly, to 10,325 pounds and the cabin pressure differential is 5.2 psi giving a 13,000-foot cabin at 33,059 feet, and a sea level cabin at 11,595 feet.
The Model 690B also featured a cosmetic dorsal fillet, but this time instead of being truncated at the front, it comes to a point at the forward end and is faired straight into the top of the fuselage. The extended tail cone of the 690A was also a feature on the 690B, up to serial number 11540. After that, the tail cone was a shorter variety.
A reasonably priced lead-acid aviation battery had finally become available that had the relatively flat discharge curve characteristics that were required to start a turbine engine. The previous nickel-cadmium battery was prone to self-destruction in the form of a thermal runaway caused by such things as unequal discharge of paired batteries and improper recharging and maintenance.
Other marketing names were the “Executive I,” which had standard factory installed equipment and the “Executive II,” which had equipment installed to the customer’s specification.
During the Hannover Air Show on April 27, 1978 serial number 11469, registered in West Germany as D-IAFB, set five world records. The first three were for climb performance, flown by Robert A. “Bob” Hoover. They were for:
- Time to climb to a height of 3,000 meters: 2 minutes 21 seconds
- Time to climb to a height of 6,000 meters: 5 minutes 16 seconds
- Time to climb to a height of 9,000 meters: 9 minutes 43 seconds.
These new times bettered by at least 10 percent those set previously by a U.S. Army Grumman OV-1C Mohawk. The remaining two records were established by West German businessman/pilot Joachim H. “Jo” Blumschein for altitude in horizontal flight of 12,568 meters and absolute altitude of 12,925 meters.
CAPTIONS
690B –sn 11385 – VH-EXT
Scanned from a slide taken by Mike Madden in July 1977 at Melbourne’s Essendon Airport, Victoria, Australia, VH-EXT is serial number 11385. Painted in factory design 13A, in Matterhorn White, Velvet Brown & Tangerine, it was certificated on March 26, 1977 as N81603, then sold to Brundred & Snider Associates Inc., of Bethesda, Maryland, for export to Australia, becoming VH-EXT and registered on June 16, 1977 to Executive Air Services Pty Ltd. It was operated for the Commonwealth of Australia as transport for the prime minister. It was then exported back to the United States, becoming N690TC on June 13, 1983.
It became a Grand Renaissance Commander on November 20, 2001, at which time Commander-Aero winglets were installed. By May 2006, nose recognition lights had also been added. On June 7, 2019 it was registered in Canada as C-GDAA and operated for Conair Aviation, at Abbotsford Airport, British Columbia, an aerial firefighting organization. The company operates a number of Twin Commanders.
690B – sn 11495 – N130TT
A digital image taken by Jarrod Wilkening on June 23, 2014 at Scottsdale, Arizona, N130TT is serial number 11495. Certified on July 19, 1978 as N76EC, it was sold via Eagle Creek Aviation Inc., to T&T Machine Shop Inc., of Fairmont, West Virginia, and re-registered ass N130TT on July 28, 1980. By August 2008 nose recognition lights had been installed. As a result of an accident on October 23, 2014 at Mesa, Arizona, registration was cancelled on June 30, 2016 and the airframe is being parted out.
