You could say that Alex Papageorge was destined to fly a Twin Commander. After all, her family has owned a Shrike since long before she was born.
At only 19 years old, Papageorge turns heads when she steps out of the left seat of the family Shrike. No stranger to family trips in the airplane, at 15 she started taking lessons and immediately became enamored with flying. “I loved it as soon as I started,” she said. “Once I got my license it was like an open road.” Although she loves flying the beautiful Cessna 150 that’s been in the family 47 years, she immediately knew the Shrike was ultimately what she wanted. “I worked hard to get my instrument and multi right away in order to fly the Shrike.”
Papageorge comes from a flying family. She said her dad has always loved Commanders and had wanted one his whole life. When the family business did well enough, he bought the 500S and began flying it for family trips and to further the business. Over the years they’ve upgraded the panel a bit to dual Garmin GNS430s and Aspen Avionics displays.
Her dad has mentored and guided her throughout the upgrade from Piper Seminole to the Shrike. Now “signed off” by the boss for the left seat, she said she’s starting to feel more confident after about 20 hours in charge. “It’s a little overwhelming at first,” she said. With six power control levers – throttle, mixture and prop – it can be a lot to manage. The Shrike also is heavier than what she is used to. “I remember taking off the first time and really having to pull back on it to rotate.” But after taming the larger airplane she has a greater appreciation not only what for what it can do, but how well it flies.
“It’s a pilot’s airplane,” she said. “The engines are behind you, and the wing is highly efficient. You can do so many things in the airplane that you can’t do in others. It has great aspects all mixed into one.”
As her luck would have it, the business has done well enough that while still transitioning to the Shrike, her family added a 695A two years ago, and now this teenager is getting her first taste of turbine time. Papageorge has about 30 hours in the right seat of the turbine. She’s been impressed with how similarly they fly. “With the turbo it’s more about flying the engine and monitoring torque and temperatures,” she said. “But there’s way more power. We take off like a rocket ship in that thing.”
The 695A has a fairly original panel with the addition of a Garmin GNS 530 and 430, which makes the transition easier. They are adding the five-bladed MT propeller STC now, with future panel upgrades in the plans. It sports a striking all-black base with gold accents.
As you can imagine, her friends are amazed. “They think it’s crazy that I’m 19 and I get to do all this,” she said.
Despite her age, there’s no question Papageorge has earned the qualifications to fly the airplanes. She hopes to one day take over the family business, and is getting her start by running the flight department. That includes managing maintenance, buying supplies, and making sure the airplanes are airworthy when needed for trips. Aside from that she aspires to gain a few more hundred hours flying the Shrike before transitioning to PIC in the turboprop.
Her dad, John, is understandably proud. “He’s excited to share his knowledge of Commanders and I understand now why he loves them so much,” she said.
