The irony is undeniable. Roedie Botes, head of a company that works with steam equipment, has ripped it all out of his panel.
Botes owns ZS-OOM, a 690B based in Tzaneen in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Head of Steam and Electrical Tzaneen, the accomplished pilot also used to own a local charter business, and has two sons that fly with him as well. When he went shopping for a twin turboprop, the search naturally led to a Twin Commander. “We did a lot of research about what we needed and what was available,” he said. He considered King Airs and others, but a demo flight on a 690B with Dash 10 engines had him hooked.
“I was so impressed with the handling, the capabilities, and the weight it could carry.” It helped that the corporate pilot he flew with had experience in the airlines, with Learjets, and others, and said the Twin Commander is the closest thing he’s flown to the legendary handling of a Learjet.
Deciding on a Twin Commander was the easy part. Finding one proved a bit more difficult. Although Botes estimates there are between 20 and 30 in South Africa, nothing was for sale. He eventually discovered one in Namibia, contacted the owner and asked if was interested in selling. This was during Covid lockdowns, and the airplane was sitting, costing the owner money. A good deal was struck, and Botes ferried the airplane back to South Africa.
From there he embarked on a complete cosmetic and panel refurbishment, working with Dart Aeronautical and Skycare Maintenance in Johannesburg. Dave Bellingan is a factory trained Twin Commander technician who helped to oversee the major transformation. The interior was stripped down to bare metal, and new and improved soundproofing was added behind the panels to improve passenger comfort. Premium leather seats top off the new look. The paint is a classic white with blue, gray, and red stripes, and possibly the world’s most perfect registration.
But the star of Botes’ 690B is the panel. Not content to fly with a dual Garmin G600 TXi to cover both the pilot and co-pilot sides, Botes commissioned Electronics International to create a custom dual engine analyzer set-up, which he believes to be unique in the world. The displays are installed next to each other and set to simultaneously show various engine and fuel parameters. The left display shows the more critical functions—exhaust gas temperature, horsepower, rpm, and fuel flow. The right display includes everything else necessary for engine health—oil pressure, oil temperature, fuel pressure, fuel quantity, and hydraulic pressure.
Commissioning EI to create the displays was born of a desire to eschew the original gauges, or even second-hand aftermarket solutions. They worked through the various kinks, and were able to get a supplemental type certificate through the South African CAA.
In addition to dual screen redundancy in the engine monitors, Botes added additional redundancy in a number of other ways, such as Garmin GTN750 and GTN 650 navigators, and an electric standby flight instrument display by TK above the G600 on the pilot’s side. The result is an incredibly clean, modern, and efficient panel that is easy to use, highly capable, and completely devoid of any steam or mechanical instruments. Botes is impressed with EI’s work on the engine monitors, and believes the system would benefit all turbine-powered Commanders.
In all the project took about two years, primarily thanks to the long backlog on avionics parts caused by the chip shortage. Botes picked the airplane up from the shop in August of last year, and he’s since flown it about 150 hours. His son, Hennie, has a bunch of time in it as well.
Although the panel is as modern and as capable as possible with today’s technology, it’s clear that the airplane itself is what he’s most passionate about. Botes splits his flying between business and pleasure trips. He visits clients all over the country from his base in the agriculturally rich northern area where he lives. Pleasure trips take him all over southern Africa. In the last year he’s already taken the airplane to Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, primarily for family hunting and fishing vacations.
“It’s a strong airplane, it’s fast, and it’s capable,” he said. “It’s a very nice airplane to operate.” Botes’ decision to move to a Twin Commander was based on the experience of flying many other turbine and twin-engine airplanes, in part for his previous charter business. He has a Cessna 182 and a Robinson helicopter, and he’s owned a Piper Malibu Mirage and Piper Navajo Chieftain. Today, his needs are fully met with the Twin Commander, and that’s reinforced when he takes along passengers as well.
Recently Botes picked up an American in Johannesburg and brought him back to the Limpopo region for a hunting trip. The guy owns a King Air 350, and has long been loyal to King Airs. After the flight he said he was going to return to the United States and buy one.
“Every person that flies with me in the Commander is impressed.” Botes said. “They say it’s a stunning aircraft. It’s fantastic to see these older aircraft come back to life again.” Although, in truth, Botes would like to upgrade someday—to a Grand Renaissance.
