Powered by twin GE CJ610 turbojets, it first flew on January 27, 1963 and received its type certification on November 4, 1964, before the first delivery. The program was bought by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) in 1968, which stretched it slightly into the 1123 Westwind, and then re-engined it with Garrett TFE731 turbofans into the 1124 Westwind. The 16,800–23,500 lb (7.6–10.7 t) MTOW aircraft can carry up to 8 or 10 passengers, and 442 were produced until 1987. The Jet Commander/Westwind was of broadly conventional business jet arrangement, with two engines mounted in nacelles carried on the rear fuselage. However the wings were mounted halfway up the fuselage instead of the typical low-wing arrangement of aircraft in this class. In Australia, Pel-Air opereated 6 of which 4 are in aero medical configuration. For development details, and specifications of the three Aero Commander and three IAI variants, click here. The specifications below are for top-of-the-range 1124A Westwind II
