Commander 980 N9812S at Sun 'n Fun, Lakeland, Florida, April 2024. · Photo by ZLEA, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Gulfstream American · Turboprop
Commander 980 (695)
The higher-powered twin of the Commander 840, built 1979–1981 between the 690B and the larger Commander 1000.
A rare, quick-climbing Twin Commander with a 315 kt top cruise and a high wing suited to short strips, for around $825,000. Range with passengers is modest, the cabin is snug, and aging tail and wing structure demands a careful pre-buy.
Buy it if
You fly yourself or employ one pilot, mostly on trips of 300 to 900 nautical miles, often from short or high-elevation runways, and you value climb and speed over cabin size.
Skip it if
You need to carry five or more people beyond about 900 nautical miles, want a maintenance shop at every airport, or are not ready for structural inspections that can run to five figures.
Biggest compromise
With passengers aboard, the 980 cannot use its full fuel load. Four people with standard reserves limit it to roughly 1,000 nautical miles, far short of the 1,800 nm the factory quotes with full tanks and little else.
The numbers that matter
Purchase price
$825K–$825K
guide value (Aircraft Cost Calculator)
What it costs per year
$915K
at 300 hrs · one professional pilot
How far it flies
1,800 nm
717–1,000 nm with passengers
How fast
315 kt
high-speed cruise
Seats
6
6 typical; more in some interiors
Pilots needed
1
Can be flown by one pilot; insurers usually require type-specific training.
Price
What one costs to buy
Guide value
$825K–$825K
Other sites
Priced vs call
with a price / call for price
The only 980 advertised in October 2026 shows no price. Aircraft Cost Calculator puts the average pre-owned 980 near $825,000.
Price vs its family and alternatives
Scroll to explore · select a jet for details
Commander 980 (695) · This aircraft
$825K–$825K guide
Guide value, not a listed asking price.
Sits between the Commander 690B and the King Air F90 / F90-1.
For sale now
None listed right now
Cost to own
What it costs per year to run
300hours / year
Per year
Per flight hour
Estimate — your operator will quote actual numbers.
Fuel, airframe maintenance, engine and propeller reserves and crew travel, catering and fees rise as you fly more. Pilot salary and benefits, pilot training, hangar, insurance and charts, databases and subscriptions stay the same however much you fly.
Where the money goes
- Pilot salary and benefits$160,00017%
- Pilot training$18,0002%
- Hangar$35,0004%
- Insurance$24,0003%
- Charts, databases and subscriptions$6,0001%
- Fuel$213,59723%
- Airframe maintenance$301,50033%
- Engine and propeller reserves$106,95012%
- Crew travel, catering and fees$49,5005%
Airframe maintenance is the biggest single cost at 33% of the total.
The JetGrade
69 out of 100 — Below its class average
Peer group: Cessna Conquest II (441), Mitsubishi MU-2 Marquise, Piper Cheyenne IIXL, Beechcraft King Air F90 / F90-1, Commander 840
Seven categories at a glance
- - - 70 = typical— This aircraft
Strongest on speed & trip time, weakest on reliability & support.
Grades are editorial opinions about the model, not any specific aircraft. Sponsors and affiliates have no input. Reviewed 2026-10-08.
Where it flies
Sample trips and reach
Typical trips on a map
Nonstop
Depends on weight or weather
Fuel stop likely
Out of reach
2 of 8 sample trips are comfortable nonstops.
Sample flight times
- 1.1 hr
Carlsbad → Las Vegas
205 nm · Short hop at high-speed cruise
- 2.6 hr
Carlsbad → Aspen
625 nm · Hot-and-high; depends on weight and weather
- 3.2 hr
Santa Ana → San José del Cabo
765 nm · Nonstop with four passengers in still air
- 4.0 hr
Teterboro → West Palm Beach
900 nm · Nonstop at slower cruise or lighter load
- 5.2 hr
Dallas → Teterboro
1,190 nm · One stop with four passengers
- 6.0 hr
Teterboro → San Juan
1,410 nm · One stop, typically Florida or the Bahamas
- 8.8 hr
Carlsbad → Teterboro
2,100 nm · Usually two stops with passengers
Los Angeles → Honolulu
2,215 nm · Ocean crossing far beyond its range
Lineage
What came before and after
1979–1981
Commander 980
The 840 airframe with 733 shp TPE331-10 engines; 84 built.
What changed from the Commander 690B
- Garrett TPE331-10 engines rated 733 shp replace the 690B's smaller TPE331-5s.
- Tip extensions and canted winglets lengthen the wingspan to about 52 ft.
- A wet outer wing raises fuel capacity to about 430 gallons from 384.
- Two independent fuel systems, one per engine, with a crossfeed valve between them.
- Redesigned nacelles, angled slightly down, turn smooth-running Dowty Rotol supercritical propellers.
- New direct-bleed pressurization saves about 60 lb while keeping 5.2 psi.
Size and cabin
How big it is, inside and out
Outside
Silhouette · scaled to length
Length
Wingspan
Height
Inside the cabin
Cabin length
Width
Height
Compare
How it stacks up
This aircraft
Commander 980 (695)
- JetGrade
- 69
- Price
- $825K–$825K guide
- Cost per year
- $915K
- Range
- 1,800 nm
- Speed
- 315 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 14′ 3″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1979–1981
← Before
- JetGrade
- 66
- Price
- $638K
- Cost per year
- $777K
- Range
- 1,467 nm
- Speed
- 284 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 14′ 3″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1976–1979
After →
- JetGrade
- 70
- Price
- $1.15M–$1.53M guide
- Cost per year
- $380K
- Range
- 2,080 nm
- Speed
- 308 kt
- Seats
- 5
- Cabin length
- 17′ 3″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1981–1985
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 68
- Price
- $1.29M
- Cost per year
- $611K
- Range
- 1,780 nm
- Speed
- 290 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 14′ 3″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1979–1985
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 72
- Price
- $1.36M
- Cost per year
- $671K
- Range
- 2,000 nm
- Speed
- 314 kt
- Seats
- 7
- Cabin length
- 12′ 10″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1977–1986
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 72
- Price
- $1.25M
- Cost per year
- $612K
- Range
- 1,576 nm
- Speed
- 266 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 12′ 5″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1979–1985
- Commander 840 instead: The same airframe and cabin with lower-powered engines; more are for sale, with asking prices from about $995,000 on Controller in October 2026.
- Cessna Conquest II (441) instead: A roomier cabin and longer legs on the same Garrett engine family, with a larger fleet and more shops that know it.
- Beechcraft King Air F90 / F90-1 instead: Pratt & Whitney PT6A engines and King Air support at most large airports, trading some speed and climb for easier ownership.
Gold marks the best figure in each row.
Owning one
What to know before you buy
Engines & inspections
2 × Honeywell (Garrett) TPE331-10 · 733 shp each
No APUEngine hours until overhaul
- Mid-life engine inspection · 2,700 hr
- Engine overhaul · 5,400 hr
- Annual inspection every 12 months
- Lower wing skin crack check every 12 months
Honeywell's hourly plan covers TPE331 engines; confirm enrollment and transfer. Intervals and costs vary with engine configuration and service bulletin status.
Known issues
Tail and aft fuselage cracking
FAA proposed new inspections in November 2025 after earlier fixes failed to stop fatigue cracks; repairs can be costly.
Rising engine overhaul prices
TPE331-10 overhauls averaged about $487,000 per engine in 2026, up from $294,000 in 2018.
Lower wing skin cracks
Cracks found near main gear openings; the factory recommends a yearly eddy-current or dye check.
Pre-buy checklist
0 of 10 checked
Twin Commander Aircraft, part of Ontic, holds the type certificate in Creedmoor, North Carolina, and supplies parts and engineering. It lists nine factory-authorized service centers, most in the United States.
Review
The full review
Strengths
- Twin Commander quotes 7.2 minutes to 20,000 ft, more than two minutes quicker than the otherwise identical Commander 840.
- A 315 kt maximum cruise at 22,000 ft makes it one of the fastest twin turboprops of its generation.
- High wing and a published 1,830 ft takeoff over a 50-ft obstacle suit short and high-elevation runways.
Limitations
- Only 84 were built, so examples for sale are scarce; Twin Commander lists nine authorized service centers worldwide.
- TPE331-10 overhauls now average about $487,000 per engine, and a mid-life engine inspection can exceed $100,000.
- The cabin is 4 ft 6 in tall and 4 ft 1 in wide; the toilet doubles as a belted seat.
The Commander 980 is Twin Commander's Model 695, a pressurized twin turboprop built from June 1979 to August 1981, first by Rockwell International in Oklahoma and then by Gulfstream American. Only 84 were made. It shares the airframe and cabin of the Commander 840, which added a longer wing with canted winglets, a wet outer wing and two separate fuel systems to the earlier 690B. The 980's difference is under the cowlings: Garrett TPE331-10 engines rated at 733 shaft horsepower each, turning three-blade Dowty Rotol propellers. The larger-cabin Commander 1000 followed it.
Pilot's take
The 980 is a pilot's airplane. You sit ahead of the propellers with airliner-style control columns, and the Dash 10 engines give it the climb that defines the type: it is through the teens while many rivals are still working at it. Power response is immediate because the propeller is geared straight to the engine, but that single-shaft design means starts need a strong battery or ground power and a close eye on temperature. On the ground, the close-set main gear asks for care on narrow runways. Plan on type-specific simulator training; insurers will.
Who this is for
An experienced owner-pilot, or a small company with one professional pilot, flying regional trips under about 900 nm, who values climb and short-field ability and will use a Twin Commander specialist shop and type-specific training.
Ask about this aircraft
Answers come only from our research file on the Commander 980.
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