IAI Westwind
executive aircraft family by Israel Aircraft Industries
The IAI Westwind is a business jet initially produced by Aero Commander as the 1121 Jet Commander.
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.
Development
Aero Commander
The Westwind was originally designed in the United States by Aero Commander as a development of its twin-propeller namesake aircraft, first flying on January 27, 1963, as the Aero Commander 1121 Jet Commander.
After successful testing, the aircraft was put into series production with deliveries to customers beginning in early 1965.
After initial testing of the prototype, it was modified to production standard with an addition of 2.5 ft to the fuselage length and increased payload and maximum weights. The second prototype first flew on April 14, 1964, which was followed by the first production aircraft in November 1964. Type approval was awarded by the FAA in November, enabling the first customer delivery on January 11, 1965.
Shortly thereafter, Aero Commander was acquired by North American Rockwell.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “IAI Westwind” is executive aircraft family by Israel Aircraft Industries. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Westwind, executive and aircraft, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “executive aircraft family by Israel Aircraft Industries” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1653016. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1121, 1963, 1964 and 1968.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “IAI Westwind”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow IAI Westwind primary sources, IAI Westwind archive and Westwind research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “IAI Westwind”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “IAI Westwind” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.