Scudrunners

Mike is a really smart guy, but that's not what
the engine manufacturers say.  Both Lyc and TCM
say 5 inches of MP at a time, for reducing power
on their large, turbocharged engines.

According to all the conventional "inch a minute"
shock cooling experts, only the [b]FRONT[/b] cylinders
should ever crack, because according to them, it's
the cold air hitting the [b]FRONT[/b] cylinders which
is making them crack, right?

I have never seen an "inch a minute" advocate
take off - that is, add power - the same way.

"inch a minute", like "no oversquare" is one of those
urban legends, unsupported by any engineering.

What cracks cylinder heads is:

1) over 400F in the climb
2) under 300F in the descent

Mixture (and cowl flaps, and pitch attitude) is
the key to dealing with the above.

If you do not exceed 400F in the climb,
and you lean the mixture in the descent,
your cylinders will last to TBO.  Just try
to keep the MP in the green (above 15")
and the CHT in the green in the descent,
and lean mixture is one of your best tools
for that.

Remember, in a RG aircraft, you can go
down, and you can slow down, but you
can't do both at the same time!

I have flown a 421 with boards (lift spoilers
on the tops of the wings) and they are
wonderful for keeping the engines warm
in the descent.  But not everyone has
them.

So, I use the gear instead.  Let's say ATC
keeps you ridiculously high until you are
ridiculously close.  "Slam-dunk approach",
it's called.

No problem.  Drop the gear at altitude and
leave it down - poor man's speed brake - so
you can keep some power on in the descent
and keep the CHT's in the green.

Keep in mind what we do with the Pitts:

All the knobs forward, all the time until
downwind, then throttle idle for descending
U for landing.

According to the "inch a minute" experts
all of my Pitts should have cracked cylinders,
but no, not a single one.  They have the
best compressions on the field, as a matter
of fact.  They don't make any metal, and if
you pop a valve cover, the aluminum inside
is all shiny and clean.

And I break every single rule that the "inch
a minute" advocates have.

[quote] unique airplanes you have flown Colonel that might seem miraculous, dangerous or weird to a 100H PPL[/quote]

Interesting question.

SSU makes a valid point that I am a crappy
ab initio instructor (compared to a 300hr class
4 that learned to fly last year) because he and
I struggle with NOT KNOWING HOW TO FLY.

Like Chuck, once you have been flying for
enough decades, it can be difficult to understand
what the hell someone's problem is, because
it is so easy and natural for you.

For me, flying an airplane is like riding a motorcycle
or walking or eating or breathing or taking a dump -
it requires virtually no thought.

So trying to identify an "interesting" aircraft can be
difficult.

All this nonsense to conclude that senior pilots often
(generally) make shitty instructors, and people learn
from them despite this impediment, simply because
of their decades of knowledge of the subject.

Back to interesting airplanes.  What makes an airplane
interesting?

Well, challenging or unusual flight control characteristics
would probably top the list.  As you point out, at certain
airspeeds and configurations, the dreaded PIO rears it's
ugly head.  Generally in pitch (rear C of G) or in yaw
(taildragger with tires on the pavement, again that
rear C of G) or spin behaviour (notably, again aft C of G).

Difficulty seeing out of the cockpit is another thing.
Again, often taildraggers in the 3-point attitude, with
little or no forward visibility.  This is a HUGE problem
for most pilots who have learned on nosewheel aircraft,
but must be overcome if you are to fly a Pitts, Stearman,
Waco, Harvard, P-51, Spitfire, Staggerwing, etc.

Coupling of axis:  metal blade prop's gyroscopic effect
of yaw/pitch coupling can be annoying.  It's the defining
characteristic of the Beech 18, actually.

Complicated fuel systems: lots of tanks, pumps, selectors,
vapour lock, etc.

Simply starting the bitch.  This is true of both piston and
turbine.  Probably Canada's best test pilot melted down a
Corsair a couple years back, when he tried to start that
big radial.  Turbines are notorious for hung/hot starts
which can be incredibly expensive.

Engine and prop intricacies.  What works well with one
is death for another combination.  You simply can't dumb
this stuff down.  If you neglect your systems knowledge,
you will experience a very exciting and short life, as a
pilot.

In my life, I have worked hard at seeking out weird
airplanes and making friends with them.  They have
taught me an awful lot.

But there are two kinds of people in the world:  those
that like tobasco sauce with their eggs, and those that
want them bland.

I like tobasco sauce with my eggs.  I like lane-splitting
in traffic on the freeway on my motorcycles.  I like
interesting airplanes.

My favourite Pitts tried to kill me, the first time I
flew it.  Junk in the tail jammed the elevator after
a little negative G.  Made the recovery from the
vertical downline and the landing interesting.

I love that airplane.  Had to buy it.  People died
in it, before I got it.  Best Pitts I have ever flown.

My father was a project/weapons test pilot and
instructor on the CF-104, which got a lot of bad
press from weak pilots.  Yes, it could kill you.
So could a ladder.  But the -104 was an absolute
hoot to fly.

Colonel Sanders wrote:
Cessna hit a home run with the 5xx Citations (that
scud flies).  They are ridiculously easy to fly.  Like
a Piper Cherokee with two throttles.

Cough ahem,  that is a Citation 680, I don't fly that slow  ;)
I will admit I need a bigger cabin and a biscuit shooter for my next plane.

"inch a minute",

  Sounds like a girls I once knew and I must have tabasco on my eggs - no tabasco no eggs - simple formula and don't try and pass off Franks as the same thing - damn

Why is it that pilots want to anal ize things to the Nth degree. I am the first one to admit I am a terrible instructor but people think that because I do have some experience I must be able to "teach" -- well flying to me is like having a shit - most of what happens is muscle memory and to ask me how I do something in an aircraft becomes very hard to verbalize much to the surprise of those asking the questions. I am in awe of people that ca actually pass on knowledge in a way that makes sense and people actually start to see the light.

flying to me is like having a shit

Exactly!  Who here has taught their wife to drive
standard, or taught their kids to ride a bicycle?

Interesting offer (assuming you're not trolling). Is your offer for the C340 or Pitts or both? If I was closer I'd probably take you up on the offer. I'm based at YCD, and this isn't exactly the best time of year to be flying across the rockies in a 150 or 172. The last few days it has been mostly 300ft overcast here, which is 200ft below minimums unless you have ops spec for the ILS, so even your (company/friend's?) 340 probably wouldn't have gotten in here.


Am I right about your identity? I'm happy to give you my linkedin address if you agree to a truce. I figure you have more to lose than me if our identities get posted (which I don't have any intention of doing).




Sorry,, Was away in the home land for a funeral...


Hanger is still open... you know where it is... 

Month is over...


No Mr Crunch..


Funny how things work....and who is the real "troll"...