Note: I am referring to a gentleman here using his first initial to respect his privacy.
I was able to go fly this today, and it went pretty well. Actually, I have only flown the airplane for two 1/2 hour flights, and simply had a ball both times. It is really nice to see that the skills I’ve picked up in other airplanes apply directly to this one. I can definitely see the similarities in this airplane compared to my own Twin Comanche, and my procedures don’t have to change all that much for normal operations.
Todays Flight: I flew left seat from the start, with my new friend W in the right seat. He is a good guy and has been flying this airplane for the owners over the last 10 years. You can tell that they are family and very much regret seeing him move on. However, W found an incredible opportunity to fly a modern jet, and everyone is genuinely happy for him. I certainly will have very large shoes to fill.
W has been doing a great job of showing me the ropes as I learn to fly this airplane. The Cheyenne is much heavier on the controls and more sensitive to loading (CG) than I’m familiar with. I’ve had three descent landings in the airplane with W along, and the landings are getting smoother each time. The nose is heavy with no passengers, and I’m told landings will be even easier with them in the back.
I’m still working on improving my scan speed so that I’m looking at the new indications more efficiently. With my naturally slower scan in an unfamiliar airplane, I’m not holding the centerline on landings as well as i like, and I’m not keeping the ball centered as well either. That will come with time as my brain pushes the familiar to the back and focuses on turning the new stuff into a routine.
With W running the checklists, I did the normal start flow to get the right engine moving. You don’t want to execute a read and do checklist to start an engine, as the engine start sequence has to be smooth, professional, and timely. You have to be primed to abort a hot or hung start without referring to a checklist. We briefed the sequence and I executed it as a flow. After a successful normal start on #1 (right engine), I did a cross start on #2, which will be the normal procedure.
The Taxi Out: I wobbled around the centerline of the taxiway while I was getting used to using the props to slow down instead of only using my feet with the brakes and directional steering. It isn’t easy to be smooth while you lift the power levers over the gate, and ease them back through beta to subtle reverse power. More new stuff getting in the way of being smooth, but still never unsafe. Nevertheless, I made my way to runway 01, set the parking brake, and had W run the before takeoff and lineup checklists.
Line Up: Once cleared to depart, I line up on the centerline and hold my feet on the brakes. It is important to run up both engines to around 800 ft-lbs of torque before you release the brakes. When we are empty like this, the horses want to run and the airplane begs to be released.
What I had forgotten from my previous turbo days, is that the engines can and do spool up at different rates initially. Doing a rolling takeoff with asymmetric thrust will have you doing series of S turns to stay on the centerline of the runway – not a good way to fly. Spooling them both up while holding the brakes will fix this problem and ensure a smooth takeoff.
Once I was closing in on 800 ft-lbs of torque, I released the brakes and smoothly increase power up to 1100 ft-lbs. The power adjustments on this airplane are SENSITIVE and NON-LINEAR, so it requires more attention now than it will when I build familiarity. The props, on the other hand, require more arm power to move, but are less sensitive. The prop levers can be moved more assertively.
W did the speed call outs and I rotated for takeoff around 100 kts. This airplane needs more right-rudder than I’ve been giving it, so more attention is required there to make it natural. I’ve gotten a lazy foot I guess. Positive rate, gear up!. The gear lever it tucked in close to the pilots yoke, so it’s up to me to pull the gear handle out and apply positive force UP to raise it. Don’t be gentle here – get the lever UP firmly. Once the gear has been stowed, the gear lever returns to a neutral UP position. This is a hydraulic system and is not at all like the PA30.
I climbed out and turned generally west, with W making up vectors while he introduced me to the autopilot. I didn’t know we were doing that this morning, but this kid is smart and i need to know how the electronics work in this bird. I won’t go into detail here, but the A/P functions and indications are standard and can be implemented without much analysis in a pinch. This shouldn’t be a distraction for me.
The G600 in this airplane isn’t as well integrated with the GTN750 as it would be in my airplane, in my opinion. I’m used to having a GPSS driven flight plan that automatically transitions to an ILS signal if that is the approach you’ve selected; then automatically switches back on the missed approach. This one requires a manual transition of both the G600 AND the GNS750 to into the approach and coming back out of it. No big deal, but I’m glad we flew an approach today.
ILS01 Approach: After W gave me vectors that would ultimately line me up for an ILS 01 intercept to a full stop, and requested a LOC intercept from the tower. That was granted, as well as a clearance to land, and we proceeded as if Philly was vectoring us. The point was for me to transition the airplane from cruise to terminal to approach mode, and then do the landing.
Not my best approach, but a flew a half-dot low and left of the ILS indications all the way in. My scan was distracted quite a bit by managing flaps, power, and approach parameters in a new environment.
The landing was acceptable – not hard at all, but left of centerline. We taxiied back and did one more trip around the pattern to a wheelie landing with those heavy controls. With less than an hour in the airplane and only 3 landings thus far – I’m making great progress IMO.
Plotting a Path Forward: I haven’t heard directly from the owners, but I’m told they are drafting an offer and will present that very soon. Once we agree, I’ll have some paperwork to do regarding liability protection and getting paid. I’ll probably start training in the airplane before all that get’s done.
Amazing Turn of Events: I told myself and everyone else that I’d only come out of retirement if the job was right here; didn’t require my complete attention; didn’t involve living in a hotel other than occasionally; and allowed me to fly a nice machine occasionally. I never expected to find something like that, and very much hope that this continues to play out.
Looking forward to training in this machine, and developing smooth hands on the controls.
Fly Safe!!