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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0332.PDF
330 FLIGHT HANDLING THE BROUSSARD . , . jnagneto switch, flap switch (actuation is electric) and parking-brake toggle. Trim wheels for rudder and elevator are on a central pedestal. The flap indicator is a small pointer whichmoves down a graduated scale in the left-hand windscreen pillar. There are both petrol and oil cocks, on the left, but they are solinked that fuel cannot be turned on without also opening the oil cock. A good point is that diagrams of the fuel and oil systemsare permanently attached to the cabin roof for easy reference in flight. The wing-tank fuel gauges are under the wing and thecentre-section tank gauge is on the main panel. Engine starting and handling are of the familiar Wasp Juniorkind. As far as control goes, the airscrew is also standard. The combination of such a well-known and reliable engine with theexcellent and absolutely straightforward handling qualities of the aircraft is particularly pleasant from the pilot's point of view.I found that performance left little to be desired. M. Gerard taxied out and lined up for take-off. He had the only brakepedals and there was some cross-wind, so I contented myself with timing the first take-off. It took nine seconds and 100 yd,and was followed by a good steep climb. We were carrying three people and a full fuel load. The climbing speed was 80 kt at2,000 r.p.m. and 105 piezes, and the rate was 1,000 ft/min. I took over at about 1,000 m (3,200ft) with the Broussard settledinto a cruise at 120 kt with 1,950 r.p.m. and 90 piezes. I pulled the nose up about 15 deg and let go; the nose dropped slowlybelow the horizon, came up again about half as far as I had first pulled it and then settled back into the trimmed attitude. Mean-while, a very slight roll developed in one direction as the speed fell off and in the other as it increased. Trimmed again, I keptmy feet on the rudder pedals and applied left aileron. The aircraft rolled and the rudder moved momentarily against my feet; whenI released pressure on the stick the aircraft reduced its bank angle to about 10 deg and went into a co-ordinated left turn.Results were the same in the other direction and with the rudder pedals free. Some rudder was required to initiate a turn in eitherdirection, but the aircraft would then continue the turn without rudder, and did not tend to climb or dive or require fore-and-aftattitude adjustment to maintain constant height. Rudder trim was hardly required at all and the elevator trim was well geared,effective and easy to set. I did not find any flight condition, at that load, in which I ran out of trim. We next tried the stall, first with the aircraft clean. Aileroncontrol remained as the speed came right back to a stall at 53 kt indicated. There was good warning from low-frequency buffet-ing and the stall itself came in the form of a firm faltering and a slight pitch forward. The nose did not drop below the horizonand recovery was immediate if the stick was released. There was no indication of wing-drop, and no height-loss was shown on thealtimeter. With full flap the stall was again the same, but the speed came back to 41 kt. At about 45 kt the aircraft could beflown comfortably and trimmed hands-off. M. Gerard showed me an approach and landing. On finals heselected full flap and a trickle of power and at just over 50 kt, some 20ft up, he cut the power and proceeded to round-outfirmly. There was no abrupt sink, and the aircraft clattered on to all three points and stayed down—certainly not a gentle arrival,but an extremely effective and apparently easy one. The ground run was about 150 yd without great use of brakes. We then flew about for a time, allowing the photographer to takesome pictures from the end of the runway. The second touch- down was excellently judged and there was no tendency to bouncedespite the spring steel undercarriage legs and tarmac runway. I then tried a take-off myself, leaving the braking to M. Gerardas I had no pedals on my side. We were trimmed somewhat Though spindly in appearance, the undercarriage legs are efficient and simple. The sharply raked wind-screen gives a wide field of view. tail-heavy and I had to exert considerable force to raise the tail;but the Broussard flew off almost immediately and I trimmed into the climb. Raising of the one-third flap used for take-offrequired no readjustment of trim, though there were some trim- changes while the flaps were moving. On the downwind leg I lowered one-third flap and trimmedout a slight nose-up change. Subsequent flap extension required no further trimming. On finals (which we had to drag out some-what, in order to get in behind a Dakota) I found the visibility and control good at 60 kt. A useful feature was that the angleof descent could be regulated precisely by adjusting power without any noticeable change of attitude or trim. I reduced power in thelast part of the round-out and, as the speed fell off steadily, pulled back on the stick and touched down in the three-point attitudewithout any difficulty. It is a particularly good point that elevator effectiveness does not appear to diminish at all as the power is cut,and one can really horse the stick back and get immediate and precise results. There is no need to "catch" the aircraft beforeit falls on to the main wheels when power is cut. Once down, the Broussard tends to swing on tarmac and must be held straight,and this I had to leave to M. Gerard. I could see no tendency to bounce, but it was said that a "wheeler" on tarmac with any-thing more than about half flap could lead to ballooning. Such a landing in this aircraft, however, would be quite pointless. There were two points I did not very much like. One was theflap-control switch. It was too small and too stiff, so that one could not too easily get hold of it and tended to overshoot theneutral position and get the flaps moving in the opposite direction when simply trying to stop them at a given setting. This couldbe improved by making the switch lever longer, or by making the positioning springs less strong. The other point was the doors.They were excellently positioned and proportioned for loading, but difficult to open and shut. Flaps had to be raised before therear half could be opened and there was a mechanical lock to prevent any attempt without such preliminary action. If theengine was running the rear door had to be carefully held, pre- ferably from outside, to prevent it slamming hard against the rearfuselage side. The main locking handle was on the forward door and not too easy to manipulate. This might well have been afeature of this particular aircraft, and later models may be easier. But the freight cabin of the Broussard is very good and, in thestandard military version, a great variety of arrangements are provided for. There are obviously the alternatives of pure pas-senger or freight layouts, the seat attachment points being used for cargo tie-down in the latter case. In alternative layouts twostretchers can be carried, one above the other to starboard, leaving room for two seated attendants or "walking wounded." For aerialcommand post and spotting work the cabin can accommodate a complete H.F. radio installation in a rack, operated by a manseated facing rearwards. Behind the radio there are mountings for a vertical camera in die floor and an oblique camera "looking"through one of the side windows. Awkward loads which can be comfortably taken include 40-gallon fuel drums and a completeWasp Junior engine. The aircraft as a whole is simple, robust and suitable for tropical operations. As a flying machine I liked the Broussard very much, for it hadexcellent take-off performance, was quite viceless, showed very few trim-changes throughout the speed and power ranges and waseasy to fly and land. Considering the slow-speed performance, all this is quite an achievement. The success of the machine has beendemonstrated by the very large military order and the civil orders which have so far resulted. Further sales will almost inevitablyfollow as soon as the military demands have to some extent been satisfied. MAX HOLSTE MH 1S21 BROUSSARD Ont Pratt and Whitney R-98S Wasp Junior, 450 h.p. • Span 45ftLength ... ... 28ft 2in Wing area 271 sq ftAspect ratio 7.5 Empty weight 3,263 IbMaximum weight ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5,511 Ib Wing loading 20 Ib/sq ftPower loading 12.1 Ib/h.p. Full-load performance Maximum continuous cruising ... 168 m.p.h.Economic cruising ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 143 m.p.h. Minimum speed ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 53 m.p.h.Still-air range , 745 miles Take-off run 607ftLanding run ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 300ft The aircraft complies with I.C.A.O. specifications for Category D. Performance figures guaranteed by the makers to plus or minus 3 per cent.
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