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Aviation History
1978
1978 - 0795.PDF
FLIGHT International, 13 May 1978 1481 formance climb as we passed through 10,000ft; torque was reading l,3301b-ft and fuel flow 3251b/hr. The attitude was some 7° nose-up and the climb rate was an indicated l,300ft/min. Four minutes took us from 10,000ft to 15,000ft, by which time torque had fallen to l,1701b-ft. Another 5min and 5sec completed the climb to FL200 (20,000ft on the standard altimeter setting), where I wanted to see the level performance. Throughout the climb, made at 93 per cent NH (propeller r.p.m.), the cabin had risen only 2,000ft and the pressurisation had still not reached its limit. I mention this because perform ance is bound to suffer if the engines are being bled to the last gasp in order to pump up the cabin. For our level-speed check we set 100 per cent r.p.m. (NG) on the gas generator, and kept NH at the 93 per cent maximum continuous setting. Torque settled down at l,080K>ft and fuel flow was 2501b/hr through each engine. Outside air temperature was —4°C, so our 164kt IAS equated to 234kt TAS. (As a matter of interest, DME gave 214kt groundspeed while the radar that was tracking us made it 220kt. Either way there was obviously not much wind around at height). I tried the Dutch roll behaviour while in this fast cruise and at a gentlemanly height. Keeping the yaw damper off, applying half rudder and releasing sharply set off a lively fandango. With the nose swinging from side to side and wings going up and down like demented railway signals, we could have cavorted across Brazil for ever as far as the Xingu was concerned. The motion did not get worse but neither did it improve much if left to its own devices, so we called a halt and pulled in the yaw damper. Repeating the exercise with the damper in gave a heavier rudder load for the same deflection, and releas ing the pressure resulted in an immediate return to straight flight. The damper has certainly sorted out that little problem. Cabral preferred that I should take another speed The main door in geniously combines plug dosing with drop-down use as an airstair when open. There is a toilet and baggage space oft of the door
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