Originally Posted by
Red123
1) Rotation on take off
2) Climb out
When I'm on an aerobatics sortie, rotate is about 10 knots above the bottom of the green arc. I then level off some 5 meters above the runway, bring up the flaps, let the aircraft accelerate to redline speed (2700 RPM, ~115 knots) and yank it (4G) in a 45 degree upline. If I need to make a turn on climbout I might add 30 degrees bank as well. This zooms the aircraft to about 500 feet, where it nears its stall speed. So I carefully lower the nose (1/2G so the engine doesn't stall), let the aircraft accelerate a bit for a climbout speed of about 80-90 knots. That climbout is not so much a set speed, but more keeping the engine at ~2500 RPM.
But if you're just starting out on the 2160 and don't have any aerobatics experience/rating yet, this might not be the best technique to start out with.
Originally Posted by
Red123
3) Descent
5) Glide
6) Approach - with flaps up & with flaps down
Depending on how I feel, I might use a spin to descend (a one turn spin ending in a vertical downline is 1000 feet, give or take), or I just keep the trim/speed but reduce engine power by about 500 RPM and let the aircraft find its own way down. Normal approach (full flaps) is about 70 reducing to 65 or so over the numbers, flapless maybe 75. Note that on a flapless landing it is very easy to scrape the tail.
Originally Posted by
Red123
8) Slow flight
If you do it right you can perform a slow flight with full power and the stall warner blaring. Haven't checked but that's maybe 50 knots or so. But you need to work your feet to achieve that and not end up inverted. And don't keep at it too long as it could overheat the engine due to a lack of airflow.
Originally Posted by
Red123
4) Cruise
I think officially 75% is 2450 RPM. This will give you about 105-110 knots.
If yours is any like the one I fly, it's an absolute bitch to lean the mixture. There's no instrumentation like an EGT and it's basically impossible to distinguish between "best power" and "best economy". I lean until the engine starts to run rough (which you feel and hear) and then enrich a tad. But that's probably less than a mm travel on the mixture knob. It is extremely sensitive.
Another thing. It is very tempting to grab the edge of the forward canopy (the part that slides forward) on entry and exit. But you should not do that - it's not well supported when it's open. There are grab handles moulded in the coaming, and you can use the edge of the rear canopy for support instead. And at our club it is common practice to lower the flaps when the aircraft is parked, to prevent people from inadvertently stepping on the flaps upon entry/exit. Unlike the PA28, the flaps are not strong enough for that.