IMHO,
After 13 yrs of Ownership and 1200 Hrs PIC on the Mits, the aircraft has the potential to hurt you but which aircraft doesnt, I was taught to fly it like a jet by the numbers and not by feel, which was a hard transition after flying Ag for years, A mitsi does everything as advertised unlike some other twin turboprops and is a steady 300KT performer, that will get in and out of 2500ft at gross climb to FL 250 and fly 1000nm. I would pick the MU-2 over any legacy turbine twin - Kingair 90,100,200, Gulfstream AC 1000, Conquest I,II or Piper Cheyenne all adaptations of existing slower piston designs. I've flown most , loved the Kingair 200, and Cheyenne 400LS, but for value for the money one can't beat an MU-2 (short or long body).
The B/CA article highlights the rumours but uses alot of fact to debunk the B/S and armchair flying by pilots that have never set foot in a Mits. Some pilots have flown it and hated, everybody is entitled to their opinions, but i tell those that i have encountered that they have probably flown one that wasnt properly rigged. plus it takes up to 100hrs PIC to start to feel comfortable with the aircraft, well it took me that long ; A PROPERLY RIGGED MU-2 IS A DREAM TO FLY! ; in fact will fly an ILS single engine fully config'd handsoff - no autopilot set the trims and leave it alone all one needs to do is adjust the FF to stay on the glide; POORLY rigged and incorrectly trimmed ,it is a handfull and and has the potential to be downright vicious; the flaps and flight idle fuel flow MUST be set correctly; a 1 degree spilt in the flaps at 20 will cause all a pretty nasty roll during retraction from flaps 5 to 0 and WILL kill you if something goes wrong. As an A&P/IA, I always tripple check any work on the flaps & engines: some mechanics and pilots, dont want to take the time to correctly rig them as it can take up to 10hrs to set the flaps and flight idle properly. I have been scared sh--less in mitsis, mostly ferrying aircraft bought from other freight operators, ramp queens and the odd sales demo with a pilot new to the MU-2 whose standard multi technique resurfaced even after a indepth brief of the differences between the MU-2 and rest of GA Light twins.
I was lucky enough train with an operator that understood the need to have a proper training syallabus and brought Mr. Reece Howell of Howell Enterprises, Smyrna TN :-
www.mu2b.com to supervise the ground school and provided a fair and frank picture of the aircraft. we were required to review all the accidents back to 1967, read the FAA Special Certificate Reviews on the MU-2's and watch the icing video and the clear picture is that the largest factor is the Pilot, which is true for many other aircraft. The Mits served me well honing my IFR skills , i went from the left seat of a mits to right seat of a 727 and subsequently transitioned to other large jets and have found the need for pitch awareness,proper use of trim (all axis)and the inclusion of the IVSI in visual approaches very simliar between most Jets and the Mu-2;( the A-320 family being the exception as the FPV & Autotrim makes it so easy its almost a no brainer) I still maintain currency in my short body and believe that to safely fly a mits,one must fly a min of 50hrs a year. I have flown most of the much maligned GA aircraft:- V-Tail Bonanzas, Aerostars 700s ,Mitsi's, and Lears 24,25 and loved them all and hold them in high regard. inspite of the names- Doctor Killer, Tokyo Whore, Twin Honda, FearJet and Lawn Dart.
I recently went to Simcom(prefered FlightSafety & Reece) and found it not out of line with my "airline routine" of sim, however the instructor started to annoy me by day two, as being an A&P, I was more verse with the systems than he was, and while i feel there is a need for proper formalized training, it however must also be tailored to the Candidates experience; never had this problem with Reece Howell, i guess it was a clash of personalities; i objected to an Engine out with a NTS failure on liftoff as it is an unrecoverable senario and a waste of precious sim time.
As for the need of headsets ALL GARRETTS idle at 76%, however the Garrett is a quieter engine than a PT-6 at operating speeds of 96-100% and during flyover, the PT-6 seems a marked difference to linemen and other pilots cause its turning at 56% at idle.
The Gear retraction takes 17 seconds and will in an engine out scenario cost about 200 FPM as it retracts.
Mitsubishi originally published Airline Style Performance charts with Engineout charts at flaps 5 and 20 as well as TORA/TODA charts, however the FAA made them remove it as it 1) didnt conform to the GAMA standard and 2) was not "approved data "only demonstrated data. Under certain conditions the aircraft will NOT climb on one engine but this it true for all Aircraft in the Category (KINGAIR,MERLIN & TURBOCOMMANDER) - types certified also under CAR 3
I Fly the Mits same as the A-320, with the autopilot engaged most of the time so it allows me the time to manage the aircraft. I hand fly for proficiency when weather and other factors permit. In 1200 hrs on the Mits, have had a FCU failure in cruise( DAY IMC), oil line failure(hairline crack) on prop governor which led to an engine overspeed (Night IMC, overwater) and a bunch of other eye openers yet i'm not ready to sell the blasted thing and actually still enjoy flying it.