TLA Rates, Radials vs Dart
Quote from jh5speed:
Chris Scott :as a Twin Wasp and Dart man, is there anything in my 'theory' (see previous post - more like an idle thought) that a piston driver would be in the habit (or be required by procedures) of advancing the throttles faster than a 'pure bred' turboprop driver?
[Unquote]
I would say probably not. Only did 450 hrs on the Dak, 40 years ago, and no other big pistons, so am no expert...
But I think anyone throwing the throttles open or shut on a radial would be asking for an unpleasant surprise. [This is particularly true if you are doing a rolling T/O, as we generally did ('cos lots of runway).] The big beasts are not that reliable, and need to be nursed.
The only advantage of the Twin Wasp vs. the Dart is that you have selected the pitch levers on each engine to full fine (but still governed, I think) before T/O. The Dart, on the other hand, does not have a propeller pitch lever as such. [The one we've been talking about on this thread - on the Herald and Argosy - is purely to enable the crew to select GROUND-fine pitch for ground manoeuvering.]
So, on the Dart, the pilot has no control over engine rpm at a particular throttle setting - some widget decides it for him. But on most piston engines with CSU-governed props, of course, you can vary the engine rpm (by moving the pitch lever) without moving the throttle.
[The asymmetric Viscount tailplane is news to me, but you are right: the Dart props were not handed, as far as I can remember.
dxi188?]