Thanks gentlemen. Glad you enjoy reading about it. Wasn't sure it was of any interest.
Ha, BPF! The dreaded double cross feed! I'll make sure to always fly that way.
Just a small update.
Yesterday I had asked an avionics guy to install a 24V power outlet I can power the iPad with. Don was delivering a Superstar 700 to the next state, so I spent pretty much the entire day annoying this avionics guy as he was installing. After he left, I powered up the avionics master -
and nothing happened. Obviously he'd left for the day. I finally got a hold of him again and asked if he'd tied in correctly, but he said he'd wired it to the aux avionic backup switch and that the master had never worked. Long story short, turns out the 30amp fuse had not only blown but welded itself into the fuse holder. Now this fuse holder is tucked up behind the panel in the worst possible place and now we'll have to remove the entire right side of the panel to get to it. Everything's so cramped in these planes behind the panel. Sooo, plane isn't even in my posession yet but has already managed to cost me a cool $500...I hope this isn't a trend.
Don was delivering this sweet Superstar 700 to the next state to a gentleman who just bought it, so I had the place to myself for most of the day.
On to air work. Today me and Don hit it early. Started with some basic handling, but we soon migrated up to 15500ft to check the pressurisation and how the turbo's and engines felt. The turbos need overhauling as it's been a good while since last time (they recommend to do it about every 1000hrs), so she kind of lost steam around 15-16K. Climb rate was down to about 300-400fpm there and the MAP's were coming down almost 1" per 1000ft. Without the turbos done she'll never get to her certified ceiling of 25K as it is now. I think she'd run out of steam at 20K, max. Pressurisation was working fine, though. This is of course nothing that comes as a surprise to me as it's exactly what the pre-buy said - that's why she was cheaper to buy.
I got stuck a bit with the Century IV autopilot and the Garmin 430 - both are new to me and it's a lot to learn and how they interact. I must be the only person on earth who's never used a 430. Or an autopilot. I'll have to read up and immerse myself in those as I get more comfortable, but for the trip home I'll just use the 430 as a radio, the press HDG on the Century and stick with my iPad.
Wheeling out my new bird for our first bits of air work. Don is a gentleman, even inviting me home for dinner with his family one evening. Won't let any sloppy flying slide in the cockpit, but that's how it should be.
After that it was time to do some pattern work and get the landings nailed. Was a bit overwhelming at first as it has a few things going on that I'm not used to. I've been spoiled by the simplicity of the Commander. No enriching mixtures, no props forward, none of that on the Commander. But I soon got into it and after about 3 landings I was doing it more or less unassisted.
You drive her down, aiming just shy of the threshold, and then just walk the throttles off as you level out. If you flare too high, that racy wing will just stop flying and reward you with an almighty bone shaker. Ask me how I know. It's almost like you just level her off and she'll land on the mains by herself. Let the nose down gently, fly it on, as the mains roll. In fact, she rewarded me with at least three greasers, something I can not replicate on the Commander with any consistency even after over 300hrs on it. That airplane is hard to grease.
Speeds in the pattern: 120kts on the downwind with 20 degree flaps, 110kts on base and no slower than 100kts on final. Very light ruddered airplane and just like a Cessna 172 the aileron is bungee connected to the rudder, so almost no inputs are needed. I overcomtrolled the rudder until Don told me to ease up on the pedals. As you drop to 40 degree flaps, she really slows up and pitches down, so you need to add power to keep from planting her short. So the last stages of flaps can come out really late, otherwise you'll be dragging her in at almost full power. I did that mistake a few times until Don gave me a b**locking. That thin fast wing really doesn't like to fly slow, so the 10 degree and the 20 degree flap settings are more like high lift devices. Wing loves it in that config and there's no speed limit on 10 degree (and a high 176kts limit on the 20 degree) flaps, so it can be dropped early to slow you down. Almost like having a combined flap/air brake.
C-17 taking off with - yeah you guessed it - Aerostar vertical in the foreground...
One the last approach of the day we did a no flap landing and let me tell you - that was sobering. Coming in at shallow 120kts on final I felt like I was flying a damn Tomcat approaching a hangar deck in the ocean! It was scary how fast it felt. I walked the throttles off and just let her coast down as she finally stopped flying. Man - did we use some rwy. Asked the tower and it turned out to be 6500ft to our turnoff! Granted, I floated forever and we didn't do max breaking, so it could be shortened considerably by someone experienced, but I wouldn't want to go in to anything below 5000ft with no flaps that's for sure. Wow.
Single engine work turned out to be very straightforward. Don't think we're done yet - Don is probably gonna throw me a few hairier ones tomorrow, but today it was all very controlled. Yes, she'll climb fine on one. It's about 300fpm if everything is stowed and done correctly. Blue line is 109kts. However, takeoffs have novel feeling for me as a Commander flyer with a high lift wing. The Commander just pops right off and you can climb at a very high deck angle at Vx. The Aerostar not so much. Rotate at around 80-85kts and she'll be on the mains for a little while. Gear up, and flaps halfway up and it takes a little while before she accelerates up to Vxse (109kts). Key is to lose the flap as soon as you can do so safely, contrary to many other airplanes. It comes right after the gear. This is the proverbial "death zone" between Vmca and blue line where one needs to be on the ball to get it to climb. You spend a little longer there than feels comfortable and if you want to get past it quick, you really need to push the nose over and almost not climb at all. After 110kts she picks up speed quickly and you can pull an easy 2000fpm climb after that. However, Don points out, rightly so, that losing an engine on takeoff is really a no brainer as all your levers are already in the right config. Your throttle's at max, your props are full forward and your mixture is full rich. All you need to do is pitch over, step on the rudder and get rid of flaps and gear. He might have a point, but I still hope I don't have to try it for real. Don's had a few and he's still here to tell about it, so I guess it can be dealt with with good training.
Venting after heavy perspiration from new owner stunk the place up. As you can see the pilots seat is slid forward to allow access into cabin/co-pilots seat. That's how Ted Smith designed it, for some reason.
Will see what curve balls tomorrow brings. All I can say is that, so far,
I absolutely love the airplane! It flies like a little fighter. Feels young and firm (not in that way, you perverts) - no squeaky noises and funny things going on. The torque tube direct controls makes it feel different to anything I've flown before. It's so direct, has that solid feel. Even the landing gear has that big airplane thump and firmness as it arrives. It's fast, it's economical (at least on fuel), it's got great visibility etc, etc.
Which leads me to BPF's question: What to do with the Commander? Well, I've been thinking about that all week and I'm none the wiser. After this, I realistically won't be quite as excited about flying the Commander as I've been. It's just a completely different thing. On the other hand, I will not get very much for her with her over TBO engines and peeling paint. And she does things the Aerostar can't do. She can take me camping (like I did last year in the Idaho mountains) - an Aerostar can't do that. But I also don't want her to sit on the ramp and not get flown. Airplanes need to be flown and loved, or they start falling apart. I'd hate to see that happen to the old girl. She's given me so much joy and all things considering it's been a great and reliable plane for her age. So, maybe I'll try to sell her and hope she can come to a new home. And if she doesn't sell, well, then I'll just have to keep her like an antique car and make sure she flies at least once every two weeks and keep the blood pumping in her veins. I don't know what will happen yet, I'm afraid.
But....how can you not love a face like that? Be a sad they day at the household when she has to go.
Standby.