Well what was it like to fly?
It has been over 40 years but here are a few thoughts. The first is that the flight deck had 4 (local flights) or 5 of us. Captain, Co-pilot, Nav, Eng and the Sig. You entered usually by the main door on the port side and completed the ‘cardiac climb’ to the flight deck. The flight deck by modern standards was huge, with 2 enormous pilots seats in green leather
The pre start checks completed, the engineer primed the fuel, pressed the starter button and booster coil, and turned over an engine ((8 blades) to ensure no hydraulic locking caused by oil in the bottom cylinders). The engine started and was turned over (at I think 1500rpm) to warm the oil and cylinder head.
Taxing was by asymmetric brake and power, and was like most Hastings operating, an acquired art. The brake was pneumatic and inflated a rubber sack inside the hub to push brake linings against a drum. This sack was prone to burst if allowed to get hot. You lined up on a runway and locked the tail wheel. The throttles were advanced by the Captain using differing amounts of power in each engine to try and keep the thing straight until the tail came up, and you got some rudder control. Take off power was max RPM (was it 2800?) and 56 inches of boost.
There was no V1, there was an ‘unstick’ speed. Once it was in a shallow climb, the gear was retracted by the Co, and at safety speed rated power was ordered, and was set by the eng. (2400 / 46 inches). When safe to do so (300 feet?) the take off flap was retracted
It was not pressurised so we tended to fly around the 8 to 10 thousand feet level, changing super charger gear on the way up (once again memory – when the boost started to fall off at about 8000 feet?). I seem to remember cruise descending. Cruise boost was 36 inches, and the fuel used at this setting was much reduced from the fuel used at 44 inches. There was a restriction on boost between 36 and 44 (?) inches. The heavier you were the more power you needed to cruise. Since cruise boost was 36 inches then the extra power was delivered by more RPM. This had the effect that the heavier you were the higher you cruised, and this resulted in lower cruise levels as the weight reduced.
Straight and level was fine, but the ailerons and elevators were very heavy. Auto pilot was very basic straight and level – no height or heading lock. It was very noisy. If it was raining outside, it leaked like a sieve and you got soaked. I well remember flying with a raincoat over my flying suit. All our pilots carried some device to scrape the frost off the inside of the windscreen. Conversation without intercom was all but non existent.
Anti ice was a porous leading edge and fluid was pumped to the relevant surfaces, (including?) the props. Ice would fly off the props hitting the side of the aeroplane with a great bang! Engine carb de-ice was one switch for all 4 engines. You waited until at least 2 engines started to ‘cough’ and then you switched on the hot air. The throttles would also freeze. I remember at the end of one long descent asking for 30 inches and getting nothing, resulting in another 500 feet of unplanned descent towards a very cold looking Irish sea before they unfroze.
It was also, by modern standards slow (172kts indicated – about 210 true) and inefficient. UK to Cyprus non stop would be 10 to 11 hours and the best part of 3000 gallons, leaving very little in the way of payload. It was also interesting to see the reserves at destination distributed around the 14 tanks. 30 gallons a tank looks very like empty to a new Co.
And as for landing. The physical strength required to round out came as a great shock. As a result the eng worked the throttles, and you called for him to close the power (‘slow cut eng’) when you thought you were there. You could 3 point it, but the tail and rudder was then ‘sheltered’ by the fuselage. You could do a wheelie, landing just on the main wheels, and let the tail come down gently when you thought you had control of the thing. Thought you had control, because you were never really sure it would not be off to the grass. I remember one co pilot leaving the runway, getting back on to the runway again, and then taxing round to the dispersal where the ground crew were waiting with a fire hose, to hose off the mud.
It was all very entertaining and a long time ago, but it made at lot more sense when I read ‘Fate is the Hunter’!