PA28 & PA44 Pitch Attiude

[Leave 5 on the glide]

Hi All,

Could someone tell me what sort of initial target pitch attitude should be used on take-off rotation in the PA28 and PA44 please?

Thanks very much in advance,

l5otg

[pistongone]

Do you want an answer for each variant of PA28 and PA44 or are you looking for a generic answer?(which would be about as good as no use!) Read the POH for each aircraft taking into account the weight of the aircraft to be flown. Basically a low powered 28 would be flown off the deck, accelerate in level flight and climb away with whatever RoC you get with the prevalling conditions, as long as you have enough runway. I would have thought the important number was the airspeed? Decide what your climb speed should be and maintain speed with stick, the pitch will be what it will be and it will vary from one warrior to another or Aztec or Arrow etc.

[Leave 5 on the glide]

I usually shoot for 79kias in the PA28. I'm looking for the PA28-160 and -181, just out of curiosity more than anything.

Cheers,

l5otg

[UncleNobby]

Pitch for airspeed (Vx or Vy) -- its not a specific # each time (too many variables - wind, density altitude, weight)
In general on the P28A - I rotate at 55/60 kts and climb at 80kts -transition to cruise climb 90 knots when appropriate.

[Final 3 Greens]

Could someone tell me what sort of initial target pitch attitude should be used on take-off rotation in the PA28 and PA44 please?

Can't speak for the Seminole as I don't have a multi rating.

Setting a pitch target is not the way to fly a PA28, it is a technique more suitable for an airliner, often taking into account tail strike limitations.

Are you looking for this info for use with a flight sim programme?

If so, you could use 5 degrees, as I reckon from the visual picture seen during several hundred departues in PA28s that it would be a reasonable figure to use for a game.

[Tony Hirst]

The question is valid. One should not chase the ASI, but set an initial pitch attitude and adjust from there to select the appropriate speed. Otherwise you would be subjected to a significant amount of ASI lag.

However, one should not confuse setting an initial pitch attitude with being eyes down on the instruments (primarily the AI). This should be done visually eyes out as much as possible and learning what the correct picture is as per standard PPL teaching. In some conditions it is not practical to do so, such as a night or low visibility departure, in which case one would transfer to the AI much sooner after rotation.

In most light aircraft an attitude of about 10 degrees roughly approximates to somewhere between Vx and Vy.

A bit OT, but with regard to airliners, the same techuniques more or less apply. The pitch attitude is not to prevent tailstrike, but to attain V2+15 appropriately (or whatever type dependant t/o safety speed is relevant). For various reasons, the roation is, as much as possible, performed eyes out. At around 10 degrees in something like a 737 the combing will obscure the view and so one then transfers to the AI. The prevention of a tailstrike is predicated on the rate of rotation at the correct speed, not the initial steady pitch attitude.