Cessna 401 advice, please

[fernytickles]

I know this is not quite airline tech stuff, but I was wondering if anyone has any comments/views on the C401.

I may have the opportunity to fly one in the future and have had varying reports, ranging to "don't touch one with a long barge-pole".

I would appreciate any other input, so I can add it to my indecison!

Thanks

[777AV8R]

Well....if this is a new 'command' position for you...I wouldn't be too concerned about it being a Cadillac or a Lada. It's the hours that count.

Besides, and airplane that makes you 'think' a bit, is better than something that helps breed complacency.

Years ago, I flew the C-320 and C-402..they were wonderful airplanes for a young guy with a new Commercial IFR.

[compressor stall]

Having flown 3 different 401's.

If well maintained, there is no reason that you should be worried. Light they are a pleasure to fly. Heavily laden well, if you lose one... They are a stable platform once you get used to things.

Things to know are:

They are aft CoG critical. If you are flying around 7 adult pax and no baggage in the nose, you will probably be out of balance (rearward CoG).

I used to carry a 20lt and a 10lt water container in the front for ballast to keep the CoG in range...

The Circuit Breaker for the ticker pumps is also the Landing Light circuit breaker.

Do not extend the landing light at descent speeds...extend them when you have some flap out.

If there is no oil streaked across the main gear doors - do not fly it again - the engine is out of oil! :p

BEWARE THE EXHAUST SYSTEM. There is a AD out demanding exhaust inspections every 50 hours as the exhaust may develop cracks and lead to all sorts of trouble, including a wing falling off(which prompted the AD). Every 10 hours, take the cowls off and have a good look along the exhaust in front of the fire wall for any signs of fatigue or heat damage on surrounding wires. Look under the metal shroud which covers the exhaust immediately in front of the firewall too.
If after shut down you smell a curious sulphur smell, it is most likely the wiring and heat shielding melting in the back of the engine bay.

Look after your turbos. This is basic airmanship though.

If one tx lever is a little further forward than normal at takeoff power, you may have a sticky wastegate, OR you may have a damaged exhaust system. Either way think very carefully about continuing.

Ensure the top half of the door is securely latched, and/or install a safety latch in case it comes open in flight.

Beware the lack of propellor clearance when operating in and out of dirt/grass runways.

In your endorsement/training do several practice engine failures when heavy...especially on a hot day if you live in that part of the world.

Make sure the a/c has a rudder lock and remember to remove it!

You aux fuel gauges may not really be linear - the last 1/4 scale disappears in a matter of minutes...

Good Luck.

PS there was a thread on 402A/Bs floating around in PPRune a while ago. Have a look in that - the differences are negligible.

[Tinstaafl]

Stallie offers good advice.

Get very familiar with the fuel system. It's basically the same logic as the C310, if you've flown one of those.

It can get complicated with the various mixes of short or long range auxilliary tanks and also what combination of wing locker tanks are fitted (one, two or none).

Fuel in the aux's is NOT available to crossfeed to the the opposite engine. Significant for range considerations if asymmetric...

Fuel in the locker tanks can be made available as long as the electric transfer pump for that tank is functioning.

As a general principle, for range critical flights you need to use the fuel in the aux's as soon as you can. The catch is that you can't change soon after T/O because the Continental engine's fuel metering unit returns excess fuel to the main tank for that engine and NOT back to the aux from which it came.

Instead you need to burn ~30 or ~60 mins (short or long aux's, respectively) then change to aux's.

If the locker tank(s) are also needed you will need to burn ~60 mins from the mains before using the locker tank's pump to transfer fuel to the main on that side.

I found it best to test that the transfer pump(s) worked as soon as there was sufficient room in the mains to allow a short transfer to take place (just long enough to see if the main's volume increased or not).

You really should be feeding from the mains to test when testing the locker transfer pump, otherwise the fuel return from the aux could mask a non-functioning pump.

Monitor the main's quantity because it's easy to overflow the main during a transfer or while feeding from the aux.

[fernytickles]

Thanks for that. I appreciate your comments.

The person who told me to avoid the aircraft mentioned the controllability, or lack of same, at VMCA, which kind of got my attention (he likened the aircraft to a Piper Tomahawk as one to be avoided). Do you know anything about that?

[big pistons forever]

Except for the small tail 411, all 400 series cessna's do not have a particular problem with engine out handling, other than the standard piston twin problem of poor SE climb rate. The after market vortex generator kit does noticably improve low speed handling and is a highly desirable mod.