Range Hawker 800XP
Join Date: May 2006
Location: On the right of the clowns and to the left of the jokers
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Dang 7 hours? My record is 6:40
Mine is 6:24Some top tips with the TKS are:
1. Carry the non hazmat fluid on the aircraft.
2. Prime the system regularly, even if your always in hot weather - not doing this will cost a not so small fortune
3. Conserve fluid by making sure the timer doesn't switch off, that way it wont go back in to the high speed mode when you turn it back on.
4. Call up Tron and get one of the pumps to replenish it with the large capacity containers - IIRC when the gauge says it's full you can get a further 10 strokes on the pump into it without it overflowing, do that every time you come home and you'll be saving a lot.
5. Experiment with different sized drinking water bottles (like Evian) some of them will screw into the TKS filler neck when empty, get one of those and cut the bottle in half, Now you have a funnel that holds the little anti-spill flap down and is held rigidly in place on the occasions you have to pour fluid in. Assuming you drank the water it's free too!
I once landed at LSZH and found a situation where the aircraft rapidly accumulated MASSIVE chunks of ice even with the system operating normally, Thankfully, and although I wouldn't wish to repeat the experience the bird flew just fine - I still wish I had a camera on me that day!
2. Prime the system regularly, even if your always in hot weather - not doing this will cost a not so small fortune
Before I flew Hawkers, I worked on them as an A&P mechanic at a service center. Customers who ran their TKS system regularly avoided allot of expensive man-hours spent finding and fixing leaks, making panels flow again and addressing corrosion caused by the leaks. A properly accomplished R&R of a wing leading edge alone will cost enough at a typical mx shop to buy a pretty big supply of fluid, maybe even enough to get to that next 48 month inspection. And the L/E has to be removed whenever cleaning won't get an individual panel to flow fluid. Running the pump a couple of minutes per flight and regularly cleaning the panels with warm soap and water and a soft brush followed by a good rinse and running the pump some more keeps the panels flowing well. Regular use also keeps all the seals and plastic fluid lines wetted and pliable, reducing the incidence of leaks.
Long trips away from home base can indeed be problematic due to the limited availability of fluid in many places. Carrying enough with you can be a challenge too, especially given the rather limited storage area on the airplane. But then, determined Hawker pilots always seem to find ways to carry more stuff on the plane.
I once landed at LSZH and found a situation where the aircraft rapidly accumulated MASSIVE chunks of ice even with the system operating normally
I had allot of good trips in Hawkers and miss flying them. In so many ways it's a well engineered and reliable beast. The quaint and somewhat anachronistic mechanical marvels of British engineering that comprise many of the airplane's systems are one of the reasons I so like the airplane! So they're a bit slow, but at least they descend and slow down like no other! Though I'd prefer not to make 6.8 hour flights (my longest and most tedious) in the Hawker very often, having that capability in an airplane of this class is impressive. Not bad for a plane that's been around since 1962.
You guys still flying them enjoy your time!
westhawk
