FBW is correct.

I had not checked the figures before posting. If the aircraft (but it didn't) have the book authorised prop, they could indeed have had 20 litres of fuel and been within limits.

So.... If the Pilot believed the figures on the paperwork to be correct, and if he had indeed only 20 Litres of fuel on board, they would have been within the W&B range for take off from Bute.

That would suggest that the LAA Inspector who signed it off (with the wrong prop and autopilot) may have to answer some questions, if that's what happened.

However, the question of W&B departing Strathaven is not so easy to explain.

Nobody (apart from the AAIB) has commented on the 20 deg pitch up on climb out.
D.O.

And also, whoever conducted the last 3 Permit Renewal Flight Tests!:eek:


MJ:ok:

"Nobody (apart from the AAIB) has commented on the 20 deg pitch up on climb out."

I have an aircraft in the same class (VLA). With a VP prop a CSC-1 + 100hp 20deg would be about normal. The ROC would be quite impressive with everything working. My aircraft would do 1400fpm with a fixed pitch but when I upgraded to a VP + CSC-1 I got around 1750! Yes my mod was cleared by the LAA:ok:

Rod1

"And also, whoever conducted the last 3 Permit Renewal Flight Tests!"

That is often the owner. I do the occasional test, usually to help new owners, but mostly the owner will fly them. The performance with a VP prop and CSC-1 would be much better than with the fixed pitch prop, but we are assuming the prop was not being swapped about.

Rod1

After reading the report of the Irish accident linked to, I wonder if this is a type-specific problem with fire. The Irish pilot escaped before the fire. Without fire, this would have been a slight or no injury accident. The AAIB report mentions the document discrepancies, but does not consider them as causing the accident. The pilot seems to have been injured only because he stayed to rescue his passenger. The take-off data does not show an overloaded aircraft struggling to get airborne. The pilot had plenty of hours to be familiar with the prop and performance. Loss of some power at climb out means a gamble as to whether it will continue at that power, lose more, or improve. With the terrain he faced, I doubt if any decision could be criticised