by Pete Schoeninger
© Copyright 2024. All rights reserved!
Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine April/May 2024 Digital Issue
Q) A friend swears he once saw a B-17 (World War II bomber with four piston-engines) takeoff with one of four engines feathered (not running.) Would that be possible, or safe?
A) A friend of mine (Dave Mann, RIP), who had a type rating in a B-17, told me it has been done, legally, but rarely. The “feds” put many restrictions on the takeoff, including reduced gross weight, runway length requirements, NO passengers, crew qualifications, etc. Dave told me what pilots do is start their takeoff run with takeoff power on two opposite engines and add power to the third running engine as they accelerate, but not more power on the third engine, so they can still maintain directional control. Again, this procedure should not be performed without written authorization from the FAA, insurance carrier, and obviously the aircraft owner.
Q) Piper is famous for making a Twin Comanche out of the successful single-engine Comanche. Are there other models with similar lineage?
A) Piper immediately comes to mind again. In about 1965, the Piper introduced its very successful PA-32 Cherokee Six single-engine aircraft with 260 hp, and two years later, offered the aircraft with a 300 hp version as well. In 1972, Piper introduced the twin-engine Seneca, which was pretty much a Cherokee Six, but with two 200 hp Lycoming engines. The Cherokee Six became the Lance, which became the Saratoga. And the Seneca stayed a Seneca, with numerous improvements, for 50 years!
Q) Do all airplanes have a specific location where the pitot/static system is vented, and an alternate vent which can be selected by the pilot?
A) No. Old, simple airplanes had no vent for the airspeed, other than the back of the instrument. In more modern aircraft, the static instruments are usually vented in a location which should have neutral air pressure. Further complicating things, an alternate static source is sometimes found, which can be manually selected when complications are suspected with the primary static vent, such as ice and bugs. When you change your static system vent from primary to backup, you may notice the static instruments (airspeed and altimeter) jiggle just a bit with a change in vent pressure.
Q) I’ve read that in many out-of-fuel/off-airport landings, there is fuel remaining onboard in a tank that is not being used. Aren’t pilots trained to switch fuel tanks enroute?
A) They should be, but I think sometimes if a tank runs dry and the pilot is not on the ball, panic sets in, instead of training. In flight if you run a fuel tank dry, normally the engine will keep windmilling, while you switch to a tank with fuel in it, and do some housekeeping as recommended, such as mixture to full rich, fuel pump on low or high. You’ll have to wait 5-10 seconds for fuel to get to the engine, which can seem like an eternity if unexpected.
Often, I see this happen when a pilot has relatively low hours in the aircraft. Each aircraft seems to have different fuel selectors and are found in different locations. I think part of the problem is many pilots learn to fly in basic high-wing Cessnas, which utilize gravity to get fuel to the engine. Usually, the fuel selector value is set for “both,” and fuel is drawn from both tanks simultaneously, so fuel selection changes (L & R) are not utilized unless one tank drains faster than the other during a long cross-country flight. But in almost every low-wing aircraft, a fuel selector selects one of two or more fuel tanks. To utilize more than half the fuel onboard, it is necessary to switch fuel tanks, which some pilots have almost no experience in. If the pilot has some concerns about learning to switch tanks, he/she can practice on the ground with the engine running. In fact, some flight instructors teach startup and taxi to the runup area on one tank, then switch to a second tank for engine runup and takeoff. That gives the student pilot some experience switching tanks, and ensures that fuel will flow from both tanks.
Q) Is the “buying feeding frenzy” for used airplanes of the last few years, over?
A) Supersalesmen Jeff Baum (920-261-4567) and Gavin Leake (218-280-2615) tell me the market is still active, but not quite as hot as it was 1-2 years ago. Both mention a continuing lack of available inventory of most models and higher interest rates as affecting the market.
Q) A friend who flies a Beech King Air C-90 and a Cessna 421 for a charter company that is also an FBO, has a boss who insists that he not return home with a lot of fuel onboard purchased on the road. Why?
A) If that company is an FBO, they buy fuel at wholesale, which is often a dollar or two less per gallon than retail. The boss should encourage his pilots to return home with plenty of fuel to be safe, but not so much as to break the bank by buying a full tank when close to home. Imagine if you want to have 60 gallons of fuel when you land that C421 at home, but if you purchased enough fuel to land with 160 gallons of fuel bought on the road, you’ve just cost the boss an additional couple hundred bucks. A pilot doesn’t want to be “fuelish” and land short of his/her destination, but there’s no need to be “fuelish,” and takeoff and land with more fuel than the flight safely calls for.
Q) I am moving from Atlanta to Chicago this spring. I have a 1980 V-Tail 35 Bonanza, which does not have an engine preheater. I will continue to fly about once a week in my consulting business, and my airplane will probably be in a cold hangar. Do you recommend getting an engine preheater?
A) Absolutely! You will have a few warm months in your new area to talk to local mechanics and fellow Bonanza owners about their experience and recommendations. Get a good heater professionally installed. Your engine will thank you!
Q) You sort of knocked some Cessna 182s for having a relatively short lived (1500-hour time between overhaul, or TBO) engine in your column in the previous issue of the magazine. What about the late 1970s/early1980s vintage C182RG (retractable gear) with a 2000-hour Lycoming 235 hp engine? Did you ever operate or fly any of them? How did they hold up?
A) In 1978, Cessna introduced the retractable landing gear 182RG, with, as you stated, a 235 hp Lycoming engine rated at 2000 hours TBO. In my experience, those engines held up well and were longer lived than the 230 hp engine in the fixed gear C182 of similar vintage. Yes, I flew and liked them. On the downside, I do remember they had more noise and vibration than their fixed gear brothers. Today, all else being equal, a similar aged and equipped RG version of the 182 will cost you perhaps $10,000.00 more than the fixed gear version. In my opinion, that is money well spent, provided you have access to a shop familiar with Cessna’s retractable landing gear system.
Q) Please settle a bet. A friend recently bought an Ercoupe. He swears that even though it is a low-wing airplane, there is only one fuel pump. Is this possible? How does it work if true?
A) Virtually ALL low-wing aircraft have two fuel pumps. The Ercoupe is a rare exception. The primary fuel pump is usually engine driven, and runs continuously, and moves fuel uphill from a fuel tank located in a wing to the engine. In almost all cases, there is a secondary backup fuel pump, usually electric. But on the Ercoupe, and Alon, and a few others, only one engine-driven fuel pump was installed. That one pump moves fuel from a tank in the lower wing to a nose tank above the engine. That fuel then flows to the engine by gravity. IF the fuel pump fails, you still have a full nose tank (about an hour and a half of fuel) to locate an airport to land. But you must be on the ball and note if the nose tank fuel indicator starts to descend, while you still have fuel in the wing tanks. If your engine-driven fuel pump has failed, it’s time to find an airport.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Pete Schoeninger is a 40-year general aviation veteran, starting out as a line technician as a teenager, advancing through the ranks to become the co-owner and manager of a fixed base operation, and manager of an airport in a major metropolitan community. Pete welcomes questions and comments about aircraft ownership via email at PeterSchoeningerLLC@gmail.com
DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this column is the expressed opinion of the author. Readers are urged to seek the advice of others, including flight instructors, licensed aircraft technicians, airport managers, fixed base operators, and state and federal officials. Neither the author, Midwest Flyer Magazine, Flyer Publications, Inc., their staffs, employees or advertisers assume any liability for the accuracy or content of this column or any other column or article in this publication.
