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Q-talk 149 - Sanjay's Latest Exploits

by Sanjay Dhall

Sanjay Getting Ready!

[Editor’s Note: As of this writing Sanjay Dhall has completed 23 flights in his Q-200. Sanjay is doing a great job learning about his airplane, but he's also doing a great job of documenting his exploits and expanding the flight envelope. Let's encourage him to continue making these reports!]

Flight #15

YIP 8/29/11 7pm temp 75F winds 220@6

The goal of this flight was to build on the confidence of prior flight and go to a another airport a little further away. Also decided to carry a little extra weight. So added a 40 lbs bag of sand sealed in a garbage and placed inside a dog food bag. Duct taped and placed in right seat and held down by seat belt and shoulder harness.

The logical place to fly was Adrian/Lenawee county (ADG) about 31nm SW. Departed rwy 23 from YIP, flew generally southwest, and climbed to 4300 ft. Nice evening, good visibility. Flew near Tecumseh, MI, some grass runways and a private airport. Then in the distance saw ADG. Maintained about 2400 rpm. Temp was still below 200F but noticed some upward movement. I was within landing distance of ADG.

Now practiced and tested slow flight. Prevailing airspeed was about 140mph. Reduced power to 1200rpm, added some up reflexor, aft stick and continued to slow down. Slowed to near 70mph airspeed, but no significant pitch buck. Recovered some airspeed with fwd stick.

Now I was going to try a slip for the first time. Jabbed full rt rudder, and added in a bit of left stick. The Q slips just like any other airplane. Plenty of descent now. Made some tight circles to lose some more alt. Lined up with rwy 23 at ADG, but felt I was still a little high. Speed was now below 115. For the first time engaged the belly brake, with left hand, applying some resistance to keep the lever from springing out. No significant attitude change observed, maybe just a hint of a nose tuck.

When I had descended to the glide path and slowed down a little more, retracted the belly brake closed. I was not sure if I could close it satisfactorily if I had to go around. Sailed past the numbers, and finally settled about ¼ of the rwy down, with a slight bounce. This rwy is 5000x100. Made the second turnoff, so maybe about 3200ft used.

Taxied back to start and took off again, and headed back to YIP. Climbed to about 3800ft. With YIP in sight about 12miles away added full power in level flight and noted GPS recorded max ground speed of 189. Guessing at winds aloft of about 7-10 I guess I may be around 180 top speed. Landed 23L tailwheel first without a bounce and much slower.

Hobbs 1.0 12.5 total

 

Flight #16

YIP 8/31/11 6:30pm fly #16 temp 80F winds 120@6

Flew north with hope of flying to Pontiac, MI (PTK) if temps stayed in check. Flew over Y47 and flew towards PTK, but noticed oil temps moving steadily up past 210. Turned around keeping YIP in sight. Flew over 1D2 as usual. Played with different nose attitudes and varying engine speeds to see if I could contain the oil temps. After a 35mi circuit headed back for YIP. Slower approach, reflexor up, tailwheel touched first, no bounce, shorter rollout, happy landing.

Hobbs time 0.7 13.2 total

 

Flight #17

YIP 9/3/11 10am 83F winds 240@6

This flight was a repeat of previous flight. Oil temps came up quickly to 220F. Returned home. Little gusty. Landed 23R tailwheel first, no bounce. Made the turnoff to RWY32, 3000ft total rwy used.

Hobbs time 0.7 13.9 total

 

Flight #18

YIP 9/13/11 6:30pm temp 65F winds 350@11

Back from FOD, recharged. Took off rwy 27, headed north out from under Class B airspace. Made the usual 40mi circuit at 3000' north of YIP. Oil temps held at 205F. Landed rwy32 with winds 340@11 – Have been working to slow down my landings. Approach speed closer to 100 this time. This approach felt better, tailwheel first, deployed belly brake after touchdown – short rollout.

Hobbs 0.7 14.6 total

Flight #19

YIP 9/20/11 6pm temp 70F winds 180 @ 5

Temp is cooler today, winds are favorable for a landing at Pontiac (PTK) which only has E-W runways, and is about 28mi away.

Took off from 23L. Headed north and climbed to 4000 feet once I was clear of Detroit Class B. Flew over New Hudson, then looked N-E, climbed a little more. A Cessna performing tight turns straightened out and flew south nearby and below as I announced my presence. I don’t know if he heard me on the radio or saw me.

Continued on my N-E heading towards PTK. Talked to tower. Ident not observed – will need to look into the xpdr. Winds were calm. Descended to pattern for 27L (6000x150) but made a shorter final. Again a little fast and a little high. Touched down ¼ way down the rwy with slight bounce, then made turnoff about halfway. Taxied back and took off again S-W bound back for YIP. Flew directly over I-275, then saw 1D2, passed over it, played a little enroute to YIP. Landed on 23L. Slower approach, tailwheel touched first, no bounce, short roll.

So far I notice that if tailwheel touches down first, I don’t get a bounce and my roll is shorter.

Hobbs 1.0 15.6 total

 

 

Flight #20

KYIP - 10/5/11 6pm 72f winds calm.

Clear evening. Just wanted to go up and enjoy the view, since temp was OK. After making usual 40 mile circuit to the north flying over Y47 and 1D2, returned back to YIP. Deployed belly brake on final for the first time, left it down. Reflexor up, Made a slow short landing, on 23L tailwheel touched first, no bounce and significantly shorter roll. This may have been my shortest landing yet. Maybe about 2500 feet or so.

Hobbs 0.7 16.3 total

 

The next evening went out for a short 15minute flight. But somewhat hurried. During engine runup, one mag sounded rough. Tried a few times but it did not appear to clear. Turned around and came back, no flight. This was also the day when Jerry B made his ill-fated flight. I’m sure going to miss him.

In the next few weeks removed and noted a fouled plug and another that also had a lot of gunk. Both rear lower plugs. Also did compression check and found compressions to be just fine. Pilot friends thought that the fouling could be from running rich. Resolved to test leaning the engine during taxi out and during flight.

I have had 3 more flights and a total hobbs flight time of about 19 hours. During these recent flights, outside temps have been dropping, so oil temp is a non-issue for the moment. Still struggling to gain confidence in the engine, while carrying a little more weight, slowly broadening the envelope, higher altitudes, lower outside temps, tested cabin heat. Still need to get formal numbers for Vx, Vy, Best Glide, but I don’t like idling the engine yet, unless I have an airport in sight. The landing are getting better, slower and shorter, as I now deploy reflexor, belly board, and slip, on approaches with improved results.

 Sanjay Getting Ready!