More in the Seneca
Saturday, September 24th was a day when I could just have easily stayed home. The previous evening it was looking as if visual meteorological conditions would be unlikely for my booking to fly the Seneca in the morning. I had the aircraft from 11am until 3pm but no one to share the flight with. In these marginal weather conditions and the lack of a companion, I am tempted sometimes to just not bother.
But it had been several weeks since I last flew the Seneca and even that flight was brief. In fact my last ‘proper’ flight in it was to Sligo, in the Irish Republic, in early July. So, I made the decision to go.
Prior to my booking, the aircraft was on an Instrument Rating training flight and arrived back at base with insufficient fuel for my sortie. We use a fob to gain access to the fuel pumps and usually the limit of 200 litres of Avgas is more than enough for the single engine planes. The Twinstar uses JetA1 and is pumped from a tanker, so not usually a problem. However, the Seneca is a twin engine plane and can hold over 460 litres of useable fuel. After I had put in 200 litres the pump stopped my delivery. It’s the first time this has happened to me and I had to reset and commence another delivery to get what I wanted. I now had enough fuel for my flight and for the IR student after me who would need a couple of hours of flight time.
It always seems to be the case that however long the slot you have to fly, you can run out of time very quickly! The aeroplane can be late returning from the previous flight and then time is expended checking out the fuel and oil states, the control surfaces and propellers and also completing the technical log. You then need to be back before the next pilot wants a go! Not to mention refuelling as well.
Eventually I strapped myself in to G-GFEY having refuelled and satisfied myself that all was ready for departure. With no distractions from a passenger, or fellow pilot, I ran through the checklist carefully and the engines were soon running and the avionics powered up. There was a gentle crosswind today, but conditions looked to be fair as I taxied to E2, the holding point for runway 28. Checks complete, I reported ready for departure and was offered a shorter backtrack for take-off due to landing traffic. I declined this offer as in the Seneca you need to take your time and not be worrying about getting airborne with indecent haste.
With power set at 40” manifold pressure, the aircraft was soon in the air with the wheels tucked away. A reduction to 34” and 2400rpm and pulling back the mixtures to give a fuel flow of 12 u.s. gallons per hour each engine, had us climbing at 100 kts. I levelled off at 2000 feet and further reduced power to 25” manifold pressure and the airspeed settled around 140 kts. This speed is fine for general handling as there is no point in flying at 165kts and using lots of fuel if you are not going anywhere in particular! I did my usual turns left and right, climbing and descending and just enjoyed the flying. I looked at the new wind farm development out to the west of Walney Island and did a few minutes in the clouds to practice instrument flying skills.
Returning to Blackpool via Fleetwood, I was asked to report east abeam the tall tower (Blackpool’s newly refurbished landmark) and was told to position right base runway 28. There were a couple of commercial aircraft backtracking for departure and I had to complete three or four orbits for spacing before positioning on final approach. These orbits were themselves more handling practice as I flew with flaps 10 and the undercarriage down. The plane was rock steady and was quite happy doing this at 1200 feet above the M55. Soon enough I was over the threshold and made a good landing, turning off the runway at the Delta taxiway as another commercial was looking to back track for departure. I taxied to Flight Academy and parked up once again.
The Twinstar has been out of action now for over a month as the management consider what to do about it. New clutches were required for its engines but, as it is near to needing brand new engines, it would not make sense to replace gearboxes then still need replacement power plants soon after. I really enjoy flying the Twinstar and in the past have really missed it when it has been off line. However, that was before I tried the Seneca. It is 1980’s technology but it’s built like a tank, has six seats and is very fast and pleasing to fly. It gives a real sense of satisfaction after each flight. It’s not too hard or too easy to fly, but needs to be operated correctly and certainly demands good airmanship to fly safely and well.
Those are good skills to develop and maintain for someone seeking to be a safe aviator.
But it had been several weeks since I last flew the Seneca and even that flight was brief. In fact my last ‘proper’ flight in it was to Sligo, in the Irish Republic, in early July. So, I made the decision to go.
Prior to my booking, the aircraft was on an Instrument Rating training flight and arrived back at base with insufficient fuel for my sortie. We use a fob to gain access to the fuel pumps and usually the limit of 200 litres of Avgas is more than enough for the single engine planes. The Twinstar uses JetA1 and is pumped from a tanker, so not usually a problem. However, the Seneca is a twin engine plane and can hold over 460 litres of useable fuel. After I had put in 200 litres the pump stopped my delivery. It’s the first time this has happened to me and I had to reset and commence another delivery to get what I wanted. I now had enough fuel for my flight and for the IR student after me who would need a couple of hours of flight time.
It always seems to be the case that however long the slot you have to fly, you can run out of time very quickly! The aeroplane can be late returning from the previous flight and then time is expended checking out the fuel and oil states, the control surfaces and propellers and also completing the technical log. You then need to be back before the next pilot wants a go! Not to mention refuelling as well.
Eventually I strapped myself in to G-GFEY having refuelled and satisfied myself that all was ready for departure. With no distractions from a passenger, or fellow pilot, I ran through the checklist carefully and the engines were soon running and the avionics powered up. There was a gentle crosswind today, but conditions looked to be fair as I taxied to E2, the holding point for runway 28. Checks complete, I reported ready for departure and was offered a shorter backtrack for take-off due to landing traffic. I declined this offer as in the Seneca you need to take your time and not be worrying about getting airborne with indecent haste.
With power set at 40” manifold pressure, the aircraft was soon in the air with the wheels tucked away. A reduction to 34” and 2400rpm and pulling back the mixtures to give a fuel flow of 12 u.s. gallons per hour each engine, had us climbing at 100 kts. I levelled off at 2000 feet and further reduced power to 25” manifold pressure and the airspeed settled around 140 kts. This speed is fine for general handling as there is no point in flying at 165kts and using lots of fuel if you are not going anywhere in particular! I did my usual turns left and right, climbing and descending and just enjoyed the flying. I looked at the new wind farm development out to the west of Walney Island and did a few minutes in the clouds to practice instrument flying skills.
Returning to Blackpool via Fleetwood, I was asked to report east abeam the tall tower (Blackpool’s newly refurbished landmark) and was told to position right base runway 28. There were a couple of commercial aircraft backtracking for departure and I had to complete three or four orbits for spacing before positioning on final approach. These orbits were themselves more handling practice as I flew with flaps 10 and the undercarriage down. The plane was rock steady and was quite happy doing this at 1200 feet above the M55. Soon enough I was over the threshold and made a good landing, turning off the runway at the Delta taxiway as another commercial was looking to back track for departure. I taxied to Flight Academy and parked up once again.
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| Seneca on the Flight Academy Apron |
The Twinstar has been out of action now for over a month as the management consider what to do about it. New clutches were required for its engines but, as it is near to needing brand new engines, it would not make sense to replace gearboxes then still need replacement power plants soon after. I really enjoy flying the Twinstar and in the past have really missed it when it has been off line. However, that was before I tried the Seneca. It is 1980’s technology but it’s built like a tank, has six seats and is very fast and pleasing to fly. It gives a real sense of satisfaction after each flight. It’s not too hard or too easy to fly, but needs to be operated correctly and certainly demands good airmanship to fly safely and well.
Those are good skills to develop and maintain for someone seeking to be a safe aviator.
posted by David M at 8:56 PM
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