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Flights of Not-so-Fancy
My impression of f lying the Do.28A was not one of drama or hyperbole. Instead, I found the machine to be just what it looks like. Oversized proportions, robust construction, serious STOL capabili- ties, and simple, specialized systems. Climbing aboard requires some dex- terity to utilize the fuselage step and handle to hoist oneself onto the stub wing without bonking your head on the bottom of the main wing. But the cockpit door/window hatches are enormous, and once you’ve coaxed your legs inside to straddle the floor- mounted control column, the station is roomy and comfortable. Controls fall readily to hand with the centrally mounted power quadrant. The fuel tank cutoffs and crossfeed selectors are ceiling-mounted, where they are unlikely to be moved inadvertently.
The flight controls are well har- monized in all three axes, neither heavy nor light. They require a little muscle, but not too much, and are solid enough to never be twitchy. However, they are not at all “heavy,” in the way that is common among “truck-ish” piston twins. Pitch trim is controlled manually via a massive
trim wheel between the pilot seats. The ship-like wood and metal wheel is easy to find and grasp and effec- tive and precise without looking at it. Pitch trim can be fine-tuned to fly hands-off with ease. With matched engine thrust, the Do.28 can be flown with an occasional tap on a rudder pedal to keep the wings level. Slow flight, steep turns, and stalls can all be summed up in a single word – be- nign. Each maneuver was predictable
characteristics, the learning curve is quick, and it only took one takeoff for me to develop more patience and anticipate the airplane’s slow reac- tions to the pilot’s yaw inputs before getting too aggressive with my feet.
Climb and cruise were total non- events, and the Do.28 quickly settled into a 115 KTAS economy cruise speed. Being big and draggy, pouring more fuel through the engines doesn’t generate a significantly higher cruise
The cockpit door/windows are enormous
and easy to accomplish via the well- harmonized controls and easy-to- scan instruments.
During my initial takeoff in Ruby, I discovered a bit of lag in rudder response. Once rudder pressure is added for directional control on the runway, it seems wholly ineffective at first (even when near liftoff speed). But, when it finally responds, the pilot is reminded the rudder is in- deed large and authoritative. Dur- ing the lag, though, I was fooled into overcompensating with the rudder, meaning when my action took ef- fect, it was with far more yaw than I needed. Of course, this created an out-of-sync series of yaw correc- tions that left me wandering across the centerline once the tail was up. Yet even with its nuanced yaw
speed, with approximately 135 KTAS being max-power cruise. Pull one engine back to a zero-thrust setting to simulate a feathered prop, and directional control requires minimal rudder in cruise. Vmc was around 60 KIAS in the clean configuration as we slowed to explore the ability of the rudder to maintain directional con- trol at the bottom end of the flight en- velope. Thus, Dan and Pepe use that as their minimum approach speed. Flap application is simple using the central Johnson-bar control with a thumb trigger release. Trigger the release and pull. The first extension is 15° and requires little effort. The second is 35° which takes a mighty pull to get the lever to click into position. This is where each owner usually leaves the f laps for landing,
April 2023 / TWIN & TURBINE • 13