Page 13 - Volume 18 Number 2

or speed penalty. The MT spinners have a chrome-like finish, but are actually of Kevlar construction.Stanley flight plans for 205 knots on average, normally operating in the 17,000 to 21,000-foot range. True airspeed increases to 215 knots at the higher levels. “With the ring-binder list of performance- enhancing STCs on this airplane,” quips Stanley, “it ought be doing 300 knots, but that’s not the way things work.” At FL220, the cabin altitude is still only 7,400 feet. Stanley normally leaves the fuel boost pumps on “low” continuously to purge any vapor formation. The 4+20 hours of fuel at 68% power provide a range of 900 n.mi., allowing one-stop runs to Seattle and the Bahamas.The big engines are currently operated rich of peak, burning about 21 gph per side at 65% power for cooling, and they give little trouble, Stanley says, as long as one avoids low idle speeds and vapor formation. The display of the AuRACLE enginemonitors automatically turn caution- yellow when turbocharger limitations require a power reduction at high altitudes. After all the upgrading, the aircraft was approaching 100 squawk-free hours at the end of 2013.The exterior lighting has largely been changed over to LED-type replacements, with a few remaining bulbs waiting for expiration before changeout. The home-base hangar is kept at 70-degrees year-round, and Stanley polishes the tailpipe clean after each trip, along with detailing the inside of the big wheel wells where the trailing-link maingear resides. Cleaning supplies are stored in the smaller left wing locker, with covers and mooring items carried on the right side. The cavernous nose baggage compartments provide 36 cubic feet of space and can take any normal load of luggage, reached through two swing-up doors.Utilization runs 150 to 200 hours per year, sharing duties with the 11-place long-body MU-2 turbopropthat handles the longer and faster trips. The company has customers in large and small communities across the country, and providing on-the-spot service and troubleshooting problems with customer service representatives is a priority. Supporting trade shows also requires shuttling of set-up crews and key personnel. Most important, however, is the airplane’s role in providing customer service; when there’s a problem, H&H knows it’s vital to get in the plane and go meet face-to-face.Recurrent crew proficiency training is done at SimCom every six months, maintaining currency in both the MU-2 and 421 simulators. To continue giving service to customers as a “wholesale manufacturer of photographic products”, as Haub would put it, H&H Color Labs keeps the airplanes moving regularly to make customer’s happy. In Tim Stanley’s words•, “Nothing else beats the 421C’s wide cabin and smooth comfort.” T&TFEBRUARY 2014TWIN & TURBINE • 11