Page 10 - Demo

During his test ight, Pickett reached FL45 in 28 minutes and approximately 700 lbs of fuel.
After accelerating to VMO, I had to reduce power. Of course, in the CJ3 you always have to reduce power at FL450 to avoid exceeding VMO. What I was surprised to see with the winglets however, is how much. In the CJ3 I normally fly, I reduce the power to about 95 percent N1 which gives me 405-410 ktas and a fuel burn of 370 pph per engine, or 740 pph total. Next came the acid test: what were the engine parameters with the winglets? I slowly reduced the throttles a fraction of a percent at a time as the airspeed tape trend monitor showed I would exceed VMO. When it finally settled down, we had an N1 of 94.6 percent, slightly below our usual N1, with a fuel burn of 340 pph per side, travelling at 407 ktas/0.732m at ISA temperatures. This difference of 60 pph might not seem like a lot, however it represents 300 pounds of Jet A on a five-hour flight.
One of the nicest features of the CJ3 is its long-range capability. With NBAA reserves, the Citation CJ3 has a range of 1,760 nm. Going into this flight, I expected the winglet- equipped CJ3 to maybe add another 100 nm. I certainly was not expecting the numbers we actually saw.
After stabilizing at FL45, and within a knot or so of VMO, we turned to the Rockwell Proline 21 performance computer (which is extremely useful). With our current engine
parameters of 94.6 percent N1 and fuel burn of 680 pph, our total range equated to 2,090 nm with an 80-pound reserve, 10- knot headwind and included the 220 nm we had already flown in the climb.
If someone really wanted to stretch their fuel, further reductions in power yield could improve the range further. As with any extended range calculations, the pilot needs to balance increased flight time and the associated costs with saving fuel. In some situations, slowing the airplane down costs more since the airframe and engine times increase at a higher amount than the fuel you might consume. In other cases, it makes perfect sense to slow down a bit and extend your range, especially with the Tamarack winglets, since it can help you avoid a fuel stop or provide an increased safety margin – especially over extended water operations.
As mentioned previously, I completed a second test flight in California to confirm all of the above observations. I flew with Gary Heaven in his CJ3, a Tamarack development aircraft. Sure enough, I saw similar results. As a side note, Gary even made the news previously by flying from Paris, Texas to Paris, France in his CJ3-equipped with the ATLAS winglet system. His longest leg stretched slightly over 2,200 nm and he still landed with an adequate reserve. Pretty impressive for a CJ3.
What’s Next for Tamarack
Tamarack is growing with a recent expansion of its installation and service network. While owners can opt for installation at Tamarack’s headquarters in Sandpoint, Idaho, the company has also partnered with Eagle Aviation, Duncan Aviation, Western Aircraft and Northeast Air. Owners can expect the installation to take approximately one week. The $299,000 cost is a significant investment. However, recent Vref values indicate that owners can expect to receive a significant amount of that investment in the increased value of their airplanes.
Tamarack has no plans to stop with the Cessna jet series. The company is actively expanding to other aircraft, including larger commercial aircraft. During NBAA 2017, they announced their Commercial Active Winglet program. They are also evaluating additional business aircraft for their next STC pr•oject.
Perhaps one of the greatest aspects of Tamarack is they have brought some very innovative technology to aviation which benefits not only their customers, but the industry as a whole. T&T
Since receiving his private pilot’s license in 1977, Rich Pickett’s passion for flight has only intensified. President of Personal Wings, Inc., Rich is the former chief information officer for San Diego State University. With more than 10,000 hours in the logbook he holds ATP, CFII SMEL, AIGI, commercial SES and glider ratings. His type ratings include Citation 500, 510S, 525S, Eclipse 500S, the Aero Vodochody L-39 and L-29, and SIC on the DA-10. He serves on the NBAA Citation Technical Advisory Committee.
Rich Pickett stands next to the Tamarack-equipped CJ3, which served as their test bed for this installation.
8 • TWIN & TURBINE
June 2018