Page 35 - 207680_March19T

you) airplane, pay particular attention to the location of switches and signage that is well worn because those are the ones previous pilots have used a lot and you probably will too.
Finally, after spending nearly an hour carefully going over the airplane and making extra sure the air intake and exhaust for the APU are clear, we tell the line guys they can pull the airplane out when they are ready. This turns out to be a complex process because several other airplanes are in the way and need to be moved first, during which the han- gar door is open with heat escaping at a prodigious rate, and snow blowing in making everything wet. But the line guys, decked out in fur hats with ear muffs, thick down coats and snow boots take it all in stride and soon have our airplane outside.
We promptly board the airplane and quickly close the two-section door be- fore all the heat escapes, then get in- volved starting our new toy, the APU. This $200,000 extra piece of airborne equipment is little jet engine about the size of a five-gallon paint bucket, which is mounted in the tail section with an air intake on the top aft fuselage and a jet exhaust opening on the right side just above the engine pylon. It puts out enough energy to nicely heat the cabin and makes starting the engines much easier. I push the APU’s start switch and the little turbine cranks up right away, then engage the “pack” switch that controls the heating. Shortly thereafter, it is noisily blasting out hot air into the cabin at a phenomenal rate. Ah, very nice indeed. In this weather, definitively worth the price.
The line guys then come out with fresh coffee for the small galley, and we spend four to five minutes fiddling with the tanks. It turns out the Lear 45 has a heated container for coffee and an identical one next to it for hot water, which is a well thought out system as not all passengers like drinking FBO coffee. When that task is completed, plus some lunches boarded, we complete the checklist all the way down to the “engine start” section. Then while basking in hot air from the APU and sipping coffee, we relax and wait for our single passenger (one of the airplane owners) to show up.
When getting in a new-to-you airplane, it is helpful to note any well-worn switches and signage (like the APU ones seen here).
CD Mgt
March 2019
TWIN & TURBINE • 33