Page 12 - March23T
P. 12
Aircraft Performance
Pilots can plan on an honest 325 to 345 knots TAS at FL 410, depending on weight and temperature. Up there, you will see fuel flows of 500 lbs/hr total. Day in and day out, the airplane burns 100 gallons per hour. It’s at home in the higher flight levels, at least in standard temperatures. Unlike its more powerful Citation competitors like the M2, the Mustang’s Pratt & Whitney engines are sensitive to non- standard temperatures aloft.
Cruising in ISA+ 5 conditions or warmer will have a noticeable ef- fect on performance. And the abil- ity to climb to FL 390 and above in ISA+ conditions can be a strug- gle, especially after a gross weight takeoff. Plan on an initial 170-knot cruise climb after a pretty robust takeoff acceleration. Because the Mustang is not overpowered, it’s important to carefully calculate performance in hot and high take- off conditions, such as Gunnison, Colorado, where we have operated for many years.
PHOTOS BY AUTHOR
10 • TWIN & TURBINE / March 2023
T&T contributing writer and Mustang owner David Miller.
