Page 18 - Volume 21 Number 11

The partially-hidden toggle switch (pictured at right) operates an electrically operated hook that latches the clamshell door together (above). Not following proper door- closing procedure will lead to a potentially dangerous “gotcha.”
All this has many new Lear 35 pilots lurching down the taxiway, with the repeated odd noise clearly announcing to the passengers that the pilot must be new to this aircraft. This continues through the initial part of the takeoff run, when at 45 knots the nose-wheel steering becomes dangerously sensitive so it is turned off via a red button on the control wheel.
The CRM drill to prevent an off- runway excursion “gotcha,” goes like this: Pilot flying (PF) advances the throttles PNF calls “power set,” then at about 45 knots “airspeed alive,” at which time PF presses the red button on the control wheel and calls out, “nose wheel steering off.” On landing, serious accidents have occurred if the nose-wheel steering is “ON” at touch down because even a small amount of rudder input (say, a slight slip for crosswind purposes) will move the nose wheel well off center. Thus, when it meets the pavement, the nose wheel immediately points the airplane toward the grass. For this reason, the nose wheel steering is left OFF on landing, and kept that way until the airplane is well slowed down, something that is not at all intuitive.
Old School TOLD Calculations
Nearing the runway and ready to fly, the next potential “gotcha” is the need
16 • TWIN & TURBINE
to use TOLD (takeoff and landing data) cards. In newer jets, this information is automatically calculated by the onboard computer, and moved to the PFD (primary flight display), but this convenience is not available on the older Lear 35s. Pilots must look up the required speeds (V1, Vr, and V2), runway length, and power settings for each takeoff. The numbers are dependent upon temperature, weight, runway condition and elevation.
Most of us have made up charts for the common numbers, and pasted them to the checklist, but it still can be tricky. For example, for Boise today, (elevation 2,871 feet), the readily available chart is not valid because it is for sea level operations only, so a larger book is consulted for the numbers applicable to that elevation. Usually the charts in the larger book never show the exact altitude and temperature you are at, and so some extrapolation is required.
Once the takeoff or landing information has been extracted from the charts, to make it readily apparent to the crew it is hand printed on a TOLD card and stuck somewhere obvious for both pilots to see.
A Gotcha-Free Landing
We have been blasting along at 2,000 feet and 250 knots on our BFI
While the flight decks in newer jets can perform the takeoff data calculations, the Learjet 35 requires the pilot to acquire and display the data the old-school way.
departure for several minutes when we finally get a word in edgewise with Seattle Departure and are given a left turn and climb to 12,000 feet. We arrive there in less than three minutes and meet with our next “gotcha.” Most of these older Lears do not have altitude preselect on either the flight director or the autopilot. As a result, both pilots need to be fully alert during the climb,
November 2017