Page 28 - 206498_Nov18T

PHOTO COURTESY OF BLACKHAWK MODIFICATIONS
whether to buy a -21 JetPROP or a -35 JetPROP, fly in a -35 JetPROP and pull the power back to match the ITT of a -21 JetPROP. The -21 JetPROP has an ITT limit of 680F, and the -35 has an ITT limit of 740F. So, if you can fly the -35 JetPROP around with a max ITT of 680F, you’ll be flying a -21 JetPROP effectively. Most pilots cannot resist the urge to push the power lever all the way forward.
This same test can be used with other airframes, too. Can’t decide between a King Air F90 or a C90? Find someone who would be willing to allow you to take a test flight in an F90 and see if you have the wherewithal to pull back the power to the limits of a C90’s-21 engines.
If you can do so, then you are motivated by efficiency, and you are in the elite club of owner/operators that know how to do the math.
Do math? Ouch! That hurt. Yes, there is no substitute for horsepower, but no one said that horsepower is cheap. You’ll pay more to acquire any big-engine ver- sion of an airplane. You’ll buy more fuel to feed the big-engine version, and every hour of operation will cost you more (engine reserve) in the big-engine ver- sion. Is it worth it? To most, yes, but it is a personal decision that has other vari- ables in the equation, with the biggest variable being cost. Make no mistake, the bigger engine will always cost more.
A King Air 350 undergoes the XP-67A engine upgrade offered by Blackhawk Modi cations.
So, do you buy the big-engine version of an airplane or the small-engine ver- sion of an airplane? The adage rings true, “The buyer with the most knowledge usu- ally wins.” Do your homework and learn all you can. If y•ou still struggle to make a good decision, be sure to hire a buyer agent who has your best interests at heart. But never forget, there’s no substitute for horsepower. T&T
Joe Casey is an FAA-DPE and an ATP, CFI, CFII (A/H), MEI, CFIG, CFIH, as well as a U.S. Army UH-60 standardization instructor/exam- iner. An MMOPA Board member, he has been a PA46 instructor for 16-plus years and has accumulat- ed 12,000-plus hours of flight time, 5,500 of which has been in the PA46. Contact Joe at: www.flycasey.com, by email at joe@flycasey.com, or by phone at 903.721.9549.
Hillaero
1/6 pg
4/C Ad www.lighthawk.org/ volunteer
CD Management 4/C Ad
www.rosenvisor.com
26 • TWIN & TURBINE
November 2018