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Remcho flies out of Mariposa-Yosemite Airport (KMPI) in Mariposa, California.
“The Meridian has opened up the country for me, and I use it primarily for real estate. I focus my business efforts, multi-family investment and development around the airplane because I can get wherever quickly and on short notice. My primary flights are between the Bay Area, Se- attle, Portland and Denver. Sometimes I fly as far as Texas and Florida. I also use the aircraft personally to enjoy the high-country mountains of Idaho, which also often has a business component.”
When not flying, Remcho loves being in the mountains, both as a volunteer firefighter and as a caretaker of his ranch property in eastern central California.
“I am based out of the Mariposa-Yosemite Airport (KMPI), which has a 3,300-foot paved runway at a 2,200-foot eleva- tion. The Meridian operates great from that runway. Usually, it’s just me and a friend or business partner or two in the airplane. But a lot of times, it’s just me flying around, and I can throw all of my gear in it, whether it’s a mountain bike, snowboard, or anything else,” he stated. “On a 100-degree day, with tanks topped off and at full payload, I can be off the ground within 2,500 feet. I put 20 degrees of flaps in, taxi to the edge of the runway, turn onto the centerline, hold the brakes, and bring up power to about 1900 RPM. Then I release the brakes, keep increasing the power as I start rolling, set 1,250 lb/ft of torque, and use a little back pressure to take some weight off the nose wheel as I roll down the runway. Once at 85 knots - rotate. Pitch up. Clean up. Clear obstacles at 95 knots, settle in at 110 knots to gain altitude, and configure for cruise climb at 135 knots.”
The Turbo 182T that Remcho recently sold sitting next to his Meridian in Hayward.
Once airborne, the Meridian continues to impress. Com- ing from an unpressurized piston, Sam is extremely pleased with the turboprop’s pressurization system.
“Typically, I’ll get up to about ten thousand feet while climbing at 1,500 feet per minute. Then the plane settles off at a climb rate of about 1,300 feet per minute from 10,000 feet up to FL270 or 280. Usually, I’ll go up to those altitudes on the longer flights, and the cabin pressure is around 10,000 feet or so.”
“The pressurization system is a breeze. The controller on the lower left side of the panel, above the pilot’s left knee, is used to set pressurization. Set the dial to 500 feet above your desired altitude, and the system pressurizes the aircraft. So, if cleared to climb up to FL280, set the dial to 28,500 feet, and the aircraft pressurizes accordingly. On descent, you can step down the pressurization accordingly, so if descending to 16,000 feet, set the dial at 16,500. And then once below about 12,000 feet, I set the dial to 500 feet above my destination airport.”
The panel of Remcho’s Meridian, complete with the logo of his ranch.
October 2023 / TWIN & TURBINE • 5