Page 28 - Jan 24

Both left and right power levers have microswitches in the power quadrant that require both levers to be up near the 90% N1 position or above before the system can operate.
pitch attitude, if you’ve “stepped on the heading” and it’s taking some aggressive foot force to keep the heading bug under the HSI’s lubber line, and if your indicated airspeed is near V2, then try to relax. You’re performing well at this difficult time. Remember to move the landing gear handle to its “up” position then wait until reaching 400 feet AGL before continuing the Engine Failure checklist.
PPFGIVF – Power, Props, Flaps, Gear, Identify, Verify, Feather. I know you’ve had that mantra drilled into your memory bank more than once. When you checked the airspeed and it was near V2 and you weren’t requiring an inordinate amount of force to keep the heading bug centered, then it’s almost guaranteed that autofeather has done its job and the drag of a windmilling propeller has been automatically addressed and corrected.
But the dastardly deed of Power Lever Migration (PLM) won’t leave you with the situation we’ve described here. Since the retardation of either power lever turns off the autofeather system on both sides, we will be left with a windmilling propeller, lots of drag and the resultant lack of performance. Airspeed will rapidly deteriorate to something below V2 and climb rate will suffer immensely. We will rapidly be approaching the deadly VMC roll when controllability is lost.
By the way, realize that turning off autofeather when a power lever moves aft is not due to any engine power change. It’s because both left and right power levers have microswitches in the power quadrant that require both levers to be up near the 90% N1 position or above before the system can operate. The “autofeather test” switch’s purpose is to bypass these switches and permit the system to operate even when a power lever is retarded.
PLM is a killer! Check those friction knobs carefully as the checklist directs. A relatively new procedure I am now teaching and advocating is to quickly release the power levers after takeoff torque has
of those options is a slam dunk, you’re probably better off aborting and steering around it, if possible. The kinetic energy needed to be dissipated in a collision at 30 knots is only about 11% of that needed to be dissipated at 90 knots.
Visibility Problem: You’ve just rolled into a dense fog bank sitting on the last half of the runway. It’s hard to see anything now, even the centerline stripe. Are you close to VR? Are you relatively comfortable with an IFR departure? If the answer to either of these questions is “No,” then staying on the runway and aborting the takeoff is likely the better choice.
Bird Strike: Was it a Condor or a Wren? Has any obvious airframe or propeller damage been inflicted? The answer to these questions will determine the best course of action.
After Liftoff
Now let’s discuss some possibilities after we have rotated and lifted off at the proper speeds.
Control Reversal: What the heck?! Why are we rolling left instead of right when I turned the
26 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
wheel to pick up the left low engine side?! Folks, historically this leads to disaster and death. Please, please, please never conduct your before takeoff “Controls” check without truly verifying that all the control surfaces that you can see are moving correctly! Ailerons are easy to examine. Your thumb(s) point to the raised aileron, right? Did your primary flight instructor teach you this little trick? When you rotate the wheel to the left, CCW, the left aileron should go up to force the left wing down and vice versa on the right side. So your thumb(s) on the wheel should always end up pointing to a raised aileron.
Rudders and elevators? Nearly impossible to check unless you have an outside helper. However, on the conventional tail members of the 90-series you can actually observe the elevator move by looking through the last cabin window on the opposite side from which you are sitting.
Asymmetrical Engine Power: Is it an actual engine failure? How do you know? More importantly, why do you care? If you have rotated and are holding the normal +10-degree
JANUARY 2024
Photo credit: King Air Academy