Page 22 - Volume 10 Number 11

If you cannot accept this fact and forego the checks, then remote strip operation is not for you. Shorten down to some version of CIGAR, make sure the gyros are all erected and the avionics are set, and let’s hit the road!
During this rather brief ground operating period, in most cases leave the air conditioning off. We may not have enough N1 speed to handle the load and, if the runway is short, we’ll want it off for takeoff anyway. A little extra cabin temperature is something that is often unavoidable on short desert and jungle strips. Airborne? Ah, now we can use whatever we want.
Taxiing: We release the brakes and prepare to add that little burst of power to get us moving. Stop! Don’t push those power levers forward! There’s a much better way. A quick increase in propeller blade angle will be just the ticket to provide enough burst of thrust to get the airplane rolling and it causes a decrease, not an increase, in RPM.
Model 300 pilots have it the easiest here: Just tap the “Turbo Boost” switch up momentarily. That’s the slang term I give to the “Grd Idle Stop Test” switch that makes the blade angle jump from the Ground to the Flight Low Pitch Stop (LPS), an increase of about 12 degrees. The model 300s with the updated/modified LPS system and all 350s have to add a little power to move to the Flight LPS and we want to avoid that increase in RPM. Hence, all models other than the 300 can do it this way: Just a quick pull of both propeller levers into and immediately out of the feather detent. Hey! Look at that! She started rolling just great with no power increase, thanks to that sudden increase in propeller bite!
While taxiing, avoid use of any Beta unless you are now rolling on a reasonably good surface. Just leave the power levers at Idle and ride the brakes or coast with the propellers pulled into feather. In situations like this, additional brake wear is the price we pay for protecting the propeller blades.
Try to keep the airplane moving until right up to the start of the takeoff roll. If you are forced to stop – waiting for other traffic, perhaps – then use the technique presented above to start rolling again.
The Takeoff: Will we use approach flaps? That depends both on the length and the roughness condition of the runway. Keep in mind that most of the 90-series King Airs have no POH data for takeoff with approach flaps. If you decide that flaps are advantageous, wait to extend them until taking the runway so as to better avoid rock hits onto the extended flaps. Some pilots wait to extend the flaps until actually rolling down the runway. That’s a poor technique for two reasons: First, our attention must be divided as we check the flap indicator to verify that the flaps did what we wanted them to do. Second, what if we have a split flap situation? Will we recognize it quickly enough to abort, or will we discover the surprise
20 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
NOVEMBER 2016