Page 24 - Volume 10 Number 11

Now, as you see the IAS hit 60 knots, start moving the power levers up and forward so that we are out of Reverse by 40 KIAS. On a paved runway, this is where you want to be at Ground Fine or “Top of the Stripes.” However, if this is an unpaved strip with lots of dirt/gravel/sand then, as in taxiing, we want to be all the way to Idle, even though it will require additional brake usage.
Another procedure that helps on these types of landings is the immediate retraction of flaps at touchdown. Having a copilot to work the flaps is ideal, but even when operating single-pilot, I suggest taking your hand off of the power levers after Max Reverse has been attained, moving the flap switch fully up, then returning to the power levers. Two benefits are derived in so doing: First, the airplane anchors more solidly to the runway and, when brakes are used, there is less chance of locking up and scuffing or blowing a tire. Second, the flaps have less exposure to damage from rocks kicked up by the main tires.
Yes, it goes without saying that grabbing the gear handle instead of the flap handle is a horrible, expensive, mistake and that’s why doing the flap retraction in normal, single-pilot, operation is rarely considered to be a good thing. Here, however, it makes sense. In a King Air, it is comforting to realize that the flap handle and gear handle are in very different locations. Keep
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your hand on the power quadrant, don’t reach forward to the subpanel!
In closing, years ago when I was based in Hayward, California, one of my King Air training customers was an owner-pilot of a sweet C90 that he loved to use for trips to the many dirt strips by the ocean in Baja. When he returned from these trips – my goodness! – Beechcraft West, the Beech dealer based there who serviced the plane, would spend days fixing the airplane! Almost always all prop blades had to be filed, flaps and gear doors were patched and painted as needed, and the engine compressors were always checked for evidence of FOD. I suggested that the owner take my wife and me on one of his extended weekend getaways and let me demonstrate some techniques that I was sure would alleviate these post-trip maintenance nightmares. He immediately accepted my suggestion and I presented to him, via demonstration and practice, what you have read here. Amazing! From that point on, Beechcraft West found themselves with little if anything to address when the plane returned.
I hope you will consider these techniques and incorporate them into your procedures for use on unimproved strips. They really do work! KA
King Air expert Tom Clements has been flying and instructing in King Airs for over 44 years, and is the author of “The King Air Book.” He is a Gold Seal CFI and has over 23,000 total hours with more than 15,000 in King Airs. For information on ordering his book, go to www. flightreview.net. Tom is actively mentoring the instructors at King Air Academy in Phoenix.
If you have a question you’d like Tom to answer, please send it to Editor Kim Blonigen at kblonigen@ cox.net.
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22 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
NOVEMBER 2016