Page 22 - Volume 14 Number 10

not been reset, and if the pilot does not carefully follow every step of the checklist, it is possible to depart with them still loose. Condition lever and propeller lever friction is not too important, but power lever? Oh my goodness! Those levers will spring strongly back toward idle when the pilot’s hand moves to the landing gear control. If the pilot notices what is happening – of course that is usually the case – then the outcome is more comical than anything else as he tries to fly, get the gear up and tighten the friction while not letting the power be too low. But if the power lever migration (PLM) is not seen, then disaster can result. With both levers migrating back, but with the left almost always going to a lower power setting than the right, there may not be sufficient power to sustain flight. Also, the differential in power tends to lead the pilot to think that an engine has in fact failed. Furthermore, the marvelous autofeather system is rendered inoperative due to the migration of the levers.
Yet it is understandable (although, not excusable) for the pilot to never carry out the first step of his “Suspected Power Loss” procedure ... advancing both power levers! Why? Because in his mind that was already done as the takeoff roll began. In other words, the “Power” and “Props” steps are already done in his mind, maybe even the “Flaps” step. So all he has to do (so he thinks) is get the “Gear” step done and watch autofeather do its job. (Or Identity, Verify and Feather manually if the airplane does not have the system.)
Please, please, please give proper attention to power lever friction before every takeoff!
Following on Tom’s words of wisdom, I have some other recommendations.
Double-check the Trims
If you look at the trim wheels in most King Airs they are a com-
bination of numbered units, a “0” inside a box in the center and solid box on each extreme. It is very easy to look at a rudder trim or elevator trim and see what you think is center or zero, but more than once pilots have taken off with full trim only to realize it after rotation. In the King Air it is certainly controllable, but it can be a handful and many pilots try to fix what’s wrong instead of flying the airplane.
Be Thorough
In my opinion, the best way to approach the post-maintenance flight is to do it as slowly and methodically as practicable using the lengthy POH checklists in their entirety. In fact, you should do that twice ... taking the aircraft to the shop and picking it up from the shop. By doing it before, you can discover any abnormalities that need the shop’s attention. Of course, doing it after can uncover the errors that may exist. In addition to the full preflight and run-up procedures, I
also recommend an inflight Flow Pack, Leak Rate, and Cabin Altitude annunciator check accomplished before the Phase inspection to determine how the plane stands in these important areas. These checks are easier to perform in flight than in the shop’s hangar.
One more suggestion is to take off using approach flaps if airport conditions permit, as they almost always will. Recall that most, but not all, King Airs have a system that causes the landing gear warning horn to blow whenever the flaps are extended to a position greater than Approach when all three landing gear legs are not down and locked. I have observed numerous cases in which using flaps on takeoff causes the gear horn to blow as soon as the gear starts retracting. Why? Slight mis-adjustment of the triggering switch attached to the right inboard flap mechanism is the reason. The air loads that the flaps experience in flight usually ensure that the flaps do not extend far enough to
20 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
OCTOBER 2020