Ten Times the Power : Your First Turboprop

I use Cessnas 152 and 172, and a Tecnam P2006T during my flight training. I logged over 200 hours in all three, and between a 198 HP piston twin vs a 1700 HP twin turboprop, oh boy, was the difference!

But there’s four major weirdness that surprised my muscle memory with low total time:

The flight controls are heavier than usual

Per 14 CFR 25.143(d) the FAA regulates that the maximum load on the flight controls are:

1. For the pitch axis (elevator control) and the roll axis (ailerons control): 34kg short term, two handed. 23kg short term, one handed, 4.5kg long term

2. For the yaw axis (rudders control) : 68kg for short term, 9kg for long term.

But flaring is much heavier, the airplane being 12,500 lbs. But being much heavier, the controls are a bit sensitive, so it’s quite the force to correct deviations, but then you tend to overcorrect. It gets better with more hours as you know the airplane more.

The power lags

Yes, being a turboprop, it’s just like a turbo on cars, there’s turbo lag. After applying the power, there’s a spool-up moment before it reaches the set power.

Don’t flare too much

Which I did. I nearly put the plane into stall and spin during flareout. Realizing that the other wing dropped, my instructor hastily added pitch down to soften the flare.

Maybe the primary factor is not that it’s a turboprop, but because it’s a low-wing design, as opposed to a high-wing one.

It taxies too quickly

The huge power meant that you accelerate even during idle, and you have to use the ground fine (beta range) mode to keep your speed. This is to avoid riding the brakes and making them hot too.

You can even use reverse thrust! (reverse pitch actually)

The simulations are different

I used a mechtronix King Air 200GT simulator that is supposed to be Level D, but the glide, the force feedback, is just different. Still, it’s still good for training procedures and avionics.

Conclusion

All in all, it’s a different vehicle altogether. Still the same airplane, but with almost ten times the power, the Tecnam is just dwarfed by comparison, moreover the Cessna 152!