Congratulations!

Congrats. EAM does great work. You will love it.

Thanks so much!

I talked to the broker and he said my offer was very reasonable. He will talk to the seller over the next few days and I'm hoping we will have a deal. The plane is in the middle of big inspection/ad and I'll talk to EAM about anything else they might suggest for a prebuy. We will definitely borascope the engines and I pl
I plan to fly the airplane when the inspection is done.

It's been awhile since I flew something with a climb rate of nearly 3000/ft/min. I'm going to need to polish up my skills!

I am so glad the radios are the same as the baron. It took me awhile to learn the g600&gtn750 and it should be nearly the same in the commander.

I'm probably heading to Dallas for school soon. Any BT folks that would like to meet for a cold one would be awesome!

John,

I hope the negotiations go well and your soon flying your new plane! Lots of slips between cup and lip though so congratulations while premature are greatly anticipated!

John, they will take good care of you at EAM. They went "above and beyond" getting Pre-buy items fixed on a friends Baron I am selling. Make sure you ask to get a tour of their Garrett engine shop it is very impressive.

Have someone who knows Garret's fly the plane. There are a number of setup issues (flight idle in particular) that can't be tested on the ground

Thanks Charles!
Can you tell me what we should be looking for?

John,

Here's what I look for on any Garrett twin below @ -10. THIS is NOT an Approved procedure and just my personal views.

1. Place Power levers @ Flight Idle and check the blade angle settings on each engine. There is a protractor on the engine to reference this.

2. Start both engines off the batteries, note the time to come on-speed to Ground idle, the
amount of fuel used to enrichen the start and the start EGT / SRL* limit for each engine.
I would elect to start in series for the first attempt and use Parallel start for the next, to
ensure that both start modes work. Some operators only start in series.
* Single redline Limit

3. I then shut the engines down via the condition lever and time how long the engines
take to feather. Use the Airstart / Unfeather pump and note how long the pumps take to
place blades on locks.

4. After second start switch the bleeds on and off note the EGT differences, perform the
OSG*checks with blades on locks and NTS*/ Beta tests as standard ( Overspeed Gov)
Negative Torque Sensor.

5. Treat the test flight as a VFR day only flight. You will be shutting down the
engines as such no Night VFR, IFR or VFR on top. If anything goes wrong one less thing to
deal with. If the owner objects to this i'll walk away. - CAVOK Best.

6. Brief all the flight profiles and what each crew memeber's responsibilities are.
Kinda like Todd's Duke video - verbalise your actions and follow the profile.

PNF will record the engine / flight parameters and scan for traffic also back up the PF.
Brief the Engine out Routine till its down cold.


In flight:

File IFR flight plan/ Airtest as you will be climbing into the Mid 20's.

1. depart with bleeds off and bring them on at 1000ft Agl/ Flap retraction noting EGT temp increase and pressurization spike.

2. ATC/ Traffic permitting couple up the AP and climb at 1000 FPM to 10,000ft noting the
TQ, FF, EGT and other temps and the various splits.

3. At right around the alt you start to lose 100 TQ and become EGT limited level off; usually
about 12-14. Disengage auto pilot and manually trim aircraft to zero out trims and note
the fuel flows and TQ settings. With aircraft with zero yaw and feet on the floor close the
Power levers to flight idle - note any yawing and speed decay greater than 1kt per sec.

4. Pitch into a slight descent and note the NTS function is working... Pulse felt through
airframes as as oil is dumped back to case by NTS function.

5. In level flight with speed not lower than 160kts.... Shut down an engine ( either one )
I like to be with in 20 miles of a 5000 ft runway. Monitor the NTS function and confirm '
the blades almost go into feather. Then feather with the condition lever. Note time to
complete feather and shutdown and if the blades are windmilling slightly.

6. unfeather and airstart engine noting the time to come onspeed. Match engines back up
and repeat for other side. Engage autopilot for atleast 5 mins with one engine feathered
and note operation. Disconnect A/p and do Airwork Stalls/ Steep turns Etc get general
feel of aircraft.

7. Continue climb up to FL 200 noting temps/FF / TQ . I am on oxygen @ FL 180 as
will use the FL200 climb to do an emergency descent. First by switching pressurization,
to see how long it takes for the cabin to exceed 14,000 ft. Will descent down to 12,000
couple back up AP and shoot Approaches for all the equipment fitted in aircraft to
autopilot minimums and then engage the go around function.


In Summary:
Condition of the batteries, which will be shown how cool and quickly the engines start.
Series Parallel relay function
EGT on start / SRL operaton and time to come to idle.
The temp difference between bleeds on and off.
Altitude you become Temp limited.
Flight Idle Fuel flow and any yawing/NTS at flight idle...blade angle / FF adjustment needed. Bleed leaks / Pressurization issues.

Hope it helps,

Nigel

John,

I took the 331 engine course two years ago and know just enough to be dangerous. I remember that there's a lot to be learned from a flight test like the one Nigel described. I'd just hire an expert. http://turbineair.com/ is a MU2 company that has or could refer you to 331 expertise

Wow Nigel! Thanks for the detailed write-up. I have a lot to learn....

I flew the B-100 for a couple of hundred hours in the 80's but I can't remember much. Is there a class that dedicated to just the 331's?

Also, once I do this flight test and gather this data, how do I interpret it?

The class I went to was two days and exclusively covered the 331. It was held before PROP (biennial MU2 operator conference) by a guy who had retired from Honeywell. I'm out of town but will try to find you his name Monday.

Very nice writeup! Note that the second engine will likely have a longer start time due to the tired batteries, even after allowing time for charging. I'd recommend a GPU (engine based preferably) for consistency if your trying to compare engines.

If your going to shut the engines down to determine the feather time, don't forget to remove the engines from the start locks or you'll never see them feather.

Any "immediate" restarts (#3) should be from GPU or you'll have a very slow start and will be buying batteries (or over temping them if Nicads) in short order.

In Flight (#4), It may be a operator setup, but I don't believe you should ever feel the engines NTS in descent at FI. I might look for a torque indication of it, but I wouldn't want to feel it.

Remember, on a 331, most of the EGT indications (SRL or not equipped) are all a "BS" indication setup by maintenance to make the engines look the same (reference the EGT Compensator).. Give the observer a camera and let them snap away for better notes...

I've done probably 50-100 test flights on Metro's... Weather is all based on your comfort level, but we wouldn't complete test flights in less than 3000'/5SM, or in icing conditions, but would do them IFR or on-top and at night as time required...

I loved the 331's. I always said "IF you can get them started, they'll take you home." They will take an incredible beating, and keep running (with residual damage of course).

Jason

John,

Any ECTM tracking can plug the data in and see the split. You will know which is the stronger engine of the two and what condition your batteries are in. Also the status of the bleed / pressurization system.

The times for start/ shut down, feather/unfeather and NTS functions best discussed with a 331 mechanic. I'd have to dig out my notes haven't done any heavy 331 maint. since 2005-6ish.


Hi Jason,

I used to do air-test on the 135 fleet to your minimums but after this accident we adjusted the requirements for flying customer aircraft.

NTSB Identification: CHI99FA023.
The docket is stored in the Docket Management System (DMS). Please contact Records Management Division
Accident occurred Wednesday, November 04, 1998 in ROCK, KS
Probable Cause Approval Date: 08/13/2001
Aircraft: Mitsubishi MU-2B-60, registration: N5LN
Injuries: 2 Fatal.
NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The airplane's left engine had been overhauled and required an in-flight Negative Torque Sensing (NTS) check. The procedures required that the left engine be shut down during the test flight. The test flight was conducted at night. The pilots were briefed that there was icing and moderate rime icing mixed below 15,000 feet in clouds and precipitation. The cloud bases were between 2,500 to 2,900 feet agl. After departure, the pilot reported to ATC that they were clear and on top of the clouds at about 6,500 feet msl. N5LN was assigned a 180 degree heading at an assigned altitude of 8,000 feet. Without notification to ATC, N5LN turned to a southeast heading, descended from 7,700 feet to about 5,500 feet, and decelerated from about 182 kts to about 138 kts. ATC assigned N5LN a block altitude of 6,000 to 8,000 feet and a VFR-On-Top clearance. ATC instructed N5LN to turn right to stay in the assigned airspace. N5LN turned right but continued to descend from about 5,500 feet to the last radar indication of 4,500 feet. The airplane impacted the ground in a steep attitude. The inspection of the wreckage indicated the landing gear was down, and with full right rudder trim and about six degrees nose up trim. The examination of the engines indicated both engines were rotating and operating at the time of impact. The examination of the airframe and propellers found no pre-existing anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:

the pilot failed to maintain control of the aircraft and made an improper evaluation of the weather.


Yes, would use the GPU for subsequent starts. Also check the EGT compensator C/B and note the raw temp on -10's the temp indicated usually went up.

On the NTS checks, i can remember why this was done but was standard when we did FI fuel flow checks.

Would the Honeywell instructor be Helmut Eggeling? He is a wealth of knowledge on the 331.

Cheers,

Nigel

They talked about helmut - I think he was a presenter at PROP - but the class teacher was an American guy. 60 or so, pony-tail, very outspoken and larger than life.

Almost as cool as the phone system in the engine shop... :-)