Navajo Guys

ppragman

ppragman

No pasa nada.
So, I've been flying the Navajo for about 3 months, and while we have our own procedures and what not, I'd be interested in how other people fly the thing around. I really like flying the thing, it's a fun and capable airplane, it's also a fairly busy airplane to fly around - especially compared to the 1900 or the 99, which were easy-peasy to fly and super logically laid out. So, what are some things that the myriad of Amflight and Airnet guys have learned that I might find useful? Anybody got any tips? Thanks.

-Pat
 
Stay on top of power reductions to keep the engines happy.

Trim is your friend.

On the -310, hot starts are cake with mixture lean, throttles cracked, and hit the starter. No priming.

It has a 25,000' service ceiling. You'll never see that or anywhere near it.

Alternate which engine you start first, and put the gear handle down before starting. The handle should snap back to neutral shortly after start. This tests the hydraulic pumps individually.

Sent via teletype
 
I love the whole crowd that thinks the engines in these things are so sensitive. I flew one around for a while that had a JDM engine temp gauge in it. The "2 inches a minute" still leaves a point where you have a give drop in EGT's and CHT's. IMO, the better way to manage the things is to pay attention to how fast you bring the temps back down. Leave the power up, push the nose over, start richening the mixture, and reducing the power as necessary to keep the speed in check. We also had one where I was that had old school round dials. You can do the same thing with those to. You just need to watch that the temps don't get to told to quick. It's probably the airplane I miss flying the most.

Oh, and the engines are bullet proof. Never even a hiccup from the one I flew.
 
I flew mostly Chieftains for about 700 hours. I can't think of any specific tricks or tips off the top of my head. It's a pretty straight forward bird. I can say that per AMF's profiles/procedures, 500fpm up and down is a great way to keep the engines cool and the average groundspeed high. It's tougher to manage that constant descent profile when you have terrain to contend with, but I was flying into the same 10 or 12 airports day in and out so I sorted out the variables for each one to maintain best forward speed until the last possible minute.

Depending on conditions, I generally preferred to land with less than full flaps (15-25 worked well). Full flaps was just way too much drag for my tastes in most situations.

In my 14 or so months flying them at AMF, we saw one total failure in flight, one turbo failure in flight, one fuel injector clog up in flight and plenty of mag and starter failures on the ground. But I'd say those engines are pretty darn reliable.
 
Best advice I could give, if you find yourself where you need to bleed speed to drop gear, go low 50 or 100 feet, the speed with fall of the AS indicator in the climb back up.

We had a name for it at AMF when I was there but I can't remember it, "The AMF dip", "The Piper Parabola"? (don't remember, but it worked like a charm.)
 
Its a busy airplane. Try not go be somewhere your mind has not already been 10 minutes ago. The airplane is a fantastic IFR airplane, good short field (for a twin), and hauls more ice than you can imagine. On short fields I sometimes use half a notch of flaps on take off. It will help you pop the airplane off the ground slow but with less of a drag penalty than a full notch. After a few months of flying I'm sure you will find 'your' way of flying it and fall into a groove.
 
Douglas said:
Best advice I could give, if you find yourself where you need to bleed speed to drop gear, go low 50 or 100 feet, the speed with fall of the AS indicator in the climb back up.

We had a name for it at AMF when I was there but I can't remember it, "The AMF dip", "The Piper Parabola"? (don't remember, but it worked like a charm.)
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Which you don't have to do if you fly the airplane like piper intended. With real flap and gear speeds rather than one made up because someone thought it was too hard to reference something that's a required placard.
 
LeonPhelps said:
I've always had an itch for the Navajo. Anybody have a comparison to the C402?
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Yes. The 402C is a much smoother flying and generally stabler airplane. The Chieftain with the 350hp motors and cargo configuration feels faster in acceleration and climb. They're close enough in most aspects that I'd give the nod to the 402. And that may just be because all the Hos and Chieftains I flew were clapped out freight dogs and the 402 I flew was in a nicely refurbished passenger configuration (although ironically, the panel was original /A equipment from the factory).
 
Cal Goat said:
Yes. The 402C is a much smoother flying and generally stabler airplane. The Chieftain with the 350hp motors and cargo configuration feels faster in acceleration and climb. They're close enough in most aspects that I'd give the nod to the 402. And that may just be because all the Hos and Chieftains I flew were clapped out freight dogs and the 402 I flew was in a nicely refurbished passenger configuration (although ironically, the panel was original /A equipment from the factory).
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Funny, cause I flew a clapped out 402, and a really nice Cheiftain. I thought the PA31 was a nicer flying airplane. More solid and stable than the 402 I flew.
 
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