PA30 tips & tricks

badtransam97

badtransam97

Well-Known Member
Gonna be doing some time building in a PA30, and the manual is vague on some things.
Specifically wondering about the best cruise power settings..the manual has the usual 55/65/75% setting and corresponding MP/RPM settings. What I'm wondering is the fuel flow gauge also has fuel flow in gph and also 55/65/75 percent power.
So when setting up cruise, so you select whatever power setting you want in the chart, then lean the mixture to the associated fuel flow setting, or do you just lean until roughness and then increase slightly? I'm probably overthinking this, but want to make sure.
Also, what settings have you guys seen the best results from? And typical TAS and Fuel burns?
 
It's been years, but I did my CMEL in a Twinkie (Twin-Co, TwiCom, etc...). I remember the FF gauge percentage markings being a good place to start, then fine-tuning with EGT, if equipped. If your Twink doesn't have EGTs, then lean until rough, then richen.
It was a fast plane with relatively low fuel burn, so you'll either cover lots of miles at high- power settings or spend lots of cruise time at low-power settings. Play around with the mixtures and see what works for your ship.
The tricky thing I remember about them is getting the flare right consistently. If you'll get established on final, trim nose-up until you have some forward pressure on the yoke and don't release it until you bring the throttles to idle in the flare.
 
Mixture should always be set relative to peak EGT unless the book says otherwise, and even then it should be verified.

Leaning blindly to a fuel flow number is a really good way to hurt things if everything isn't right.

Lean to peak, enrich according to the book (Or if you're one of those lean of peak people whatever voodoo you like and disregard the markings on the fuel flow gauge :P), look at the fuel flow gauge, if it's within the range you expected then great, if it's not then it's a good reason to start looking into why.
 
Just curious what chart you're leaning to? There is the original AFM which is pretty general but there is also a POH available that was developed years later. Ours has percent power and two different fuel flows for each...one for peak EGT (best economy) and one for 100 degrees rich (best power). The book is pretty close...we just verified the numbers a couple of months ago, cross checking against the JPI and the Shadin. Nothing better to do while breaking in the R side.

If you don't have a POH I'll be happy to provide a copy. It covers all serial numbers for the normally aspirated PA 30. Just send me a PM with your e mail.

David
 
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