Sled and PIC advice please!

alaskadrifter

alaskadrifter

Landing gear operator
Whelp, it sounds like I'm being volentold into the sled this month. I don't want to leave my bleed air! At least I'll be getting a little raise. Anyone got advice for a first time sled driver? Also this will be my first commercial PIC experience, so general advice about that is much appreciated!
 
This is awesome for you! Congrats!!!

Didn't know they were converted for passenger flights but I'm getting my ticket today!!!

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A few things passed on to me by seasoned pilots who may or may not have learned things the hard way:
  1. Never, ever put the nose cowl blanket BEHIND the prop: always put one blade straight up, and then tuck the ends of the blanket into the left and right cowl inlets. That way, when you forget to remove the blanket before starting up (and you will, I guarantee it), the blanket doesn't get wedged between the spinner backing plate and the cowling.
  2. Never put the blanket or the engine cover in the nose baggage compartment. Bad things happen when the baggage door pops open in flight and the blanket or cover gets hung up on the right elevator.
  3. When possible, burn off the right tank. Why? Because it's much easier to turn the selector from the Right position to the Left position than the other way around. And when you accidentally run a tank dry, you'll want to make that switch very quickly.
  4. When you have a passenger in the copilot seat, make sure his seat is locked in place. Open his door, look down at the pin that goes into the seat track, and confirm that it is all the way engaged. It's unsettling when a passenger's seat slides back and he grabs you or the yoke to regain his balance.
  5. After you load your passengers and bags/cargo always do the following: confirm that the bottom and top latches of the aft cargo door are fully engaged, look down and confirm that there are no cargo straps or seat belts hanging out of the cargo doors, look up and confirm that both gas caps are in place and properly aligned, do #4, close the copilot door and then confirm there are no seat belts hanging out, go to the front of the plane and examine your taxi path to confirm 100% that you have a clear and unobstructed path, remove the engine blanket, then get in your seat and buckle up.
  6. Get in the habit of overflying the wind sock and ramp. This will help you make an early estimate of the amount of wind correction you'll need and it will allow you to look for taxiing hazards on the ramp. Like the black wood stove or white washer that Brand X airline left right in the middle of the ramp.
  7. Do a thorough preflight. You'll be amazed at the number of problems you'll find during a shift.
  8. If your cabin is cold start by taping over the leading edge air inlets. Then block the floor mounted heat vent just aft of the fire extinguisher. And as a last resort, cut the SCAT tube that runs just above your pedals (this works really well).
  9. If you are getting a strong, cold draft from the pilot's door, examine the bottom edge for delamination. The door skin is bonded to the frame, and when the adhesive fails you'll get a strong, cold blast of air blowing on your left side.
  10. Don't be the amateur who pushes the prop in on downwind with 20" of manifold pressure: this just winds up the engine and makes a huge racket. You can wait to push the prop in when you're crossing the threshold at about 14" MP.
  11. Don't be the amateur who jams the throttle forward on takeoff, making the prop tips cavitate and creating all kinds of noise. Take your time adding power, and do it smoothly. The only runway you need to be swift on is Crooked Creek in the summer when you're heavy, and even then you can be smooth.
  12. RainX is your friend. You'll be astonished how much it helps visibility on crappy days. Be sure to clean the windshield carefully before you apply it.
  13. You can fly a sled like a Supercub, but avoid the temptation until you've been in it for about six months. Instead, fly a standard profile again and again until you get really good at hitting your aiming point. This will help you when you go in to Crooked, Kako, Upper Nyak, and the mining strips in the Buckstocks.
  14. Don't jockey the throttle on final. You're not flying behind an O-320; your engine needs to be babied. Learn how to properly cool the engine before entering the pattern, and learn how to land making only small power reductions all the way to touchdown.
 
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alaskadrifter said:
Whelp, it sounds like I'm being volentold into the sled this month. I don't want to leave my bleed air! At least I'll be getting a little raise. Anyone got advice for a first time sled driver? Also this will be my first commercial PIC experience, so general advice about that is much appreciated!
Click to expand...

Oh man...

The rudder has a long arm. You need it, but it's more effective than you'll initially expect.

Always check the latches on the aft half of the aft baggage door.

Put the seat pins back in when you take the seats out. Each seat.

Try to never put yourself in a position where a power failure means death. Corollary to that is that the 207 glides like a brick. Compared to the cherokee 6, it's an aerodynamic brick, but still a brick.

Rudder trim. Elevator trim. Use them early, use them often.

They're great airplanes. I have all the respect in the world for them...

... and yet unlike the caravan, If I never fly one again, that'll be A-OK by me. :>

Oh, bonus tip! GET A GOOD HEADSET.

Also, the most important tip I have for you, and this is related to the PIC side of AK flying:

Just because you can doesn't mean you should; just because the airplane can doesn't mean you should. Just because someone else did doesn't mean you should; just because someone else said doesn't mean you should. Just because someone else made it doesn't mean you will.

-Fox
 
Plata said:
  1. Don't be the amateur who pushes the prop in on downwind with 20" of manifold pressure: this just winds up the engine and makes a huge racket. You can wait to push the prop in when you're crossing the threshold at about 14" MP.
  2. You can fly a sled like a Supercub, but avoid the temptation until you've been in it for about six months. Instead, fly a standard profile again and again until you get really good at hitting your aiming point. This will help you when you go in to Crooked, Kako, Upper Nyak, and the mining strips in the Buckstocks.
  3. Don't jockey the throttle on final. You're not flying behind an O-320; your engine needs to be babied. Learn how to properly cool the engine before entering the pattern, and learn how to land making only small power reductions all the way to touchdown.
Click to expand...

I'm asking in all good faith here because I'm very much a newbie and working on my CSEL right now so I've only very recently started flying an airplane with a constant-speed propeller and enough horsepower that cooling is important....

Aren't the two bolded pieces in opposition? Is some kind of GUMP checklist not part of the downwind leg where you want the prop forward? Wouldn't that be part of a standard profile?

I know things are "different" in AK flying, so I'm just trying to understand this. Thanks in advance for the info.
 
killbilly said:
I'm asking in all good faith here because I'm very much a newbie and working on my CSEL right now so I've only very recently started flying an airplane with a constant-speed propeller and enough horsepower that cooling is important....

Aren't the two bolded pieces in opposition? Is some kind of GUMP checklist not part of the downwind leg where you want the prop forward? Wouldn't that be part of a standard profile?

I know things are "different" in AK flying, so I'm just trying to understand this. Thanks in advance for the info.
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Props full forward is a little early on the downwind IMO. I usually do it on final. Some instructors want them full forward on the downwind.
 
killbilly said:
Aren't the two bolded pieces in opposition? Is some kind of GUMP checklist not part of the downwind leg where you want the prop forward? Wouldn't that be part of a standard profile?
Click to expand...

Bluntly, no. Much of what you learn in the training environment is .. um ... I'm not sure how to put this.

Someone else will figure out a way to express it, I'm sure.

-Fox
 
Acrofox said:
Bluntly, no. Much of what you learn in the training environment is .. um ... I'm not sure how to put this.

Someone else will figure out a way to express it, I'm sure.

-Fox
Click to expand...

Figured it was something like that. Thank you.
 
Jordan93 said:
Props full forward is a little early on the downwind IMO. I usually do it on final. Some instructors want them full forward on the downwind.
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Well of course people's opinions vary but if SOP at the organization calls for it on downwind do not deviate from SOP. If it's dumb, get SOP changed but do not deviate from published.
 
Acrofox said:
Bluntly, no. Much of what you learn in the training environment is .. um ... I'm not sure how to put this.

Someone else will figure out a way to express it, I'm sure.

-Fox
Click to expand...

Let me help you... "Because, Alaska!" ;)

Not sure why the training department and the line flying has to vary, that's not good learning transfer.
 
alaskadrifter said:
Whelp, it sounds like I'm being volentold into the sled this month. I don't want to leave my bleed air! At least I'll be getting a little raise. Anyone got advice for a first time sled driver? Also this will be my first commercial PIC experience, so general advice about that is much appreciated!
Click to expand...

Am I the only one here wondering what a sled is?

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SpiceWeasel said:
Let me help you... "Because, Alaska!" ;)
Click to expand...

That's not fair. It was more like "Because unique operational environment."

Not sure why the training department and the line flying has to vary, that's not good learning transfer.[/QUOTE]

"Training environment", not "training department". We flew how we were trained at the company, but now how we trained in flight-instruction-land. No 4mph taxi, 120-line read-and-do "Pre-before-starting-engine checklist", no squared-off rectangular patterns, no kneeboards, ray-bans, E6Bs, sectional charts, plotters... no "do this at exactly this time, then this at exactly this time, do this at exactly this time," etc.

Traded that for "Get the job done safely and don't break anything."

-Fox
 
Acrofox said:
That's not fair. It was more like "Because unique operational environment."

"Training environment", not "training department". We flew how we were trained at the company, but now how we trained in flight-instruction-land. No 4mph taxi, 120-line read-and-do "Pre-before-starting-engine checklist", no squared-off rectangular patterns, no kneeboards, ray-bans, E6Bs, sectional charts, plotters... no "do this at exactly this time, then this at exactly this time, do this at exactly this time," etc.

Traded that for "Get the job done safely and don't break anything."

-Fox
Click to expand...

Exactly, fly like you were trained at the company. If they pay you to do the GUMP check 30 NM out that's how it should be done. ;)
 
The awesome thing about Alaska: no FOQA. Not sure about ^^ operation, but once @Capt. Chaos finished training me, I was free to get in to and out of any trouble I saw.
 
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