Turbine DONT's

chrisreedrules

Master Blaster
What are some of the "DEFINITELY DO NOT DO THIS" when flying turbine aircraft? I have about 15 hours of Turbine time in a KA200 and I know about the PT-6s and the SOPs... but I've never really reviewed what some of the definite do not do's are other than browsing on here. I thought it might be a good topic for low-time guys such as myself to soak in a bit of knowledge from some of you with more turbine time than you can shake a stick at. Thanks in advance!
 
Not sure if you're looking for engine specific stuff, but some of the obvious stuff, don't introduce fuel on start up with high ITT's. I've heard of guys just watching Ng and forgetting the ITT is still way hot from the previous shutdown.

Also don't reintroduce fuel if you accidentally slide the condition lever to cutoff.
 
What are some of the "DEFINITELY DO NOT DO THIS" when flying turbine aircraft? I have about 15 hours of Turbine time in a KA200 and I know about the PT-6s and the SOPs... but I've never really reviewed what some of the definite do not do's are other than browsing on here. I thought it might be a good topic for low-time guys such as myself to soak in a bit of knowledge from some of you with more turbine time than you can shake a stick at. Thanks in advance!
Try to avoid starting with a stiff tailwind.
Be wary of spool time.
Know if you need prist or not.
Don't touch the fuel.
 
Try to avoid starting with a stiff tailwind.
Be wary of spool time.
Know if you need prist or not.
Don't touch the fuel.

There aren't many general rules for turbines that I can think of offhand. None of these four matter for all turbines. I'm not sure what you mean about the fuel either, it's just kerosene, it won't hurt you. Obviously you don't want to bathe in it or drink it, but as far as aviation fluids go it's pretty benign. 100LL is more nasty than Jet-A.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus that ate your iPhone.
 
I suppose spool up time would be the best one I could think of since all turbines are affected by it to varying degrees. It may or may not be something you have to think about though, depending on the airplane and engine control.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus that ate your iPhone.
 
Going further with the spool time issues, generally only small changes in thrust/power on approach are necessary to control airspeed. If you're rowing the thrust up and down, especially toward idle, you may find yourself too slow with motors that aren't giving you instantaneous response.
 
I don't have more time than you can shake a stick at, but here's impressions on some turbine flying, and turboprop flying:

Spool time is a big thing to be wary of. These engines won't spool up on a dime, as mikecweb says, so anticipate adding power beforehand. On the Brasilia, I don't really move the power levers on final...I "think" rather than "move" the PLs and suddenly the airspeed is where I want it.

Park into the wind. The cooler the start, the better. (and the better your career potential) Know your start malfunctions, both gas turbine (hot, wet, hung, giggity goo) and electrical (if your airplane has them).

Propellers are not speed brakes, treat them accordingly. This probably applies more to the larger installations, but an inflight reversal on any prop-driven airplane will ruin your day. An overspeed, and an engine failure on takeoff (no autofeather/autofeather not armed/autofeather malfunction/whatever your manufacturer calls it) are unfun.

Battery starts with a weak battery are bad and possibly expensive (and possibly career limiting ;) ). Especially if it's hot and you have high residuals from the previous shutdown. Get a power cart if you're feeling iffy about it.
 
STORY TIME.
Wasn't me! But a co-worker was talking about checking his emergency fuel shutoff valves in flight. Told him to knock that shiz off. Two weeks later a different co-worker flamed them both out doing the same. Time for a snickers and a career change.
 
For the PT6... On the ground: If you accidently pull the condition lever from either High Idle (or what you think is High/Flight Idle) into Cut-Off just accept it, let the engine shut down completely and start it up normally again. DO NOT shove the condition lever back up into Low/Ground idle unless you want most of the engine to come out the back in molten pieces.
 
Wasn't me! But a co-worker was talking about checking his emergency fuel shutoff valves in flight. Told him to knock that shiz off. Two weeks later a different co-worker flamed them both out doing the same. Time for a snickers and a career change.
Ohhh...oh, okay, I actually believe I've heard about this..."event". Thank you. ;)
 
Don't inspect the blade while the engine is operating. :)

Seriously though, fundamental common sense prevails, for the most part, with turbines. Add FADEC and it becomes nearly idiot proof. My first turbine flying was in Non-FADEC Army rotorcraft. Want to talk about fun! I felt like you needed 10 sets of eyes to monitor the gauges and annunciator panel.

You have heard the basics. Hot starts are a no no, monitor your ITT.

Be mindful of spool times, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. All transportation category aircraft must conform to FAR 25.119, so you are never going to go over 8 seconds. The mighty CRJ-700 has a spool up time of............Take a guess?!?!

8 seconds, of course. Right at the legal high limit (Thanks Canada!)

I have had 2 oh • go-arounds from idle (Landing idle of course) to GA at close to the last second. Spool up time seems like an eternity, but it wasn't even close to being an issue.
 
Be mindful of spool times, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. All transportation category aircraft must conform to FAR 25.119, so you are never going to go over 8 seconds. The mighty CRJ-700 has a spool up time of............Take a guess?!?!

8 seconds, of course. Right at the legal high limit (Thanks Canada!)

I have had 2 oh • go-arounds from idle (Landing idle of course) to GA at close to the last second. Spool up time seems like an eternity, but it wasn't even close to being an issue.

8 seconds? Even the non-FADEC GE CF6s on the 767 don't take 8 seconds. What's the deal with the CRJ? Someone hack the clock for 8 seconds; that's a long time!

Spool time does become an issue, I should add.
 
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