Turboprop Control Levers

pilot602 said:
In a two lever configuration the "throttles" are called Power Levers and the the fuel/prop controls are combined into Condition Levers. Condition levers are an on/off lever for fuel and the rest of their travel controls the pitch of the props.

In a three lever set-up, the "throttles" are called Power Levers, the prop controls are called the Prop Levers and the last set of levers are called the Fuel Levers. This set-up is generally found in older turboprop designs like the Twin Otter, older King Air 90s etc. The designers basically just took the design layout of piston engine multi's and replicated it. However, the Fuel Levers are, again, just an on/off switch (no mixture in a turbin engine). In this set-up they take up a lot of room, hence the design change to incorporate this function into the Prop Levers and call them Condition Levers.
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Good explanation.

I'll toss in my 02 cents for the aircraft I use, which is a 2 lever setup.

Coming from piston aircraft you are used to levers being used for only one function. (Throttle, prop, mixture) In the two lever setup turboprops each lever serves multiple purposes.

For example, in the Brasilia the power levers adjust how much fuel is sent to the engine, just like a throttle. However toward the bottom end of their travel (going aft) they also act like a prop control. Pulling them back they put the props into beta/flat pitch. Pull them further and they ultimately go into reverse.

The condition levers also serve several purposes. On the bottom end (Aft) they control how much fuel goes into the engines. Pull all the way back they cut off all fuel. That's how we shut the engines down. Move them forward just a bit, out of fuel cut off and they put fuel into the engine during starting. (This second postion from the bottom also puts them into feather.) Push them further forward and they no longer control fuel, instead they turn into a prop control, much like in a piston aircraft.
 
drummerboy said:
The Swiss just decided to name things differently in the PC-12 to try and confuse people lol.
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Like torque being measured in PSI.

Berkut has it right, there is no one correct answer. So many manufacturers use different terminology. I believe that the BE1900 has the same engine (PT-6A-67B) as the PC-12 yet the operation is different than how PCL_128 describes it. No weight on wheels switch on the Pilatus as far as engine controls go. It is possible to put the thing into reverse in the air. Just have to pull the trigger on the power lever to get it past the stop.
 
I'm glad the forum continued sending me e-mail updates...

Anyways now that I've finally caught up it looks like their isn't a straight answer to my question. Thanks!
 
what does "lifting" the power levers do? I rode in a King Air a few months ago and I noticed the pilot lifting up on the levers as he was taxiing. He told me what it was for, but I forget lol.
 
butt said:
what does "lifting" the power levers do? I rode in a King Air a few months ago and I noticed the pilot lifting up on the levers as he was taxiing. He told me what it was for, but I forget lol.
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You have to lift them to get them over the gate into beta range, and lift them a second time to get over the gate to go into reverse. During taxi, he was most likely lifting them over the gate into the beta range to slow down the taxi. On a King Air/B1900 you don't really need to use the breaks on taxi at all. You can slow down just with the use of beta.

And chicks dig beta. :rawk:
 
Oh, I gotcha after seeing what PCL_128 had to write.

(I keep forgetting that Beech had two ways of doing things on the King Air depending on what year it was manufactured).
 
Lee D said:
Good explanation.
For example, in the Brasilia the power levers adjust how much fuel is sent to the engine, just like a throttle. However toward the bottom end of their travel (going aft) they also act like a prop control. Pulling them back they put the props into beta/flat pitch. Pull them further and they ultimately go into reverse.

The condition levers also serve several purposes. On the bottom end (Aft) they control how much fuel goes into the engines. Pull all the way back they cut off all fuel. That's how we shut the engines down. Move them forward just a bit, out of fuel cut off and they put fuel into the engine during starting. (This second postion from the bottom also puts them into feather.) Push them further forward and they no longer control fuel, instead they turn into a prop control, much like in a piston aircraft.
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Same goes for the Saab
 
PCL_128 said:
You have to lift them to get them over the gate into beta range, and lift them a second time to get over the gate to go into reverse. During taxi, he was most likely lifting them over the gate into the beta range to slow down the taxi. On a King Air/B1900 you don't really need to use the breaks on taxi at all. You can slow down just with the use of beta.

And chicks dig beta. :rawk:
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I know this has been asked a billion times but I haven't found a straight answer as to why. I know what beta is... but why do the chicks dig it?
 
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