Mike Hotel: The Gouge

In preparation for the commerical oral (way, way down the road), the IFR Pilot scoured the Net for a summary description of the various systems on a Piper Arrow. Lo and behold, an excellent summary was found, which has now been modified to reflect the nuances of Mike Hotel.

Usual warnings apply: This may or may not reflect anything about your Piper Arrow, so if you copy it, you do so at your own risk and you can't sue me ever. Blah, blah, blah.

Systems Summary N72MH
1979 Piper PA28RT-201 Arrow IV
(Serial Number 28R-79 18008)

[1] Landing Gear

• Hydraulically operated, fully retractable, tricycle landing gear
• Reversible (actuated in one direction – raises gear; actuated in other direction – lowers gear) electrically powered pump
• Lights: 3 green lights on indicates down and locked; all lights out indicate retracted; yellow “in transit” light on the panel; red “gear unsafe” light on the panel
• Caution: lights dim substantially when navigation lights are on; this renders them invisible in most daylight conditions
• Retraction speed: ≤ 109 KIAS; extension speed: ≤ 130 KIAS
• Nosewheel steering linkage disengages after retraction to reduce rudder pedal load
• Nose steerable through 30 degree arc; equipped with shimmy dampener
• Oleo strut extensions: 2.75” ± 0.25” nose, 2.50” ± 0.25” main under empty weight and full fuel/oil
• Numbers
• Extension/retraction time: 7 seconds
• Tire size: 5.00 x 5 nose (four ply with tube), 6.00 x 6 mains (six with tube)
• Tire pressure: 30 psi nose, 27 psi mains [CONFIRM THESE]
• Emergency extension
• Extension speed: 87 KIAS or below
• Hold the emergency gear lever switch in the down position
• Raise emergency gear lever to OVERRIDE ENGAGED position
• Extension is accomplished by manually releasing hydraulic pressure; gear free-falls; nose gear is assisted in free-fall/lock by a spring
• If gear does not indicate down and locked, yaw the airplane side to side
• Auto extender system
• Extension speed: 75 KIAS 95 KIAS, depending on power/altitude
• Operates on a sensing device controlled by differential air pressure
• High pressure source and static source are mounted on left side of the fuselage above the wing; this mast is heated when Pitot Heat is turned on
• Override
• Raise the emergency gear lever to the up position and latch in
• Should be overridden for: maximum glide, short field takeoffs, and practice stalls with gear up
• Override condition indicated by flashing yellow light below gear handle
• Warning system: activated by micro-switches in the throttle quadrant
• Steady sound; red “gear unsafe” light
• Activated under the following conditions:
• Gear up and power below approx. 14” MP
• When the auto extender system extends the gear and the gear handle is in the raised position
• Gear handle in the raised position when on the ground
• Mast is heated when pitot heat is activated
• Squat switch on the right main gear prevents gear retraction while on the ground

[2] Brakes

• Brake pedals on the pilot’s and co-pilot’s sides
• Individual cylinders for toe brakes and the hand brake; shared brake reservoir
• Separate controls for brakes for left and right main gears
• Single disc, single puck brakes on the main gears
• Brake fluid reservoir located in the upper left corner of the front side of the firewall; fill with MIL-H-5606 hydraulic brake fluid (red)

[3] Engine, Oil, and Induction

• Engine type: four cylinder, horizontally opposed, air-cooled, direct drive, fuel injected Lycoming IO-360-C1C6
• Engine TBO: 2,000 hours
• Maximum 200 brake horsepower at 2,700 rpm; max recommended cruise is 75%
• Oil cooler installed; air inlet for oil cooler is on the right side of the cowling; air exhaust is next to the main engine exhaust
• Oil cooler restrictor plate to be installed when operating temperatures are below 50^oF
• Oil capacity: 8 quarts
• Bendix RSA-5AD1 fuel injector
• Operates on differential pressure
• Fuel pressure regulated by a servo valve
• Fuel flow divider receives metered fuel and distributes it to each cylinder
• Fuel flow instrument connected to the flow divider
• Alternate induction air door opens automatically when the primary air source is obstructed; this can be tested from the cabin during run-up
• Primary induction air source should always be used for takeoff
• Oil warning light on annunciator panel

[4] Propeller

• McCauley three-blade constant-speed, controllable-pitch propeller (installed pursuant to STC)
• Propeller governor relies on oil pressure: when RPM is decreased, the oil from the engine enters the propeller dome, thus moving the piston and a sliding arm to cause the propeller to take a bigger bite of air (consequently, a drop in oil pressure is observed)
• Loss of engine oil will cause propeller overspeed

[5] Fuel

• Two 38.5 gal. tanks; usable capacity in each tank is 36 gal. (total of 72 gal. usable fuel)
• Engine driven fuel pump; auxiliary electric pump used for priming and when the engine driven pump fails
• Electric pump should be on when switching fuel tanks and during takeoffs and landings
• Three fuel drains: one for each tank and one for the fuel strainer (on left side of firewall)
• Fuel tanks are individually vented by vent tube protruding below bottom of wing at rear inboard corner of each tank
• Gauges: individual fuel level gauges for each tank; a single fuel pressure gauge connected to the induction system

[6] Electrical

• Alternator: quantity – one; 14-volt, 60-amp
• Incorporates a voltage regulator and an overvoltage relay; alternator will go offline at 16.5 volts output and up
• Full power output even at low engine RPM
• Battery: quantity – one; 12-volt, 25-amp hour
• Located behind the baggage compartment for W&B purposes
• Ammeter shows total electrical load placed on the system
• Circuit breakers protect major electrical accessories
• Piper External Power plug located on the right side of the fuselage behind the wing
• Loss of alternator indicated by zero reading on the ammeter
• Also, there is an alternator warning light on the annunciator panel
• Can also verify using Garmin 396

[7] Vacuum

• Operates attitude indicator and directional gyro
• Single dry-type vacuum pump; shear drive protects the pump from damage
• Vacuum gauge mounted on the instrument panel; normal reading is 5.0 ± 0.1 in. Hg, but may read lower at very high altitudes (above 12,000 feet)
• Vacuum regulator located behind instrument panel protects the gyro instruments
• Up to 2000 rpm may be required to obtain full vacuum pump suction

[8] Environmental

• Three cabin air inlets – one on each wing and one in the horizontal stabilizer
• Major heating components: heat shroud, heat ducts, defroster outlets, heating and defrosting controls
• Opening in front of lower cowl admits ram air into heater shroud; air is ducted into heater shutoffs on the right and left side of the firewall
• Overhead and floor mounted fresh air vents
• Cabin air exhaust through an outlet at the bottom of the fuselage aids in air distribution
• Cabin air fan available on lower right side of panel (red toggle switch, up for on, down for off)
• Switch must be “off” for takeoff and landing

[9] Pitot-Static

• Pitot-static mast located on the left wing; incorporates a pitot tube hole (front of the mast), a pitot drain hole (bottom of the mast), and a static port (rear of the mast)
• Separate high-pressure and static sources for the automatic gear extender located on the left side of the fuselage above the wing
• Pitot heat provides heating for the pitot-static mast and the high pressure/static source for the automatic gear extender
• Airspeed indicator can compute TAS
• Place pressure altitude over OAT and read white portion of window

[10] Major Avionics Components & Flight Controls

• Vacuum-driven directional gyro and attitude indicator
• Electric standby attitude indicator in place of turn coordinator – does not display the rate of roll
• Replacement of turn coordinator authorized pursuant to TSO
• Has an inclinometer to show quality of turn
• Airspeed indicator, altimeter, and vertical speed indicator driven by pitot-static system
• Alternate static source switch located below the pilot’s control wheel
• Electric pitch trim; disengaged by a circuit breaker on lower right side of panel
• Piper Autocontrol IIIb autopilot
• To turn off, push the ON/OFF switch on the autopilot or turn the master off
• Autopilot must be off for takeoff and landing
• Autopilot use prohibited above 200mph CAS
• Lower toggle switch selects nav source (up = GPS, middle = NAV1, lower = NAV 2)

[11] Emergency Locator Transmitter

• Located in the tailcone
• Access is via a panel on the right side of the fuselage