P-Baron thoughts

Dave Siciliano

Dave Siciliano

Final Approach
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Feb 27, 2005
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Dave Siciliano
Well guys, I finally got the dual time and school finished to become 'insurance legal' in the P-Baron. I'd like to make a few general observations:

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Insurance: We're all frustrated with the underwriting/requirement process. I believe the insurance folks just don't really understand what we do and what we need. In my case, they wanted me to go to Simcom, Flight Safety, or RTC, then get 10 hours of dual time in the plane. My opinion was I need to fly the plane more than anything else and understand its systems. The above schools are great for the sim training, the factory systems and the instructors are very experienced (in general). But I have attended a school where I knew much more than the instructor about the Baron and its systems and the sim didn't fly at all like the Baron. My feeling is it would be much more beneficial to attend BPPP if they had an initialization training program. Good instructors, great knowledge of the Baron and actual flying time in the plane. BPPP doesn't have any programs over the summer; I'd have to get the plane to where the program is conducted (since I can't fly it that could be an issue) and Simcom didn't have anything available when I could leave my business---then it was a seven day course!! How do I leave my business for seven days, then come back and do ten hours of dual to leave on vacation for two weeks??



Anyway, we got another course approved and I'm done. Now, I'll fly with a BPPP instructor and see what I really need to work on. Unfortunately, the CFI in this course had some things he did I just didn't like and espoused plenty of old wife's tales. Then, he'd get very defensive if I presented facts to the contrary. I'll try a BPPP instructor next--then attend a course.

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The plane: its heavy compared to the B-55 and A-36 that I have been flying. The good part is it's very smooth in the afternoon bumps we have here in Texas during the summer. Flying procedures and shooting approaches was much smoother than in the A-36 or B-55. Where you put the plane is where it goes and it stays there. I was even able to take my hands off the controls to find approach procedures and look away for a minute: when I looked back there were very minor adjustments to get back on heading and altitude.



Watch momentum in this plane!! If one lets a trend begins: like a descent, lead where you want to stop that trend early. It takes much earlier adjustments to stop what it's doing than what I've been flying in. For instance, on taxi, once one applies enough power to get the plane rolling, you immediately reduce power to it will get going real fast, real quick!! When making approaches, if you let it dip below your intended glide path, it takes immediate correction or, you will be making really big adjustments later.



Much wider turns. Part of this is because it's just heavier, but also because it's faster. I didn't worry about a 30 degree turn at pattern altitude in the A-36 or B-55 at pattern speeds. At 120 knots in this, you lead your turns much more and don't want more than standard rate to final in a landing configuration.



I love approach flaps in this plane!! And the high gear down speed.



This plane burns lots of gas, but we all know that!!



Pressurization is phenomenal. No nose straws or even thinking about altitude to the low 20s (other than pilot stuff). The passengers don't even notice.



Air-conditioning is great in Texas in summer!!



This thing has p l e n t y of power. 650 at take off. We'll see how climbing to the flight levels go on my upcoming trip to Wisconsin, Florida, Mexico and return.



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Lean of peak operations:



On my upcoming trip, it will be great to play with some power setting to see where this cruses. I did find one could operate at 14,500 feet at 15 GPH (per engine) LOP at 2,400 rpm and true out at 190 according to the Garmin (didn't do the turns to cardinal headings to verify the accuracy, but will shortly). Have a couple CHT probes acting up; so, I can't accurately measure everything yet. Tried to download the JPI data and both myself and Brandon at JPI are scratchin out heads. Couldn't get it to work when everything is supposedly connected and the JPI says it's downloading. Will try again.



===============================================

Avionics:



All these new systems sound great, but they can sure get away from you if you're not right on things!!



This has a Garmin 430/530 that cross feed information to each other--that's great--put an approach in the 430 (which is on top on this setup) and it shows the upcoming way points; then, the 530 below, shows the moving map for the above info. The Garmins are tied to a Sandel. If you put everything in correctly, the Sandel automatically puts the approach info on the moving map. For instance, for an ILS, the localizer heading automatically is put in and the glideslope comes up. However, if you don't put things in correctly, you can get behind the approach very quickly!! So, I've developed an approach checklist. If you miss one little thing, you can be going the wrong direction real fast!!



This also is a great two pilot plane!! Lots of systems: Garmin traffic info (mode S) shown on the GPS, Strike finder on the GPS, color radar to watch and adjust if in weather plus AC, de ice, etc. Lots of things to watch which could keep your head in the wrong place!! Lots of systems to keep up with if in weather (especially). This will be a challenge single pilot in weather. I'll stay away from any substantial weather for awhile and focus on critical systems rather than getting disctracted.



Best,



Dave

Baron 322KS



 
Your comment about the bird being heavy is right on the mark. 45 and 60 degree level alititude banked turns-- now that'll be a job.
 
Great write-up. It sounds like you have a firm handle on your complicated new bird.

Watch out for the auto-slew feature on the Sandel. One of the weaknesses of the 430/530/Sandel integration is that you can easily load up/activate a navaid-based (non-GPS) approach and depending on which mode the EHSI is in at the time you load the approach, it may not auto-slew to the inbound course. You have to ensure the Sandel is in GPS mode when you activate to force an auto-slew. A checklist, like you've suggested, is a good way to make sure the avionics are behaving the way they should, prior to "accepting" the setup and beginning the procedure. My approach to this problem is to always set the inbound course, even if it's already been set by the Sandel/GPS.

Have fun!
 
Bruce:

What 45 degree and 60 degree turns :p

Somewhere I read that 60 degree was aerobatic ;)

Thanks for your comment.

Dave
 
Thanks for the heads up Ryan. I'll incorporate what you said into the checklist. Right now, I'm paranoid about making sure the ILS is right.

I'll move to the GPS and VOR approaches next. Looks like Cozumel has mostly DME arcs; so, we'll look at those also.

Best,

Dave
Baron 322KS
 
Bruce:What 45 degree and 60 degree turns :p
Click to expand...
:)-0

Somewhere I read that 60 degree was aerobatic ;)
Thanks for your comment.Dave
Click to expand...
45 is Commercial, 60 is from the ATP PTS. It's a handful. Within 100 feet and ten degrees on the rollout.Vertical momentum becomes something you have to manage. 3 engine go around at 200 agl? Gear down and locked.....
 
We did several 45 degree turns; didn't do anthing more. The CFI emphasised how much the stall speed increases at this bank angle. With full fuel, packs and a hot day, I'll keep it standard rate if possible if in any weather.

I'm commercial; so, it's one blessing to not have the ATP (no 60 degree turns that is). I did my multi ride to ATP standards with my CFI (one engine go around and all that stuff) in the A-55. Of course, the DE only did commercial standards.

Best,

Dave
Baron 322KS
 
bbchien said:
45 is Commercial, 60 is from the ATP PTS. It's a handful. Within 100 feet and ten degrees on the rollout.Vertical momentum becomes something you have to manage. 3 engine go around at 200 agl? Gear down and locked.....
Click to expand...

Eh? Are you discussing steep turns and the bank angle or did I miss something?

The commercial is 50 degrees, the ATP is 45. No PTS requires a 60 degree bank that I know of.
 
CFIse said:
Eh? Are you discussing steep turns and the bank angle or did I miss something?

The commercial is 50 degrees, the ATP is 45. No PTS requires a 60 degree bank that I know of.
Click to expand...
Hmmn. Just looked it up in S-8081-5C and you're correct. My examiner asked for 60 and I gave him 60 (it's under the hood, as you know). Of course, I have never prepared anyone for the ATP ride (I didn't do any formal prep, just took the written, waited until it was forty one days from expiring and took the ATP-SE ride (the nearest PA34 examiner ATP authorized is in Sullivan MO-170 nm away. Sigh.
 
Geesh Bruce!!

Have to tell you, my DE told me 60 degrees was aerobatic!! So, we went to 59 :lightning:

Do you ever feel like a :target: ??

Of coure, on the ride it's yes sir!! I recall 60degrees was required for something in the past, but can't cite anything. Maybe it was unusual attitudes or contact commercial turns.

So you did 60 degrees under the hood gear down and locked!! And kept it within standards :cheerswine: . Heck, you probably did that plenty of time in the Orion anyway -- right :)

Best,

Dave
 
Dave Siciliano said:
Geesh Bruce!!So you did 60 degrees under the hood gear down and locked!! And kept it within standards :cheerswine: . Heck, you probably did that plenty of time in the Orion anyway -- right :) Best, Dave
Click to expand...

Actually thanks to CFIse for making me look it up. It really is like Greg Kainz signs- "Mastering everything prohibited by NATOPS in the best life insurance policy"...provided you survive. Someday I'll tell you my P3 stall story ("Do not stall this aircraft").
 
I very much look forward to it and you giving me some tips on flying this plane!!

Best,

Dave
Baron 322KS
 
bbchien said:
Hmmn. Just looked it up in S-8081-5C and you're correct. My examiner asked for 60 and I gave him 60 (it's under the hood, as you know). Of course, I have never prepared anyone for the ATP ride (I didn't do any formal prep, just took the written, waited until it was forty one days from expiring and took the ATP-SE ride (the nearest PA34 examiner ATP authorized is in Sullivan MO-170 nm away. Sigh.
Click to expand...

Ah well yes - it's a good job we have the PTS for standardisation otherwise.....

I think my Private and Instrument were by the book - but they were a) a long time ago and b) I was young, naive and foolish. Since then I've taken 6 checkrides, I've ALWAYS been asked for something not in the PTS. In some cases the DE seemed to know we were doing something weird, in others, not so much. Which is sad, because they ALL gave me what appears to be the FAA mandated speech at the beginning about the checkride being from the PTS and I hold here in my hand a plan of action that we will follow to the letter.

I'd like to nominate this for the most significant thread creep of at least the month, if not year, award.
 
CFIse said:
Ah well yes - it's a good job we have the PTS for standardisation otherwise.....

I think my Private and Instrument were by the book - but they were a) a long time ago and b) I was young, naive and foolish. Since then I've taken 6 checkrides, I've ALWAYS been asked for something not in the PTS. In some cases the DE seemed to know we were doing something weird, in others, not so much. Which is sad, because they ALL gave me what appears to be the FAA mandated speech at the beginning about the checkride being from the PTS and I hold here in my hand a plan of action that we will follow to the letter.

I'd like to nominate this for the most significant thread creep of at least the month, if not year, award.
Click to expand...

If it means anything, the originator of the thread is on board with the thread creep.

The initial sprit was to talk about the issues associated with flying the P Baron for the first few times; training, and standards are certainly part of that--and the variation therefrom.

Best,

Dave
Baron 322KS
 
Did some flight testing in the P-Baron today and was really happy to find out how well it ran at reduced power settings.



Did a sustained climb to 17,500 feet: TITs got up to 1340 to 1350; all CHTs seemed to remain below 390. Got a climb rate of 7 or 800 fpm with full fuel and two of us in the plane. Tried 2400 rpm at 33" of MP and above 10,000 raised rpm to 2500 for a slightly better climb. OAT was 18C low and did a 140 knot cruise climb.



Leveled off at 17,500 and checked TAS in three directions 120 degrees apart. At 2200 rpm 30" of MP got an IAS of 154; 3C; alt. of 29,98. Showed TAS of 206. This was ROP with a 21 gph fuel flow per engine. Turning to other directions 120 degrees apart, the calculation varied between a low of 200 and high of 206.



Pulled the mixture back to 15 gph and the plane ran smooth as could be. CHTs were a little high; couple over 390. IAS dropped to 150. TAS was still over 195, but I was running a little hot.



Pulled the mixtures back to 12.5 gph; all CHTs dropped below 380 and it trued out just below 190 knots.



Sure looks like this will be the way I run this plane on long trips. Go far mode at this setting will be great if I don't have strong headwinds up high.



=========================================================================



Since I'll be going on a long trip over water, we shut down the right engine (after gradually cooling it) and it feathered. We ran 2500 rpm on the left engine 33" of MP and mixture to keep CHTs at 380. Seemed to take a 27 gph burn at 12,000 feet but we had to get back and didn't let it stabilize as long as I would have liked.



Would appreciate any insight on these figures. Seems like range will be greatly diminished on one burner if I have to go there. Couldn't locate any data in the POH on this. I'd like to be able to calculate how far I can get on one engine and what the best altitude is for this event.



Best,



Dave

Baron 322KS



 
Since I'll be going on a long trip over water, we shut down the right engine (after gradually cooling it) and it feathered. We ran 2500 rpm on the left engine 33" of MP and mixture to keep CHTs at 380. Seemed to take a 27 gph burn at 12,000 feet but we had to get back and didn't let it stabilize as long as I would have liked.



Would appreciate any insight on these figures. Seems like range will be greatly diminished on one burner if I have to go there. Couldn't locate any data in the POH on this. I'd like to be able to calculate how far I can get on one engine and what the best altitude is for this event.
Best,Dave Baron 322KS
Click to expand...
Dave, just figure it at Blue line speed at 27 gph and match it to how much fuel you can get to that engine. (100 kts?). That's your range until a valve gives up.....
 
Thanks Bruce.

Vyse is 115 knots. 120 was just over. That's with the critical engine running. Of course, remaining fuel would dictate. That would be pretty close to the two engine burn rate at an indicated speed of 120 v. the 155 on two engines (although I didn't record the IAS on two engines at this altitude. Oh well, more testing when I get back!!

Thanks again.

Dave
 
Dave;

A very nice write up on your new plane.

Thank you for sharing your learning adventures in testing and experimenting.

I found when I got my Beech some time ago the BPPP folks were just great. I have found one instructor who is great and we work very hard to keep fresh. I learn something new every time.

Have a great trip

Thanks again.

John J
 
Thanks John!!

The most exciting part of this was learning that I could run the plane LOP at 17,500 and true out over 190!!! Many of the 58Ps don't seem to be able to do this. I lost about 6 knots going from ROP to LOP at 2200rpm and 30" of MP. Fuel flow went from 21 gph to 14.5. This will extend the range quite a bit if I'm willing to cruse a few knots slower.

Actually, a friend put all my numbers in a true airspeed spreadsheet and said it showed 5 or 6 knots faster than what I computed on the Garmin.

We did another test and found I could run 2200 rpm, 30" of MP and 12.5 gph. Climbing to the flight levels takes a lot of gas, but doing 190 at 25 gph gives me great range (if I have anything from low head winds or tail winds). Of course, with strong headwinds, I'll stay lower. I can see six hour endurance with these power settings and over 1,000 miles range.

Best,

Dave
Baron 322KS
 
Dave;

Thanks for your notes on the LOP operations. I have found with my old Deb that at ROP I am burjning 12.5 to 13GPH at 70% making 156 knots. At LOP running at 65% or less I am getting 10 to 10.5GPH and the speed is 150. This is on a IO470K which is the 225 hp. I have seen less then 10 per hour above 9k. I am keeping stats on oil consumption, comprsssions and oil analysis. Right now the engine is just about at TBO and the oil comsumption is one quart every 18 hours, ( I change oil and filter every 25 hours) compressions are in mid 70's and within 2 pounds of each other. This engine is a reman and has been great. I have been flying LOP since I got it. The range/endurance is really great at LOP. Much longer than mine. The next engine will be the IO470N (260hp) for we can keep all the accessaries and prop.

Thanks again for your notes for they are really informative.

John J
 
You're very welcome John. We went up again this evening (with a BPPP instructor) and really enjoyed the flight. Worked on the Garmins and Sandel while making approaches. Shot one ILS fully coupled to the KFC 200; did some stalls. Spent lots of time on ROP/LOP fuel and power settings and calculating TAS. This thing should run fine LOP at 12.5 to 14.5 gph (per engine). The instructor tonight was pretty impressed. Really like the way it flew and the systems---AND the air conditioner worked great!!

Off to Wisconsin tomorrow where we'll give the plane a good cross country workout up higher (winds allowing).

Best,

Dave
Baron 322KS
 
Dave;

Let us know how the plane flies on your long journey at LOP or the power setting you feel is the best for the leg etc.

look forward to many more notes.

Thank you
John
 
The flight to Wisconsin today was just great!! This machine is proving to be everything I had hoped!!

Left Dallas in incredibly hot weather with storms just to the west.
Climbed up to FL190 and came on up to Wisconsin.

Did a standard climb at 2500 rpm and 33" of MP; was able to lean the
mixtures to high 20s as I climbed up and still keep the CHTs under 380.
What was the most pleasant surprise is how I was able to run at FL190.

Pulled the props back to 2200 30" of MP and 14 gph. Ran smooth as
could be: got the chts under 380 by partially opening the cowl flaps. Did
several true airspeed computations on the Garmin: about 204 knots. Had
a little headwind which produced ground speeds over 190. Did check
EGTS which generally were around 1500 and TITs which were close to 1600.
OAT -7C 29.92 and IAS about 147 (don't have my notes with me so don't hold me to these numbers).

This produced a power setting giving 5.5 hour total endurance at over 200 knots true; although,
one could be just a little more by pulling back power for the descent.

As I get more comfortable, I'll try a LOP climb when light; that could
add 20 to 30 minutes to endurance compated to the 40 minute climb to
FL190 at near 30 gallons per hour.

Very stable machine. Nice to have be de-ice for the climb through
layers on the way up!!

Best,



Dave
 
Dave;

Looks like you had a real nice run to Wisconsin. At 2200 it must have been nice and quiet. Interesting point about cracking the cowl flaps to keep it running cooler. That did not slow you down and just opening them a touch worked out nicely.

Thanks for your note. Let us know on your run down to Florida and beyond.

Watch for Dennis for he is steaming toward the Central Golf States and up toward TN and the Ohio Valley. He is going to brush Key West late tonight early tomarrow.

John J
 
Thanks John!! Was actually able to run just a little higher fuel flow on the leg to Florida. The OAT was -11C and it provided better CHT cooling until about Georgia. Great tail wind.

Best,

Dave
 
Dave

Thanks for the up date. Got to love those tailwinds. What at treat.
Let us know when you get to the warmer climates how the cooling works out for you at the flt levels.


John J
 
Well, I can't say enough about how the P-Baron has performed on this trip!! My nieces love it. Until we packed up yesterday, I didn't realize how much baggage could fit in the nose compartment!! Lots of stuff--300 pounds if you want to put that much up there. Of course, it's not pressurized. Most of the rest of our stuff fit behind the back seats or between the pilot/co-pilot seats and 3/4 (flight charts and things we needed enroute).

Much quieter than the A-36--especially when we leveled off and pulled the prop back to 2200 rpm.

Here are the numbers on one TAS calculation we made:
FL190 2200 rpm 22gph IAS 147 30" of MP GS191
TAS on the garmin was 201

Pulled the mixtures back to 14 gph: and changed nothing else: Mr. Garmin said TAS was 191. In this case it looks as if fuel burn from ROP to LOP was more than one extra gallon per knot!! So, we flew LOP the rest of the trip at 14 gph.

Best,

Dave
Baron 322KS
 
Dave;

Those numbers tell a great story about power management. I find it very interesting for when I had my Turbo Arrow over 20 years ago I worked very hard to get the LOP settings and cooling with a system that was to many a "horror story". I thank god flew with a fellow who was around in WWII flying LOP to get range and my dad who taught me so much about cooling and pressures( He helped designed the Water Methenol and Acetone injection just before WWII) I flew in the flight levels operating LOP and the engine made TBO but could have gone on. We overhauled it to be sure. LOP and low RPM settings with good cooling seemed to work so well. I flew it over square 30mp and 2200. Got lots of good fuel efficency and maintenance was low.

Thank you for your notes on the power settings for the 58P Your notes I feel will help many who are looking to manage power and fuel flows.

John J
 
Thanks John!! Going to LOP seems to add quite a bit or range and endurance to the plane. Haven't had the guts to leave the prop up and pour the coal to it ROP. The POH says 251 knots at FL200 and 25 gph. On one of these legs, once I know fuel won't be an issue, I'll probably try a POH high power setting and see what happens; just to know what my options are.

Didn't mention it, but several folks have had problems with CHT management in a sustained climb--we haven't had that issue. The was a mod the factory offered on some of the 58s that was on here; made a hudge difference!!

I'm one happy guy with this performance.

Best,

Dave
 
It sure sounds like you are having a great time with your P-Baron. I have only flown one a couple of time from the right seat and it was a blast. Keep up the post as they are educational for all.
 
Dave Siciliano said:
Thanks Bruce.

Vyse is 115 knots. 120 was just over. That's with the critical engine running. Of course, remaining fuel would dictate. That would be pretty close to the two engine burn rate at an indicated speed of 120 v. the 155 on two engines (although I didn't record the IAS on two engines at this altitude. Oh well, more testing when I get back!!

Thanks again.

Dave
Click to expand...

Yup, Vyse should be your best range speed on one engine. You are likely to fare better range wise at a lower altitude unless the winds aloft dictate otherwise. Down low the engine will cool better and given the lower HP required to make Vyse there you probably can run LOP or at least not have to enrichen too much for cooling.
 
lancefisher said:
Yup, Vyse should be your best range speed on one engine. You are likely to fare better range wise at a lower altitude unless the winds aloft dictate otherwise. Down low the engine will cool better and given the lower HP required to make Vyse there you probably can run LOP or at least not have to enrichen too much for cooling.
Click to expand...

Thanks Lance:

Luckily, it didn´t matter on the leg from Orlando to Cozumel!! I posted an update in Cozumel Routing. The aircraft performed wonderfully. The girls low how much quieter and more comfortable this plane is!!

Wasn´t able to run LOP on the leg from Key West to Cozumel. Miami Center had put me at FL220 and it wasn´t much under 0 degrees C at that altitude. One level, I pulled the props back to 2200 and leaned to 14 gph (which had worked well at FL190 earlier in the trip). Unfortunately, the CHT climbed about 380 and were still rising when I leaned to 13 gph. This still didn´t keep CHTs where I wanted and I lost 2" of MP on the right engine (was running 30") Even bring the throttle full forward wouldn´t produce 30" and I needed to lean even more to keep CHTs under control, so, I enrichened to 21 gph and got 30" and cool CHTs. TAS went to just over 215. Since fuel wasn´t an issue, I just stayed there and flew in. This cut down my endurance some, but worked fine for this trip. Otherwise, I would have had to reduce MP.

So far, so good. Doin lots of snorkeling, eating, fishing and shopping. The girls are having a great time. I´ll check in again soon.

Best,

Dave
Baron 322KS
 
Dave;

So glad you got to Cozumel in great shape with the fuel flows. Yes at altitude I do remember as the temps climbs I had to ease the mixture controls forward to keep things cool.

Glad you are having fun down in Old Mex.

Thanks so much for the up date and watch out for Emily. She is on the march.

Thanks again;

John J

John J
 
Thanks, we are watching Emily and did post in Cozumel Routing about our plans. This is sure a case where having your own plane really makes a difference!! Just hope we don´t have any no-fly issues on the preflight tomorrow. May want to climb just a bit over land before pointing it to KNEW.

Million Air in KNEW has been very helpful. They´ve moved up my hotel reservations and car rental and called customs for me to let them know I may have to come in on Sunday.

Lots of small things one needs to remember when coming here. The PIN number on my ATM card didn´t work and my secretary had to get that straighted out or there could have been a case shortage!! It´s worth checking before you leave.

I didn´t bring my dive certification card, just so many other things to remember, so, I get to listen to how to put on a mask and breath through a regulator even though certified long ago and did some military diving--can´t prove it, so, it don´t matter.

I´ll try to post some other things when I get back to the states and a laptop that works. My power cord was left in Orlando, so, I´m carring around a dead notebook computer that might as well be a paper weight.

Other than a few small things though, we´ve done very well. Mexico is much cleaner here than when I visited in the past. Got excellent service and most folks were very friendly. Of course, in the marketplace, some vendors are very aggressive and I pulled my niece away from one place trying to give her free tequilla!!!

Overall, a great trip. No small measure because of the Baron.

Best,

Dave
Baron 322KS
 
Dave;

Thank you for the up date; Have a great safe ride to NEW. It sure must be fun to have such a capable airplane, the 58P. Gives you so many more choices. Emily at 1800Z was still moving at 19 west bound. It was just about to cross the 71 degree west meridian.

I am glad you got to have fun and enjoy Mexico. I have always going to Mexico; Yes you do have to watch the street vendors.

Let us know how the next legs go for you.

John J
 
More on the P-Baron's performance.

Prior to leaving the airport, we tried to get updated weather on our route of flight. TV there didn't have a Weather Channel and I had lost the power cord to my laptop making going on line difficult or impossible. The folks at the airport only had local weather. They suggested we call departure after takeoff and get an update from them. That's what we did only to have departure tell us they only had local weather.

We departed Cozumel and climbed up to FL200. Local conditions were a little hazy, but cloud tops were about 8,000 feet and we knew we could get on top of that. We had been cleared along a A626 to Leecille VOR direct Lakefront. We were vectored out of Cozumel and quickly told to intercept the airway--called Amber 626. Our climb was interupted by traffic twice, but we were soon up at our filed altitude. I took some readings again and have them below:

OAT -8; 30" of MP; 2200RPM; IAS 136 13.9 GPH; TAS 190. This was lean of peak. Prior to that I ran just under 21 gallons per hour and TAX was about 203.

I have the CHTs and EGTs if anyone is interested.

En route, you have to make position reports just as in any non-radar environment. There was probably 125 to 150 NMs over the water where you couldn't speak with Center in Mexico or the U.S. Plenty of other traffic though and they could relay a manditory report. I kept the number 2 radio on 121.5 in case I needed to make an emergency call, but always had contact with another plane if not Center.

I was able to get some weather from another plane while enroute before I could communicate with Houston Center. Once I got Center, I asked what frequency I could get weather on and they just briefed me (I had tried Flight Watch and FSS and couldn't make contact when I got Center).

Overall this was a very positive experience. The controller were very professional; other pilots were helpful; processing through the airport to depart was a little time consuming, but went fine. There was a parking fee which I knew about because I had called in advance. Customs did not get advised as far ahead as they requrested; got about 20 minutes notice. I had asked the folks at Cozumel to put "Advise Customs--ADCUS" in the remarks section of my flight plan. They said they alwas do, but I didn't see it written on there. Since I couldn't reach flight service until pretty close to shore, that didn't do much good. The customs guys were very nice; I did explain what happened and they appreciated me telling them. Told them the number I had gotten for them from AOPA didn't work when I tried to call from Mexico. They gave me an 800 number and said I could have been sitting in the plane a long time had they not been close by. I think when they say a plane full of an old guy and three teenaged girls with all sorts of stuff they relaxed a little. Did a few checks, asked a few questions and had me fill out a couple of forms. Overall, a very pleasant experience compared to some I've heard 'bout.

Best,

Dave
Baron 322KS
 
Dave

Nice write up on your last leg. Glad everything worked out for you and your neices. Interesting the numbers you had running LOP. 13.9 GPH per side is great and a good cruising speed. For just 13 more knots your fuel burn went to 21 per side. It sure pays to run LOP when you can.

Thanks you for sharing your journey with us.


John J
 
John:

You;re very welcome. I'd like to get up with Lance sometime and play with this. He thinks I can run ROP at a lower MP and get to the same airspeed with just slightly higher fuel burn. As I get more familiar with the plane, I'll experiment with this. Perhaps Lance and I can link up and he can apply his analytical skills. I'm still loving this new bird so much, I can't be impartial!!

Best,

Dave
Baron 322KS
 
Dave;

It sure is fun to learn more and more about our planes. I , even after flying the Deb for over 400 hours am still learning and fine tuning. I still love and learn from this plane just I did the day I got it.

I am glad you are having fun with the 58P, It really is a great plane. I did get to ride in one some years ago and loved it's capabilities..

Thanks again for sharing your experiences .

John
 
On our recent trip, I took a series of pics of the instrument panel of the P-Baron. I'll see if I can get 'em posted on here.

Dave
 
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