I've flown a Cessna TP206 with speed brakes in skydiving ops. Very useful
in that
operation. They halve the descent time from 12,000 ft. Don't even have to
remember to retract before landing as they are inop below 100kts.




"Dave Butler" wrote in message
news:1105471673.894646@sj-nntpcache-3...
Dave Butler wrote:
Peter R. wrote:

With my Bonanza about to roll out of maintenance with its new
(overhauled) engine, I have been considering ways to preserve that
investment. Recently, I came across an article discussing speedbrakes
and was wondering if anyone here has experience with speedbrakes in a
small aircraft.

I see the main advantage being the ability to slow and/or descend
without having to significantly drop power, which keeps the engine warm.
If true, this would be an excellent way to maintain engine health.

Looking for any comments, either pro or con, about this modification.
Thanks.


I have the Precise Flight speed brakes on my Mooney. I've never flown a
Bo, so I can't comment on that. On the Mooney, I'd say they're "nice to
have" but certainly not a necessity. I don't use them for high power
descents, but I do use them occasionally when I misplan a descent and
need to hurry up the descent, or when ATC asks for an expedited descent.

They've been relatively maintenance free, but there has been the
occasional "hang" when they fail to retract, usually asymmetrically. The
resulting roll is easily overpowered by ailerons. The hang is corrected
with cleaning and lubrication.

I wouldn't look for speedbrakes if I were buying an airplane. I wouldn't
install them if they weren't already on the plane. Since I do have them,
I'm happy they're there.

I'm not convinced shock cooling is an important issue, but that depends
on your particular religious inclination, I suppose.

One more thing: I should have added that they are vacuum powered, so put
an additional load on your vacuum pump. I have no idea how significant
that is. They also add a lot of distance to your vacuum plumbing,
including a bunch that's inside your wing where it is hard to inspect.