Why didn't the Cessna 337 make it?

Instructors don't like 337's. Reason? No respect in an airline
interview for centerline thrust time due to no VMC issues. In fact, you
are better off just leaving the time off entirely as it is frequently
the butt of jokes. Not fair? Perhaps. But that's the way it is in macho
land.

As a personal twin it is fine. Good shortfield performance. Decent
single engine performance. Turbo and pressurized options. No VMC issues
on engine out. What is not to like?

PP-DQA wrote:
My instructor has over 100 hrs on the Skymaster, and he always said
that the problem with the Skymaster crashes were untrained piltos who
didn't take imemdiate actions when needed. He mentioned the
Synchrophaser gauge, that would show you which engine was doing the
work. IT either pointed forward or aft, so looking at it, you'd know
which engine is not working. He also mentioned that to keep the aft
engine cool he would run up the aft engine after running the front,
then shut it off, taxi with front engine on, and start the aft when
he is rady for take off before entering the runway. It's common
practice for many airlines, so it shoudln't be a problem for a
properly trained Skymaster pilot...

Robert M. Gary wrote:
Wouldn't that be the case in any complex single as well? I have much
more energy management to do in the Mooney than in the 310.

It becomes significantly more demanding in the 310 with one engine
inoperative - it gets a lot harder to get the energy back. Even then,
a 310 gives you lots of options for scrubbing off energy that a Mooney
doesn't, because a Mooney and a 310 make a poor comparison - the Mooney
is optimized for efficient cruise, and a 310 isn't. A better
comparison twin for the Mooney would be a Twin Comanche, which has all
the slowing-down issues of a Mooney. A better comparison single for
the 310 would be a Centurion or Lance, which slow down readily.

Also, keeping your options open really means more in a light twin. In
the Mooney, if the engine craps out at 300 ft, pretty much your only
option is a straight-ahead landing with maybe some minimal turns. In a
light twin, if an engine craps out at 300 ft, you MAY have other
options - and you may not, depending on how you have managed the flight
up to this point.

Michael

Jim Macklin wrote:
Get a better and more qualified instructor. 100 hours is
very little time in a particular model, but this guy is
either ignorant or you didn't understand him.

Actually, you're displaying the ignorance here.

The syncrophaser is used to get both props turning at the
same speed and with the blades in phase to reduce noise.

Correct, that is the primary purpose. However, its range of command is
limited - generally 25-50 RPM. Many also have an indicator (the needle
the instructor is talking about) which tells you which way to make the
adjustment to bring the props within the range of command of the
synchrophaser. Since the prop governors used in piston airplanes are
proportional-only controllers (no integral component) the RPM on the
failed engine WILL drop - and it will drop by enough to take it out of
the range of command, though not enough to be obvious (or even
noticeable) on the average GA tach. In that case, the needle will
become an effective indicator not only than an engine has failed, but
which one.

In
any multiengine aircraft, you identify a failed engine in
positive steps. The problem with the in-line airplanes is
that only reduced take-off performance (reduced climb)
alerts the pilot to an engine failure.

Only if he ingores the information provided by the synchrophaser.

Michael

"Michael" wrote in message
ups.com...
Jim Macklin wrote:
Get a better and more qualified instructor. 100 hours is
very little time in a particular model, but this guy is
either ignorant or you didn't understand him.

Actually, you're displaying the ignorance here.

The syncrophaser is used to get both props turning at the
same speed and with the blades in phase to reduce noise.

Correct, that is the primary purpose. However, its range of command is
limited - generally 25-50 RPM. Many also have an indicator (the needle
the instructor is talking about) which tells you which way to make the
adjustment to bring the props within the range of command of the
synchrophaser. Since the prop governors used in piston airplanes are
proportional-only controllers (no integral component) the RPM on the
failed engine WILL drop - and it will drop by enough to take it out of
the range of command, though not enough to be obvious (or even
noticeable) on the average GA tach. In that case, the needle will
become an effective indicator not only than an engine has failed, but
which one.

In
any multiengine aircraft, you identify a failed engine in
positive steps. The problem with the in-line airplanes is
that only reduced take-off performance (reduced climb)
alerts the pilot to an engine failure.

Only if he ingores the information provided by the synchrophaser.

Michael


Hi Michael,

I've got some Skymaster time, and I'd have to go with Jim. I've used the
tach to determine the failed engine, but have never used the synchrophaser
as you describe, nor have I heard of anyone who does. If that little wheel
in there is spinning to the left(at high rpm), does that tell you it is the
front, or the rear engine? Also in the event of an engine failure, the
manual tells you to turn off the synchrophaser so that it doesn't limit,
even slightly, the rpm of the operating powerplant. It may even be on the
"before takeoff" checklist. In my case we only blew off one cylinder head on
the rear engine. There was no indication on the panel, just a "BAM" as
reported by a rear seat passenger just after rotation, and a report from the
tower of "heavy black smoke, from the rear engine". We climbed to pattern
altitude, shut down the rear engine(smoke turned white), and landed
normally.

Al

p.s. This was on a trip to Seattle with 6 pilots in the airplane. My flight
instructor was in the right seat, and I was flying. Immediately after
landing, I turned off the active at the first intersection, and as I was
braking to a complete halt, went through my "Mixture/Master/Mags" shutdown,
and turned to the right to tell the flight instructor to evacuate. He wasn't
there. He was about 75 feet away, lighting a cigarrette. He had bailed out
just after we left the active. No way you'd catch him in no crashed
airplane.

As a multiengine instructor I would never allow a student to
use ONLY the EGT, RPM, CHT or other instrument to verify the
degree and actual failure of an engine. You must close the
throttle on the engine you think is dead, all the way [over
a period of a few seconds] to be sure you have properly
identified the failed engine and that it is in fact really
dead and not just sick. If the yaw changes when you get the
MAP back to 20 inches, that means you have a sick engine and
you don't want to shut it all the way down [unless it is on
fire] at 100,200 or 300 feet. At 500 feet you probably have
circling minimums so maybe you'll prefer to secure a sick
engine, but any examiner I've ever heard of would fail a
student who used the unreliable instruments to identify,
verify and then feather an engine.


--
James H. Macklin
ATP,CFI,A&P

--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm
See http://www.fija.org/ more about your rights and duties.


"Michael" wrote in
message
ups.com...
| Jim Macklin wrote:
| Get a better and more qualified instructor. 100 hours
is
| very little time in a particular model, but this guy is
| either ignorant or you didn't understand him.
|
| Actually, you're displaying the ignorance here.
|
| The syncrophaser is used to get both props turning at
the
| same speed and with the blades in phase to reduce noise.
|
| Correct, that is the primary purpose. However, its range
of command is
| limited - generally 25-50 RPM. Many also have an
indicator (the needle
| the instructor is talking about) which tells you which way
to make the
| adjustment to bring the props within the range of command
of the
| synchrophaser. Since the prop governors used in piston
airplanes are
| proportional-only controllers (no integral component) the
RPM on the
| failed engine WILL drop - and it will drop by enough to
take it out of
| the range of command, though not enough to be obvious (or
even
| noticeable) on the average GA tach. In that case, the
needle will
| become an effective indicator not only than an engine has
failed, but
| which one.
|
| In
| any multiengine aircraft, you identify a failed engine
in
| positive steps. The problem with the in-line airplanes
is
| that only reduced take-off performance (reduced climb)
| alerts the pilot to an engine failure.
|
| Only if he ingores the information provided by the
synchrophaser.
|
| Michael
|

I agree.


--
James H. Macklin
ATP,CFI,A&P

--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm
See http://www.fija.org/ more about your rights and duties.


"Al" wrote in message
...
|
| "Michael" wrote in
message
|
ups.com...
| Jim Macklin wrote:
| Get a better and more qualified instructor. 100 hours
is
| very little time in a particular model, but this guy is
| either ignorant or you didn't understand him.
|
| Actually, you're displaying the ignorance here.
|
| The syncrophaser is used to get both props turning at
the
| same speed and with the blades in phase to reduce
noise.
|
| Correct, that is the primary purpose. However, its
range of command is
| limited - generally 25-50 RPM. Many also have an
indicator (the needle
| the instructor is talking about) which tells you which
way to make the
| adjustment to bring the props within the range of
command of the
| synchrophaser. Since the prop governors used in piston
airplanes are
| proportional-only controllers (no integral component)
the RPM on the
| failed engine WILL drop - and it will drop by enough to
take it out of
| the range of command, though not enough to be obvious
(or even
| noticeable) on the average GA tach. In that case, the
needle will
| become an effective indicator not only than an engine
has failed, but
| which one.
|
| In
| any multiengine aircraft, you identify a failed engine
in
| positive steps. The problem with the in-line airplanes
is
| that only reduced take-off performance (reduced climb)
| alerts the pilot to an engine failure.
|
| Only if he ingores the information provided by the
synchrophaser.
|
| Michael
|
|
| Hi Michael,
|
| I've got some Skymaster time, and I'd have to go with
Jim. I've used the
| tach to determine the failed engine, but have never used
the synchrophaser
| as you describe, nor have I heard of anyone who does. If
that little wheel
| in there is spinning to the left(at high rpm), does that
tell you it is the
| front, or the rear engine? Also in the event of an engine
failure, the
| manual tells you to turn off the synchrophaser so that it
doesn't limit,
| even slightly, the rpm of the operating powerplant. It may
even be on the
| "before takeoff" checklist. In my case we only blew off
one cylinder head on
| the rear engine. There was no indication on the panel,
just a "BAM" as
| reported by a rear seat passenger just after rotation, and
a report from the
| tower of "heavy black smoke, from the rear engine". We
climbed to pattern
| altitude, shut down the rear engine(smoke turned white),
and landed
| normally.
|
| Al
|
| p.s. This was on a trip to Seattle with 6 pilots in the
airplane. My flight
| instructor was in the right seat, and I was flying.
Immediately after
| landing, I turned off the active at the first
intersection, and as I was
| braking to a complete halt, went through my
"Mixture/Master/Mags" shutdown,
| and turned to the right to tell the flight instructor to
evacuate. He wasn't
| there. He was about 75 feet away, lighting a cigarrette.
He had bailed out
| just after we left the active. No way you'd catch him in
no crashed
| airplane.
|
|

noticeable) on the average GA tach. In that case, the needle will
become an effective indicator not only than an engine has failed, but
which one.

No, it does not.

Karl
"Curator" N185KG
ATP, CFI, ETC

"Michael" wrote in message
oups.com...
PP-DQA wrote:
No fuss, no muss,
no drama. This is the benefit of the second engine,



What. Not to do preventative maintenance till one engine quits?

Karl
"Curator"

I once had an engine failure while IFR over the mountains of Arkansas.

The highest point in Arkansas is 2753 feet, you call that a mountain ?
---
Ken Reed
M20M, N9124X

The mountains in Arkansas are very abrupt and they take a
large number of victims because pilots THINK Arkansas is
flat.


"Ken Reed" wrote in message
.net...
| I once had an engine failure while IFR over the mountains
of Arkansas.
|
| The highest point in Arkansas is 2753 feet, you call that
a mountain ?
| ---
| Ken Reed
| M20M, N9124X