Time to revive this thread?
It's been 3 years and 400 flight hours so far with the Extra 400 and I realized yesterday how much progress was made along this somewhat unusual route. I thought this was worth sharing.
The Extra 400 is certainly not an easy ride, but it is one hell of an airplane ! It has taught me painful lessons on the limits and compromises of the combination of a turbocharged piston engine with a pressurized retractable gear aircraft but I believe this is not Extra 400 specific. Operators of PA46 and C210 know what I am talking about.
I have also learnt that it is not possible to hand over responsibility for this exotic bird to any maintenance organisation – this is really as experimental as a certified aircraft can get.
If you don't take «maintenance manager» responsibility you are essentially grounded as « they » come up with a sequence of solutions to a sequence of new issues at their own pace.
Parts sourcing, diagnostics, decision making on compromises and substantial bills are all on the menu of an Extra 400 owner. This has made me seek contact with fellow owners and start a « knowledge sharing » process that is proving to be invaluable.
I now have 2 weeks in march earmarked « Extra 400 annual ».
Owner assisted annuals help me find out about less obvious looming issues, make joint decisions about fixes and improvements and remove some of the sheer manpower cost from the bill.
I find the exercise extremely rewarding and it has considerably increased my level of trust in the aircraft.
On the « flying » side, this aircraft is simply in a class of its own. The combination of comfort and very high capability is unique.
Which brings us to what made me want to write this post : we arrived from our atlantic hideaway in LSGG Geneva yesterday after sunset, amid a last salvo of airliners.
We were at MTOW upon take-off with 3 on board and near full fuel and climbed to FL230 using 88% (climb) power.
It was mostly a 1000 ft/min climb to FL200 with a gradual power reduction above so we got there in about 25 minutes.
Economy cruise at FL230 yielded between 194 and 197 KTAS, burning 73 liters per hour (18.5 GPH) with very relaxed engine settings (2250/29.5). Cabin altitude was 6'000 ft and there was hardly any vibration. My girlfriend was sleeping in the cabin, legs comfortably stretched.
A nice tailwind was forecast and it did indeed materialize.
So here we are chugging along at FL230 and 230+ knots ground speed crossing France from west to east in less than two hours.
Marseille ATC informs us of traffic « one thousand feet below your cleared altitude, opposite direction » and an Embraer regional jet dashes by - below us. Big smile ! As we approach Switzerland, the Alps form a majestic pinkish backdrop, especially enjoyable from our altitude.
Several successive layers of white ridges and valleys can be seen, with the Mont Blanc and Dents du Midi standing proud above the rest. Sadly a bit hazy and dark, so no good photos.
ATC keep us high until the last moment.
When they finally clear us for descent on the DEPUL3N arrival, all conditions are met for a high speed downhill exercise and I decide to go for it. So we keep cruise power and add a little bit of fuel flow in anticipation of a TIT increase. Concentration is the name of the game now.
The nose points down and airspeed builds up while we go through the descent checklist.
Ground speed hits 280 but IAS is still in the green arc. The pressurization controller is working hard to keep up with the steep descent.
ATC informs us that they have a shortcut in store for us. Moments later we get cleared to 7000 ft and the ILS04. The shortcut is really radical – despite reducing power, we're still doing 228 KTAS and descending at 1600 ft per minute just before intercepting the ILS.
I am using the AP in heading and VS mode for this – I know it won't do a clean intercept if I let it do the full job and there is simply not enough time to fix it after that. I got used to this weird « hybrid » flying, using the AP within its limited capabilities.
ATC instruct an airliner in final to keep speed up due to traffic behind – that's us ! Big smile.
Then as we are established on the LOC, still hot and high, the tower controller instructs us to reduce speed to 160 KIAS and keep until 4 miles. We're doing 190+ indicated and are above the glideslope at this point. Gear out is not an option as the 140 KIAS Vlo limit would slow us down too much. We too have traffic in our back...
Autopilot off, I gradually reduce power to... not much above idle with my thumb proactively pressing the « gear alarm disconnect » button, The water cooled engine can take this without pain. CHTs drop from 210 to 175, that's it... If you forget the « gear alarm » button, the siren will scare the hell off your passengers, so I always warn them in advance, just in case...
The aircraft is very slippery when clean, but we manage to settle into the glideslope and reestablish descent power. Finally 160 KIAS, -800 fpm we're all set and stabilised.
We keep this until 2 miles and then another pull up to 140 and power cut to extend gear and flaps.
Final after sunset is yet another beautiful sight – we land long and fast to expedite exit on Y.
As we reverse direction and taxi to our hangar, we can see the sequence of 4 aircraft behind us.
One take off and three landings in sequence with their landing lights on the darker sky.
We arrive at our hangar position and yet another pleasant surprise : the friendly ground staff have opened the doors for us and let us park right in front while guarding from ground traffic.
Pushback is done in a few minutes. As we leave the aircraft I put my hand on the upper cowling where there used to be a very hot spot from inadequate air circulation around the turbocharger.
Not anymore. Everything nice and cool. That little mod during last annual worked like a charm...
As we walk to the general aviation terminal , the airport has become strangely quiet.
I am tired but happy beyond description - so grateful for the privilege of flying and for this incredibly capable aircraft I have put a crazy bet upon.