404

So as far as pistons go, if i am going to fly one, it should be a 404. It's big, not underpowered for a change, and even at max weight still performs. Im sure jet and turbine drivers would disagree but i'm not at that level yet, so i will enjoy what i've been given!

There are a lot of differences between it and the 402, despite them looking fairly similar from the outside. That main difference is the engines. They are the geared version of the turbo lycoming 520 engine. I think its geared to a ratio of 0.67. Roughly at full power the engine is going at 3300RPM but the prop spins at 2200RPM. Due to the geared engine it's a lot quieter in the cabin, and passengers don't need earplugs. We climb them at 1900RPM and cruise at only 1700RPM. The engines on hot days get a lot more fuel than whats needed for them to operate efficiently. This is known as bogging down, and it basically feels and sounds like an engine is about to fail. For this reason we usually hold the brakes till above 25" manifold pressure till the fuel flow has stabilised. I have been told one method to avoid bogging down is to increase the power till this level with the mixtures leaned, and then as you increase to full power, but the mixtures to full rich. Not only is it bad for passengers as they get worried, its not good for the engine either.

The titan is a bigger plane and can hold up to 13 people if the 13th seat is installed. Generally we fly them with only 11 seats, as they are mainly used for our RPT network, and maximum passengers for single pilot is only 9. It also has trailing link undercarriage, which means 99% of landings are awesome! It also has hydraulic fowler flaps, as opposed to electric split flaps of the 402.

Overall i'm really enjoying the titan. I remember when i first went looking for a job 3 years ago, i went for a flight with a mate in a titan, and remember thinking how good it would be to fly one. 3 years later and i wrote the exact same registration in my logbook. I guess we get to where we need to be and beyond eventually. Hopefully the next step is not to far away either.