"john smith" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Al" wrote:

It looks like I will have a mission to pick up a PA32-300 on Thurs.
Can
anyone point me to an online copy of the flight maual, or perhaps some of
the pertinent information? I've got a couple of hours in a PA32-260 some
years ago, and will have a copy of the manual available when I pick up
the
airplane, however I would like to prepare myself somewhat. Any warnings
or
items I should watch out for?

What year?
I have manuals for a 1972 and a 1978. There are differences depending on
aircraft serial number.
Does the one you will be flying have club seating or all forward facing?
- Fuel management is the important thing. The outboards have 17 gal, the
inboards/mains have 25. The tab on the inboards/mains may be at 15
gallons or 18 gallons, depending on the serial number. Know which one
you have. You will need this information depending on the load you will
be carrying. I think the -300 series with the straight wing has 84 gal
(17-25-25-17) usable, the -301 series with the taper wing has 96 gal
(48-48) usable.
- Find out how accurate the fuel flow gauge is. You fly off the mains
first, then the outboards.
- The manual warns that it may take up to 12 seconds to get fuel flowing
from a full tank to the engine if one tank is run dry. [It may give you
a warning, listen for the engine surging! Ask me how I know! ;-) ]
- Cruise at 16-18 gph, depending on what the owner wants.
- Full throttle altitude will vary with OAT, between 6000-8000 feet MSL.
- Know your speeds for the current weight you are flying. (Make a table
using a spreadsheet or word processor.)
- Use 10-deg flaps for all takeoffs to reduce takeoff run.
- Fly the airplane using trim.
- I prefer to fly high MP/low RPM at cruise, make sure you have a power
chart handy. Remember, at or below you can fly LOP without harming the
engine.

Thanks John.

No clue yet what year or config, I do know that the "Load" is 1 pax in
addition to me.

Al G.