Getting used to the Arrow...and I like it...a lot!

To date I have a whopping 8 hours in the Arrow. The last 2.9 were by
far the most fun since the two flights involved maneuvers and landings
(lots of landings). The more I get to fly N2104T, the more I like it.
Things are becoming more and more comfortable and familiar. Still have
lots to learn but I'm having fun. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some
solo time soon, maybe in a week or so. Solo will be rather interesting
since I haven't done so since last August, right before my FBO melted down.

Overall impressions to date:
- Float down the runway? Nope, it ain't a C-172. Much harder to float
down the runway in an Arrow. Easier to contact said runway with carrier
landing force though.

- Pull the power back and you can drop like a streamlined manhole cover
if you need to. I'll bet forward slips are fun (have yet to try them).

- Things are busier in the pattern with the addition of gear, more
speeds to remember, CS prop, extra mantras you chant (My personal
favorite is "Pump(s), Red(s), Blue(s), Greens" on short final for the
last check of boost pump on, mixture full rich, prop full forward, and 3
in the green).

- The ground moves by faster now. Not that I'm doing a whole lot of
looking down but it takes less time flying to/from the practice area.

- 200 HP at sea level on a cool evening and lightly loaded is fun.

- I'd almost forgotten how much better I like fuel injection. Have
experienced lots of carb ice situations in the Archer during evening
instrument lessons. One less thing to worry about.

- When working on a Complex endorsement, your CFI has a whole new set of
options for messing with you. "What, no 3-green...what ya gonna do
there Mr. Pilot?".

- Engine out scenarios work way better when you pull the prop back.
Very good object lesson in drag reduction.

- Would rather have airspeed in knots...though, I learned that you can
setup the GNS-430 for MPH...but...why? :-)

- Stalls are rather unimpressive, similar to the Archer.
Buffet...yawn...that's it. A good thing.

- Wing on the bottom vs. wing on the top: Really doesn't matter. I'm
just happy to own something with a wing. :-)

- It's really cool to (honestly) say "Yes it is" when asked "Is that
your Arrow?". The closest I was able to do so in the past was answer
"Yes, it's ours by the hour" when asked about newer model rentals I
happed to be flying in.


--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-IA Student
Student Arrow Owner, N2104T

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

Second only to a new student who comes back from his first flight full of
enthusiasum with an ear to ear grin is the new owner who has just came back
from one of his first "comfortable" flights in his new airplane.

Are you having fun or what Jack??!!


- When working on a Complex endorsement, your CFI has a whole new set of
options for messing with you. "What, no 3-green...what ya gonna do
there Mr. Pilot?".

You're going to relax and get the checklist out. Don't try to memorize what
to do for this one. If you memorize it for one plane, you'll screw
something up in another plane. This one isn't an emergency... it's a
situation... it just becomes an emergency if you are actually forced to put
it down with the wheels in the wells.

Keep having fun!

Jim

- Pull the power back and you can drop like a streamlined manhole cover
if you need to. I'll bet forward slips are fun (have yet to try them).

A forward slip in our Pathfinder is like riding a peregrine falcon in a
vertical dive. The world gets big, really, really fast.

- 200 HP at sea level on a cool evening and lightly loaded is fun.

Ain't it? I remember my first flight in our Pathfinder, with a 145 pound
CFI, light on fuel, in the winter. Yee ha! All I could see was sky.

There is simply no substitute for horsepower.

- I'd almost forgotten how much better I like fuel injection. Have
experienced lots of carb ice situations in the Archer during evening
instrument lessons. One less thing to worry about.

First time I've ever heard of a Cherokee icing. It's never happened to me,
even in the damp, cold Midwest. (Cessnas are another story...)

- It's really cool to (honestly) say "Yes it is" when asked "Is that your
Arrow?".

Pride of ownership is worth all the headaches and hassles. (Just keep
repeating that at annual time, over and over...)

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:
A forward slip in our Pathfinder is like riding a peregrine falcon in a
vertical dive. The world gets big, really, really fast.
Hmmm, sounds like I need to try a few the next time out with my instructor.

First time I've ever heard of a Cherokee icing. It's never happened to me,
even in the damp, cold Midwest. (Cessnas are another story...)
Yep, I was surprised as well but on several instrument lessons at night,
I'd be flying a DME arc or a hold and all of a sudden realize that I'm
holding some back pressure to maintain altitude...look at the tach and
notice that we've lost maybe 150 RPM. Apply carb heat, power drops then
vrooommm, we're back at the initial power setting.

Pride of ownership is worth all the headaches and hassles. (Just keep
repeating that at annual time, over and over...)
I'll try to remember this one.

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-IA Student
Student Arrow Owner, N2104T

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

Jack Allison writes:

- Would rather have airspeed in knots...though, I learned that you can
setup the GNS-430 for MPH...but...why? :-)

So the speeds look bigger.

-jav

Jack Allison wrote:
Overall impressions to date:
- Float down the runway? Nope, it ain't a C-172. Much harder to float
down the runway in an Arrow. Easier to contact said runway with carrier
landing force though.

What speeds are you using?
Downwind:
Base:
Final:
Short Final:
Over the Threshhold:

- Pull the power back and you can drop like a streamlined manhole cover
if you need to. I'll bet forward slips are fun (have yet to try them).

Theory question: What is the minimum Indicated Airspeed for a slip?
Is there a difference between right and left slips?

- Things are busier in the pattern with the addition of gear, more
speeds to remember, CS prop, extra mantras you chant (My personal
favorite is "Pump(s), Red(s), Blue(s), Greens" on short final for the
last check of boost pump on, mixture full rich, prop full forward, and 3
in the green).

Remember that one of the greatest causes of gear up accidents is a go
around. The pilot brings the gear up reenters the pattern and forgets to
put it back down.

Jack, have you downloaded the PA28 review from the AOPA Aviation Safety
Institute website?

Which engine priming system does your aircraft have?

- Float down the runway? Nope, it ain't a C-172. Much harder to float
down the runway in an Arrow. Easier to contact said runway with carrier
landing force though.

I've discovered that once people stop bringing C172's across the fence at
Vso + 40 knots they stop floating too

Only comment I'd make about the arrow is that you bring it in with full
flap, on the back of the drag curve, keep some power on or you'll go to
flare and find you've insufficient elevator authority to arrest your decent
(ie running out of altitude, airspeed, and ideas at the same time = carrier
landing). (Actually, we're gunna have to stop calling them "Carrier
Landings" - I've been doing a bit of reading up on them - those poor
*******s are touching down at 500 to 700 fpm, with no flare - then pulling
4g on the arrester wires - OUCH!)

By the way, I've lost count of the number of times I've only had 2 (or no
greens) - I think I worked it out at 1 indicator issue per 10 hours at one
stage - at least the gear has physically always been down when I needed it.
It's a good time to think about what options you have when (not if) this
happens to you - not just "running the drill", but just things as a flypast
the tower, or getting a mechanic in another aircraft to have a close look
from underneath. Most Arrows will haul a good load, so if you're safety
conscious, you might like to consider carrying an extra 1/2 hours worth of
fuel to give you extra time to sort out any gear issues.

- I'd almost forgotten how much better I like fuel injection.

Until you have to warm start one


- Engine out scenarios work way better when you pull the prop back.
Very good object lesson in drag reduction.

In the event of a real total failure you can augment this even more by
opening the throttle.


- It's really cool to (honestly) say "Yes it is" when asked "Is that your
Arrow?".

Until they go on to say "Great, been looking for you - I'm from the FAA and
I've noticed that you appear to have failed to ..."

What speeds are you using?
Downwind:
Base:
Final:
Short Final:
Over the Threshhold:

Something that's always worked for me ...

Take Vso (bottom of white arc) - reduce it by 5% for every 10% under MAUW
then multiply it by ...

1.3 for over the fence speed
1.4 for Base
1.5 for downwind

Works for all aircraft I've flown (although I add a bit in C172 - Vso
(adjusted) can be as low as 28 knots - so at 28 * 1.3 (approx 37) it still
hasn't stalled, but controls are getting pretty mushy (any people who bring
them over the fence at 65 to 70 wonder why they float!)

Jack,
In a previous post, it sounded like you fly near Sacramento. If you
need any advice on shops for various types of work, let me know. I used
to have an Arrow, I now have a Mooney. The two are VERY similar. The
only noticable difference to the pilot is the wing. The Arrow has the
easy going Piper wing and the Mooney has the laminar wing.

-Robert

Jay Honeck wrote:

- I'd almost forgotten how much better I like fuel injection. Have
experienced lots of carb ice situations in the Archer during evening
instrument lessons. One less thing to worry about.


First time I've ever heard of a Cherokee icing. It's never happened to me,
even in the damp, cold Midwest. (Cessnas are another story...)

You'll probably never need to know about it unless you fly in IMC. Try flying at
holding or approach airspeed inside a cloud for a while in a carbureted Cherokee
without the c-heat on.