John and the team are going strong – tons of new projects in the pipeline in Kalispell. Indeed, they are really committed to keeping the fleet in the air, I don’t think that I would have been able to operate 34kk without them.
Yes the heater issue is related to the mixture – it can’t be set (at least there is no control to do so, although you can lean it a little bit by partially turning the heater fuel knob, but it isn’t in the poh and it isn’t real science) so it can easily run too rich. FL130 is the maximum restart altitude in my experience, but if started low it will keep running at FL190 just fine. When it gasps it can become a nasty distraction. Maybe I should clean the spark plug, I don’t know. The unit has like 30 hours on it since overhaul (4 years ago..)
220KTAS is a bit enthusiastic, but it happily flies at 185KIAS and more importantly the useful load is a tad less than 1900lb – it makes a nice camper for the family while being decently easy to fly and landing relatively short. If you don’t care about fuel burn you can go faster but that fat wing has a lot of drag ..
Thank you for the trip report, and great to hear that John of Diamondaire in Montana is going strong. Having someone committed to the type, both the Apache and the Aztec, will hopefully keep these twins going for some time.
Agree on the Janitrol heater in the nose – am not sure how the mixture was set on this heater, or if mixture is relevant, but it definitely would be gasping above, say F150.
Not many turbo charged Aztecs around in Europe, the old advertisements claimed 220KTAS at FL250 which makes a decent turn of speed for the original modified Clark Y airfoil.
Thanks for asking, light at the end of the tunnel is starting to show. The instructor is test flying the new avionics today. Hopefully won’t be too many gremlins! Will hit you up if I ever make it over to Europe with the flying restoration.
That’s awesome! Even a turbo Aztec “should” have a ~FL250 ceiling, no more.
Honestly I’ve no clue. POH says “above 30,000 feet” and we were doing more than 500fpm at FL190 (full boost, ~36 inHg or so, 125 mph indicated) but I never dared going higher. What scares me the most is a heater failure. I had one VFR at 16,500 (stuck there because I was out of IFR currency) and it went down to -16C in the cabin in a few minutes. Almost picked up an IFR clearance but I saw a hole and went down at 2500fpm :)
Adam!!! I remember watching stratobee’s videos and dreaming about a twin – you were an inspiration! If you travel to France don’t forget to message me! How’s the twin commander going?
William – nice trip report. It’s always fun to read about Atlantic crossings, as they trigger the imagination and shrinks the world. I remember you from BT forum and glad you got to fly your aircraft back to Europe!
There are many things that EASA says member states must do, but the reality often is different.
Since the introduction of SERA in 2014 all EASA member states must allow IFR in uncontrolled airspace, no?
given that our service ceiling is supposed to be FL300
That’s awesome! Even a turbo Aztec “should” have a ~FL250 ceiling, no more.
Then, there are also countries where IFR is not allowed outside of controlled airspace (Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Croatia).
Indeed, so the “UK problem” isn’t quite unique to the UK. What is unique to the UK is the panic which breaks out among the IFR controllers (basically the owners of the extensive Class A) if somebody unknown enters their airspace, and the reason he will be unknown is because there was no handover.
For sure the UK has lots of foreign aircraft doing CAS busts. It’s easily done especially coming from France, because if you are flying low (say below FL100) you get a handover by e.g. Lille to “London 124.6” which only a UK local will know is FIS and his IFR clearance is now gone. It’s only if you are with Paris Control (which used to need FL120+; IME it can be done today as low as FL100) that they will hand you over to London Control and then your IFR clearance is preserved.
It’ all caused by ATC funding and is intensely political.
but are you saying that nobody provides separation?
Yes, unless you request (and receive) what is called a “deconfliction service” from some ATC unit that has radar and happens to have coverage for the area you are transiting (and eve nthen, there will be non-transponding traffic out there). However, at 180 knots, you will be flying out of these (relatively small) coverage areas very quickly, so the benefit will be small. But again, that’s UK only. (Well, in other European countries, ATC will not provide full spearation either, but they will give you traffic information as far as possible). Then, there are also countries where IFR is not allowed outside of controlled airspace (Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Croatia).
