1. Q-List | Main
  2. Topics

Q200 Performance test.

Jay Scheevel
 

When I used to own the PA-28-235B with the 84 gallon fuel capacity, I always had the ambition to fly to Leadville, then fly “downhill” from there to Furnace Creek (Death Valley), so as to have as the terminus points on a single flight being the highest and the lowest paved airports in the US. Never did that. I may fly to Leadville in my Q someday (they give you a T-shirt), but you were probably wiser than me, Sam.

 

Mike,

DA is something to be respected, and calculated for, but not to be scared of in my neck of the woods.  Mornings are always quite cool in the mountain west, so take advantage of that gift and get airborne early.  Below is my actual tested climb performance at 1100 pounds GW and cruise climb (about 110 mph IAS).

Also, here is my tested take off distance as a function of DA. I keep these in my docs in the plane, so I can know whether I am performing as tested.

I have that draggy undercarriage… I would think you could use these as your base case, since you seem to be far outperforming me at your lower altitudes.

 

Cheers,

Jay

 

 

From: main@Q-List.groups.io <main@Q-List.groups.io> On Behalf Of Sam Hoskins
Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2021 9:19 AM
To: main@q-list.groups.io
Subject: Re: [Q-List] Q200 Performance test.

 

I was once on a long cross-country and I flew over Leadville Colorado airport. 9, 934 ft field elevation. I was probably a couple thousand feet above the airport. I was thinking to myself that might be fun to land there and say I landed at the North America's highest airport. But then I thought, why tempt fate?

 

So I just continued on to my destination.

 

On Wed, May 12, 2021, 10:00 AM Bruce Crain <jcrain2@...> wrote:

Say Mike I didn't notice until I read your post that you were "1 person on board".  You really should try to climb from 5000' msl to 7500' msl with full fuel and luggage plus the two people who are going into Denver. Check your climb rate then.

 

I once flew out of Vance Brand KLMO (altitude 5055msl) with my son Jonathan (probably weighed 60lbs), luggage, and full fuel.  We waited until around noon and the temperature had climbed to around 95 degrees!  (density altitude over 10,000' msl!!)  I leaned the mixture and pushed the throttle forward and started to roll.  We rolled and rolled and finally got off just before the end of the runway and skimmed over the surrounding terra firma trying to establish a climb rate.  It was not pretty as at that time N96BJ was the Q200 tail dragger with a fixed pitch prop.  I now have the TriQ 200 with an MT prop which can be taken to 2700+ rpms for better horsepower.  However I am heavier around my girth and also the airplane.

 

So with all of that said my mistakes were not taking off early enough in the morning to catch maybe 50 degrees F (temperature is a big big factor)  The other thing was the runway was only 4800' long.  If I had landed at Colorado Air and Space Port the runway there is 8000' long with 2 cross runways.  Or Arapaho Centennial which has 10,000' long runways.

 

Not to discourage you though.  I have been into Colorado Air and Space Port with my oldest son Jake when he was in High School when he weighed around 175 and I was 175 but it was in the winter and the temps were in the 40's.  We did a lot better mainly due to the temps and the length of runways plus a cross runway.  Also there are some airports south and east of Denver that are pretty high such as Burlington, Co KITR which is 4218' msl and is 5200' long.  It was hot and the Q200 was minimal at that altitude and temp with my smaller son in the right seat.  The runway also goes up hill to the northwest (not good).    Garden City KGCK would have been a much better place to fuel as it is almost 2000' msl lower than Burlington plus the runway is 7300' long.

 

I pass all this on to you as I have experience albeit stupid  experience.  You can do it but be careful!

 

Bruce Crain

PS- Joanne and I have actually sent luggage via UPS and Post office when flying through and into the mountains to lighten our load.  30 or 40 lbs makes a big difference. You are more than welcome to stop by Enid on your way out and stay over night if  you like! Enjoy!



Please note: message attached

From: "Mike Dwyer " <q200pilot@...>
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: [Q-List] Q200 Performance test.
Date: Tue, 11 May 2021 14:54:25 -0400

 
Sam Hoskins
 

I was once on a long cross-country and I flew over Leadville Colorado airport. 9, 934 ft field elevation. I was probably a couple thousand feet above the airport. I was thinking to myself that might be fun to land there and say I landed at the North America's highest airport. But then I thought, why tempt fate?

So I just continued on to my destination.

On Wed, May 12, 2021, 10:00 AM Bruce Crain <jcrain2@...> wrote:
Say Mike I didn't notice until I read your post that you were "1 person on board".  You really should try to climb from 5000' msl to 7500' msl with full fuel and luggage plus the two people who are going into Denver. Check your climb rate then.
 
I once flew out of Vance Brand KLMO (altitude 5055msl) with my son Jonathan (probably weighed 60lbs), luggage, and full fuel.  We waited until around noon and the temperature had climbed to around 95 degrees!  (density altitude over 10,000' msl!!)  I leaned the mixture and pushed the throttle forward and started to roll.  We rolled and rolled and finally got off just before the end of the runway and skimmed over the surrounding terra firma trying to establish a climb rate.  It was not pretty as at that time N96BJ was the Q200 tail dragger with a fixed pitch prop.  I now have the TriQ 200 with an MT prop which can be taken to 2700+ rpms for better horsepower.  However I am heavier around my girth and also the airplane.
 
So with all of that said my mistakes were not taking off early enough in the morning to catch maybe 50 degrees F (temperature is a big big factor)  The other thing was the runway was only 4800' long.  If I had landed at Colorado Air and Space Port the runway there is 8000' long with 2 cross runways.  Or Arapaho Centennial which has 10,000' long runways.
 
Not to discourage you though.  I have been into Colorado Air and Space Port with my oldest son Jake when he was in High School when he weighed around 175 and I was 175 but it was in the winter and the temps were in the 40's.  We did a lot better mainly due to the temps and the length of runways plus a cross runway.  Also there are some airports south and east of Denver that are pretty high such as Burlington, Co KITR which is 4218' msl and is 5200' long.  It was hot and the Q200 was minimal at that altitude and temp with my smaller son in the right seat.  The runway also goes up hill to the northwest (not good).    Garden City KGCK would have been a much better place to fuel as it is almost 2000' msl lower than Burlington plus the runway is 7300' long.
 
I pass all this on to you as I have experience albeit stupid  experience.  You can do it but be careful!
 
Bruce Crain
PS- Joanne and I have actually sent luggage via UPS and Post office when flying through and into the mountains to lighten our load.  30 or 40 lbs makes a big difference. You are more than welcome to stop by Enid on your way out and stay over night if  you like! Enjoy!


Please note: message attached

From: "Mike Dwyer " <q200pilot@...>
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: [Q-List] Q200 Performance test.
Date: Tue, 11 May 2021 14:54:25 -0400



image.png

image.png

Bruce Crain
 

Say Mike I didn't notice until I read your post that you were "1 person on board".  You really should try to climb from 5000' msl to 7500' msl with full fuel and luggage plus the two people who are going into Denver. Check your climb rate then.
 
I once flew out of Vance Brand KLMO (altitude 5055msl) with my son Jonathan (probably weighed 60lbs), luggage, and full fuel.  We waited until around noon and the temperature had climbed to around 95 degrees!  (density altitude over 10,000' msl!!)  I leaned the mixture and pushed the throttle forward and started to roll.  We rolled and rolled and finally got off just before the end of the runway and skimmed over the surrounding terra firma trying to establish a climb rate.  It was not pretty as at that time N96BJ was the Q200 tail dragger with a fixed pitch prop.  I now have the TriQ 200 with an MT prop which can be taken to 2700+ rpms for better horsepower.  However I am heavier around my girth and also the airplane.
 
So with all of that said my mistakes were not taking off early enough in the morning to catch maybe 50 degrees F (temperature is a big big factor)  The other thing was the runway was only 4800' long.  If I had landed at Colorado Air and Space Port the runway there is 8000' long with 2 cross runways.  Or Arapaho Centennial which has 10,000' long runways.
 
Not to discourage you though.  I have been into Colorado Air and Space Port with my oldest son Jake when he was in High School when he weighed around 175 and I was 175 but it was in the winter and the temps were in the 40's.  We did a lot better mainly due to the temps and the length of runways plus a cross runway.  Also there are some airports south and east of Denver that are pretty high such as Burlington, Co KITR which is 4218' msl and is 5200' long.  It was hot and the Q200 was minimal at that altitude and temp with my smaller son in the right seat.  The runway also goes up hill to the northwest (not good).    Garden City KGCK would have been a much better place to fuel as it is almost 2000' msl lower than Burlington plus the runway is 7300' long.
 
I pass all this on to you as I have experience albeit stupid  experience.  You can do it but be careful!
 
Bruce Crain
PS- Joanne and I have actually sent luggage via UPS and Post office when flying through and into the mountains to lighten our load.  30 or 40 lbs makes a big difference. You are more than welcome to stop by Enid on your way out and stay over night if  you like! Enjoy!


Please note: message attached

From: "Mike Dwyer " <q200pilot@...>
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: [Q-List] Q200 Performance test.
Date: Tue, 11 May 2021 14:54:25 -0400

Jim Patillo
 

Very nice report Mike. 
Thank you,

Jim
N46JP Q200

Sent from Outer Space
From: main@Q-List.groups.io <main@Q-List.groups.io> on behalf of Mike Dwyer <q200pilot@...>
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2021 11:54:25 AM
Subject: [Q-List] Q200 Performance test.
 
Monday May 10th I flew the Q200 up to Crystal River to test the high altitude climb rate. We're thinking of flying out to Denver and the ground there is 6000 feet high. Got to 6,500', baro 30.05, OAT 64F, 15%RH. Slowed to take off speed and then went to full power and when the climb was steady at 100Knots (115 mph) the plane was going up at 850 FPM. Climbed to 7500'. Calculating the density altitude gave me 8800'. This is an excellent performance. Had 10 Gal of fuel, 20 lb of baggage, 1 person aboard.

Coming in to land I was lined up for Runway 22 but there was a Coast Guard H60 helicopter taking off. I politely advised the tower that I'd not be landing after that. Those choppers fly by beating the air into submission and you don't want to be near them. The tower gave me a left 360 on short final and the video picks up on the second final approach!
image.png

image.png

Check out the video of my flight! I'm working on a device to dampen the camera vibration. We'll see how that works in a week.
Mike Dwyer

Q200 Website: http://goo.gl/V8IrJF
Jim Patillo
 

Mike you are right,  You don't want to mess with a big helicopter.
I flew an SH3 Sea King in the Navy, with 1,400 shaft HP each side and it was a big mo.
We actually blew a sailor overboard coming back from a SAR in the Gulf of Tonkin at night. They fished him out of the water after about 20 minutes.

Jim
N46JP - Q200   

From: main@Q-List.groups.io <main@Q-List.groups.io> on behalf of Mike Dwyer <q200pilot@...>
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2021 11:54 AM
Subject: [Q-List] Q200 Performance test.
 
Monday May 10th I flew the Q200 up to Crystal River to test the high altitude climb rate. We're thinking of flying out to Denver and the ground there is 6000 feet high. Got to 6,500', baro 30.05, OAT 64F, 15%RH. Slowed to take off speed and then went to full power and when the climb was steady at 100Knots (115 mph) the plane was going up at 850 FPM. Climbed to 7500'. Calculating the density altitude gave me 8800'. This is an excellent performance. Had 10 Gal of fuel, 20 lb of baggage, 1 person aboard.

Coming in to land I was lined up for Runway 22 but there was a Coast Guard H60 helicopter taking off. I politely advised the tower that I'd not be landing after that. Those choppers fly by beating the air into submission and you don't want to be near them. The tower gave me a left 360 on short final and the video picks up on the second final approach!
image.png

image.png

Check out the video of my flight! I'm working on a device to dampen the camera vibration. We'll see how that works in a week.
Mike Dwyer

Q200 Website: http://goo.gl/V8IrJF
Bruce Crain
 

Try taking off in the cool morning air and absolutely be sure you lean the carburetor to max power before you take off.  Cross winds can be dangerous at high altitudes as the aircraft stays on the runway a lot longer.  Density altitude is nothing to overlook.
Bruce


On May 11, 2021, at 1:59 PM, John Hoxie via groups.io <hoxdesigns@...> wrote:

Good stuff Mike.


On Tue, May 11, 2021 at 12:54 PM, Mike Dwyer
<q200pilot@...> wrote:
Monday May 10th I flew the Q200 up to Crystal River to test the high altitude climb rate. We're thinking of flying out to Denver and the ground there is 6000 feet high. Got to 6,500', baro 30.05, OAT 64F, 15%RH. Slowed to take off speed and then went to full power and when the climb was steady at 100Knots (115 mph) the plane was going up at 850 FPM. Climbed to 7500'. Calculating the density altitude gave me 8800'. This is an excellent performance. Had 10 Gal of fuel, 20 lb of baggage, 1 person aboard.

Coming in to land I was lined up for Runway 22 but there was a Coast Guard H60 helicopter taking off. I politely advised the tower that I'd not be landing after that. Those choppers fly by beating the air into submission and you don't want to be near them. The tower gave me a left 360 on short final and the video picks up on the second final approach!
<image.png>


<image.png>


Check out the video of my flight! I'm working on a device to dampen the camera vibration. We'll see how that works in a week.

Mike Dwyer

Q200 Website: http://goo.gl/V8IrJF
<image.png>
<image.png>
John Hoxie
 

Good stuff Mike.


On Tue, May 11, 2021 at 12:54 PM, Mike Dwyer
<q200pilot@...> wrote:
Monday May 10th I flew the Q200 up to Crystal River to test the high altitude climb rate. We're thinking of flying out to Denver and the ground there is 6000 feet high. Got to 6,500', baro 30.05, OAT 64F, 15%RH. Slowed to take off speed and then went to full power and when the climb was steady at 100Knots (115 mph) the plane was going up at 850 FPM. Climbed to 7500'. Calculating the density altitude gave me 8800'. This is an excellent performance. Had 10 Gal of fuel, 20 lb of baggage, 1 person aboard.

Coming in to land I was lined up for Runway 22 but there was a Coast Guard H60 helicopter taking off. I politely advised the tower that I'd not be landing after that. Those choppers fly by beating the air into submission and you don't want to be near them. The tower gave me a left 360 on short final and the video picks up on the second final approach!
image.png

image.png

Check out the video of my flight! I'm working on a device to dampen the camera vibration. We'll see how that works in a week.

Mike Dwyer

Q200 Website: http://goo.gl/V8IrJF
Mike Dwyer
 

Monday May 10th I flew the Q200 up to Crystal River to test the high altitude climb rate. We're thinking of flying out to Denver and the ground there is 6000 feet high. Got to 6,500', baro 30.05, OAT 64F, 15%RH. Slowed to take off speed and then went to full power and when the climb was steady at 100Knots (115 mph) the plane was going up at 850 FPM. Climbed to 7500'. Calculating the density altitude gave me 8800'. This is an excellent performance. Had 10 Gal of fuel, 20 lb of baggage, 1 person aboard.

Coming in to land I was lined up for Runway 22 but there was a Coast Guard H60 helicopter taking off. I politely advised the tower that I'd not be landing after that. Those choppers fly by beating the air into submission and you don't want to be near them. The tower gave me a left 360 on short final and the video picks up on the second final approach!
image.png

image.png

Check out the video of my flight! I'm working on a device to dampen the camera vibration. We'll see how that works in a week.

Mike Dwyer

Q200 Website: http://goo.gl/V8IrJF

1 - 8 of 8