Flight Training - December 2014 - 33

THE DIFFERENCES between a typical midsize business jet and a four-seat piston single are vast. For
example, apart from the physical size, the jet-at about 20,000 pounds fully loaded-is 10 times heavier
than a single-engine airplane. But piston-powered airplanes do have an advantage of sorts. With more
aerodynamic drag, the piston single is forgiving in descents. Slippery jets can overspeed if you're not
careful. Go down and slow down at the same time? That can be a challenge, which is why most jets have
spoilers to keep speed under control. Speed and power are always desirable, which is why older Cessna
Citations like the one at left can be rejuvenated with supplemental type certiﬁcates that improve range,
time to climb, and max gross takeoﬀ weights.

Perhaps. But what would it be like to
ﬂy a jet? The differences between a piston
single and a jet are vast. Let's take a look
at some of them, Maverick.
First, the obvious. Jets have sleek
lines and are slippery. They're designed
to go fast, and they have powerful
engines that help them achieve that
goal. The engines in a 10,472-pound
Phenom 100, for example, put out a total
of 3,390 pounds of thrust. Compare that
to the 160 horsepower for a Cessna Skyhawk at max gross weight. Moreover,
most jets have two engines, so if you're
unlucky enough to lose an engine on
takeoff, it's no big deal if you're proﬁcient. A fully loaded Phenom 100 can
climb at least 580 feet per minute on a
single engine-and keep on climbing, all
the way to 26,000 feet.

But you don't just line up, ﬁrewall the
power levers, and blast off. Oh, no. First
you have to calculate all your takeoff
climb airspeeds, or you'll never realize
your best climb rates. The speeds vary
with weight, runway elevation, ambient temperature, and pressure. The ﬁrst
speed you need to know is V1 (takeoff
decision speed); if an engine quits before
reaching this speed, then stop on the
remaining runway. If one quits after
V1 you will climb away. VR (rotation) is
the next speed; that's when you raise
the nose.
Then comes V2 (takeoff safety speed),
the airspeed that roughly equates to best
single-engine rate of climb speed. It's a
new chore for you, and these calculations
have to be done before each takeoff or
you won't realize book performance for
either stopping on the remaining runway
or obstacle clearance. Once you've determined the airspeeds and posted them in
the cockpit, however, the fun can begin.
A jet takeoff is a rush of sensations.
First, the anticipation as you line up the
ship on the runway and hold the brakes.
Then you advance the power levers to
the takeoff position, and listen to the
increasing engine whine. But you don't
feel the thrust immediately. It takes
a couple of seconds before full thrust
kicks in and you have to push harder on
the brakes to keep the jet from inching
forward. But once you release the brakes,
hang on. You'll deﬁnitely feel it as you're
pushed back in your seat, and very
quickly the runway rushes by in a blur.
Steering can be sensitive, so you have
to split your attention between tracking
the runway centerline and eyeballing the
airspeed indicator-all while building
speed at what seems like an incredible

rate. You'll be airborne in seconds. Are
you ready?
Very quickly, V1 (this is usually around
95 knots in a loaded Phenom 100) comes
and goes, followed immediately by VR
(about 97 knots), and it's suddenly time
to raise the nose and begin your climb. A
couple more seconds and you're passing through pattern altitude, climbing at
perhaps 2,500 fpm and heading for 200
knots. If you were in your Skyhawk, you'd
still be back there checking your mags.
Instead, you're passing through 5,000
feet agl, pulling back on the power levers
so you don't bust the 250-knots-below10,000-foot speed limitation, and talking
to ATC about your next move-all at once.
And you did program your ﬂight control
system-and couple your autopilot-with
your ﬁrst altitude clearance, yes?
As you can see, takeoff and climb is a
busy, busy time. It takes training, practice,
and acclimatization to get used to the feel
of a jet-and stay ahead of it mentally.
After about 35 minutes climbing at, say,
170 knots, you arrive at Flight Level 370.
All the rush and adrenaline of the takeoff
phase is behind you, and it's time to
savor your 390-knot true airspeed-and if
you're lucky, maybe even a 70-plus-knot
boost from a nice jet stream that will put
your Phenom 100's groundspeed above
the 450-knot mark. In just a tad more
than two hours, you'll have travelled
almost 1,000 nautical miles. You're
above all but the tallest cloud buildups,
the air is smooth, and the noise level is
way below that of a piston single. For
the time being, all you need do is comply
with your ATC clearance (for ﬂights
above 18,000 feet it's a mandatory IFR
world), talk to controllers, and monitor
your systems.
DECEMBER 2014 FLIGHT TRAINING

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Flight Training - December 2014

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