AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2022 - 20

PROFICIENT PILOT
Curious craft
Another bizarre flying machine
BY BARRY SCHIFF / AOPA Foundation Legacy Society chairman
IN AUGUST I wrote about what I considered to have been the most
unusual airplane I had ever flown, the Champion 402 Lancer
( " Proficient Pilot: Lancer-not, " AOPA Pilot August 2022). It is
essentially a twin-engine Aeronca Champ-although I'm not so
sure that it was wise for me to admit having flown one. There was
another equally weird airplane that I had almost forgotten about
having flown, the Transavia PL-12U Airtruk. (Forgetting about
having flown this strange machine might have been intentional.)
Bizarre airplanes have lured me all over the world; variety
helps me maintain my passion for flight. It took only one look at the
image of an Airtruk in 1974 to accept an invitation to visit Australia
The lower deck accommodates three additional passengers
who also sit facing aft. (Sitting backwards usually provides
improved survivability in the event of an accident.) One problem
with sitting in the lower deck is that during the approach and landing,
the lowered left-wing flap blocks the cabin door, making it
impossible to open. If the pilot does not or cannot raise the flaps
after landing, those seated below become imprisoned.
The Airtruk was originally designed to be an agricultural aircraft,
a crop duster, and its designer was less concerned about
form than function. As an aerial applicator, the pod-shape fuselage
accommodates a cavernous 220-gallon hopper that carries up
to 2,000 pounds of agricultural material. The unique twin-boom
tail configuration allows a wide loading truck to approach from the
rear and eliminates the need for the pilot to shut down the engine
while loading. The Airtruk was then remodeled and recertificated
as a passenger aircraft-what might have been the first time an airplane
has undergone such an evolutionary change-but it did not
meet with much success.
A problem with twin tail booms is that they keep the rudders
outboard of the propwash. They cannot provide effective ground
steering during the takeoff roll until the airplane has gathered
some airspeed. If the nosewheel isn't held down with full forward
stick, initial ground steering can be marginal.
When leveling off at cruise altitude, retarding the throttle will
for the purpose of getting checked out in one and flying it in the
Outback. The airplane has such an unconventional appearance
that whenever I landed, the local press came out to investigate the
curious craft. What they saw evoked quizzical expressions, poorly
disguised chuckles, and a deluge of questioning.
The airplane has a double-deck fuselage shaped much like a
Volkswagen Beetle, giving it an ungainly, homely appearance. The
pilot sits in the front seat of the upper deck, and one passenger sits
behind him facing aft. That passenger has no access to the cockpit
in case of pilot incapacitation. He or she cannot see out the
front window and must be content to sit in isolation. The pilot,
however, has remarkable visibility; it is almost like flying from a
control tower. Sitting above the engine instead of behind it also
allows remarkable downward visibility.
20
AOPA PILOT / December 2022
reveal something strange. Reducing power does not cause the nose
to lower as it does in other airplanes. Nor does adding power cause
the nose to rise. This is because the elevators, too, are out of the
propwash. Power changes have little effect on pitch. If the pilot
wants the nose to go up or down, he'd better make it happen with
the control stick. And, as airspeed increases while establishing
cruise flight, nose-up trim can be needed to maintain level flight,
and vice versa, a mild case of longitudinal instability.
The agricultural model of the Airtruk has a dump system that
allows the pilot to jettison a 2,000-pound payload in three seconds
in case he is otherwise unable to clear an obstacle. Unfortunately,
passenger loads cannot be dumped. Threatening a passenger with
jettisoning would certainly be
a novel way to silence a loquacious
back-seat pilot.
BarrySchiff.com
BARRY SCHIFF began
flying 70 years ago at the
age of 14.
BARRY SCHIFF
http://www.BarrySchiff.com
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2022
