Category Archives: JANUARY 2019

January 2019

Sultans of Service

With a legacy airframe, maintenance and support are the keys to retaining utility and value. As a Twin Commander owner the most comprehensive, informed, and experienced service you can get is at a factory authorized service center. The Twin Commander service center network is unmatched in supporting all Twin Commander model airframes, and it’s why the airplane has continued to thrive for decades. Read the latest issue of Flight Levels Online to find out more about what makes service centers special, where you can find them, and why it’s a great idea to take your airplane to an authorized service center.

The Thin Red Line

With so many different operating parameters, keeping tabs on what a turbine engine is doing can be quite difficult. That’s why Honeywell developed the SRL, or single red line computer. Turbine inlet temperature is the primary limiting factor in a turbine engine, but a standard temperature probe can’t survive in that environment. Like many turbines the TPE331 uses exhaust gas temperature as the major performance parameter. The relationship between TIT and EGT is calculated in the background using the single red line computer, and then displayed to the pilot. Want to know more? Check out Honeywell Engines Program Pilot Advisor Robert Erlick’s story in the latest issue of Flight Levels Online. 

Training the Techs

Twin Commander technician training is coming up. The next session will be held March 11 to 20 at Eagle Creek Aviation Services in Indianapolis. The course is taught by Eagle Creek’s Mike Grabbe, who has decades of experience both working on and teaching others how to maintain Twin Commanders. Although the course is open to all maintenance technicians, and even owners, it’s imperative for factory authorized service center technicians to attend. That’s because part of the commitment of being a factory authorized service center includes sending technicians to formal Twin Commander maintenance training. And it’s why owners have the assurance they are receiving excellent support when using an authorized service center. The eight-day course covers everything a technician needs to know to begin working on the Twin Commander, including documentation, systems overview, and more.

For more information contact Mike Grabbe at 317-293-6935 or [email protected].

Fun Fact

From reader John Wood: “Some pilots may think of the propeller as a fan, producing thrust and pushing the plane through the air. The British have the right idea in calling the propeller an ‘airscrew.’ At cruise your Twin Commander propellers turn one revolution for every 20 feet traveled through the air. They are truly acting as airscrews.
“You can see this when conditions are just right. Sometimes on a dark night flying through moisture there will be a trailing white cloud attached to each propeller tip. From the back seats especially, every time the strobe flashes you will see these spirals trailing along each side of the aircraft.”

Do you have an interesting fact about your Twin Commander that you would like to share? Send it to [email protected] and we’ll share it here and on Twin Commander social media.

Readers Are Equipping with ADS-B early

The FAA currently estimates that around 69,000 aircraft have equipped with ADS-B. That’s seemingly a large number, but it’s far below the estimated 180,000 aircraft that will eventually need to equip to continue to fly where a transponder is required today.

Twin Commander owners and Flight Levels eNews readers are ahead of the game. In the last issue we asked how many had equipped with ADS-B and the results were encouraging. Of those who responded, 73 percent had already equipped.

Contact a Twin Commander factory authorized service center today to schedule your install.