Let'sgoflying! said:
Lets start with engines - which are they; TIO520? Frankly I am more worried about getting a good start than anything! Any tricks?
The engine depends on the model. There were no turbo 55's AFaIK. There are 55's with aftermarket turbo systems. The 58 was sold as a factory turbo and I think they came with TSIO-550's There was also a 56-TC model Baron which came with Duke engines with something well over 300 Hp each. This was the fastest Baron that Beechcraft ever made, but they are expensive to run and maintain.
AFaIK they all start like any other injected big bore engine, that is to say easily when cold or warm, not so easy when hot. Cold I start mine by setting mixture rich, throttles 1/3 open and prime with high boost until you see around 10 GPH (3-5 seconds). Then move the throttle to barely cracked open and crank. They should fire within a few blades. Hot starts on the Continentals work best if you run the boost pump on high for about a minute with the throttle closed and mixture in cut-off. Then set the throttle at 1/3 flip on low boost as you start cranking. Slowly move the mixture towards rich until the engine fires and then pull the throttle back to keep the RPM below 1000. Don't forget to shut off the boost pump. One other note: if you have one engine that's harder to start and your batteries are good, then start that engine first. That way you can hear what that engine is doing when you crank it, if you start the other one first it's hard to hear much on the second one.
The Lycomings are different and I have no specific advice.
The master switch is operated with a key. There are two mag/start switches near the master switch on the right side panel.
I will get some ground training and POH time before the flight, but there are always things they don't cover....
Any quirks, peculiarities and gotchas are always welcomed!
The first thing I have to tell pilots that I let fly the Baron is that the trim is
very touchy. If you are used to a Cessna and flip in three turns of the trim wheel you will think you are heading straight up or down depending on which way you turned the wheel. One quarter inch of movement on the circumference of the trim is good for a few knots of hands off airspeed.
Other items worth mentioning:
It's very important to close and latch the door properly. If you don't it's pretty much guaranteed to pop open right after rotation on takeoff. If it does open, fly the plane and forget about trying to close the door, it's almost impossible to close in the air and several pilots have died trying. Just stay in the pattern and land while closely monitoring your airspeed as it's very easy to get slow with the distraction of an open door.
Gear and flap speeds are pretty high. Gear speed (retract, extend, and fly) is 152 KIAS in my B55 and a few knots higher in some of the bigger Barons. In level flight you can get down to 120-130 KIAS with the gear and flaps up with the power at the bottom of the green on the MP and mid-range RPM but that takes a few minutes and several miles. Gear extension generates a slight, temporary nose up pitch and flap extension produces a much greater pitch up that requires trimming.
Older Barons like mine have two tanks in each wing with an aux and main position on the fuel selctor. You're not allowed to take off with less than 13 gallons in each main tank (always take off on the mains). That means it's a good idea to manage your fuel so you use up most of the aux fuel before taking the mains below 1/2 full. On the newer models the tanks in one wing are all connected together so there's no need to manage fuel as long as both engines are running. Some of those have two fillers on each wing and if you open the inboard one when the tanks are full, gas will come pouring out.
Despite the light touch required on the wheel during normal cruising flight, the Baron requires a hefty tug to hold the nose up during the landing flare.
The seats adjust fore and aft (no vertical adj) and the rudder pedals have two positions as well. The highest position on the pedals is for short legged people only. On the right side there is a third position which puts the pedals on the floor and disconnects them completely from the rudder.
Many Barons have brakes on the left side only. The parking brake is a small T-handle under the panel near the center. Pull it out and pump up the brakes with the pedals. Make sure it's pushed forward before taxi and takeoff. A lightly loaded Baron can probably take off with it on, but the tires and brakes will suffer.
The nosewheel steering on my Baron and most that I've flown is kinda sloppy.
Barons like Bonanzas like to wag their tails in turbulence. You can cut the swing in half simply by forcing the rudder pedals to stay still. The easiest way is to put one foot on both. A yaw damper does a better job.
The landing lights generate a lot of heat and will melt the plastic covers (wing mounted lights) if left on while on the ground.
Don't even think of letting a Baron spin or stall with assymetrical thrust. History shows that they don't recover well. A wing drop at stall is pretty likely, even if you are well coordinated.
The CG range is less than similar Cessna or Piper twins, but the nose baggage area can hold up to 300 lbs (less the installed weight of any avionics in the nose) and this makes it pretty easy to stay within the envelope. Like the Bonanza, fuel burn from the main tanks shifts the CG aft slightly so it's possible to start a flight just inside the aft limit and end up outside it.
Most Barons have a flyable weight that can vary by almost 30% so you need to adjust landing speeds for your actual landing weight. A knot for each 100 lbs below max gross is a pretty good adjustment for your over the fence speed. In my B55 that ranges from 80-90 KIAS from 1000 below MGW to MGW.
Some have manual cowl flaps and some are electric. The electric ones only have two positions open and closed. The indicator light by the cowl flap switch indicates the switch position, not the cowl flap position.
The landing gear has two in-cockpit indicators. One is a red pointer at the base of the center pedestal which indicates the actual position of the nose gear. The older ones have a pair of lights that indicate the position of the gear actuator under the front seats. Newer Barons have the conventional "three green" connected to switches on the gear itself.
The emergency gear extension handle disconnects from the actuator transmission when folded up in the stored position. There should be a cover for the handle that keeps it folded. If the handle is unfolded it will spin hard and fast enough to break someone's foot when you raise or lower the gear. It will also get wrapped up in any wires or purse straps in the vicinity. The emergency crank is for lowering the gear only, if you try to use it to raise the gear, it will probably break a part inside the transmission rendering the crank useless. Catching the handle on something when the electric motor spins it can also break the transmission. A common mishap scenario involves a practice extension that leaves the handle unfolded and engaged followed by a normal retraction. Older Barons have a spar cover that can be installed in a way that covers part of the extension handle rendering it unuseable (something to check before starting).
