Piper Lance

flykelley

flykelley

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Jul 7, 2006
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Waterford MI
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flykelley
Hi Gang
My boss just bought a 1977 Piper Lance Straight tail. Just wondering what it flies like? I have 500 TT, Around 300 of that in Piper Archers, Dakota and about 6 hrs in a Cherokee 6. Flew 40 hours last month so Im pretty current. I am getting my Complex in a Arrow right now. It is in the Avonics shop right now hetting a G-500 installed along with a Stec model 30 AP. Nice garmin stack in the middle.


Mike
 
Basically like a Cherokee six, but a little quicker once you suck the gear up. The t-tail models are a bit of a runway hog, but the straight tail is fine.
 
flykelley said:
Hi Gang
My boss just bought a 1977 Piper Lance Straight tail. Just wondering what it flies like? I have 500 TT, Around 300 of that in Piper Archers, Dakota and about 6 hrs in a Cherokee 6. Flew 40 hours last month so Im pretty current. I am getting my Complex in a Arrow right now. It is in the Avonics shop right now hetting a G-500 installed along with a Stec model 30 AP. Nice garmin stack in the middle.


Mike
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You'll love it. Glad he didn't get the T-tail.

If you have some hours in a Cherokee 6, you won't find the transition that hard.

You're already used to having to switch tanks.

Just make sure you lower the gear!

I like 90 on final, 80 on short final with some power. Book says 75.

Enjoy the extra airspeed in cruise!
 
I've owned two straight tail Lances. Make sure you do a checkout flight at full gross, as the airplane flies quite differently at "training weight" than at max. Make sure you know the differences in the various weight-dependent speeds, because they vary by a lot. And for a heavily loaded takeoff, a notch of flaps helps a lot to prevent it from skating around when it is bordering on flying speed.
 
Ken Ibold said:
I've owned two straight tail Lances. Make sure you do a checkout flight at full gross, as the airplane flies quite differently at "training weight" than at max. Make sure you know the differences in the various weight-dependent speeds, because they vary by a lot. And for a heavily loaded takeoff, a notch of flaps helps a lot to prevent it from skating around when it is bordering on flying speed.
Click to expand...
Thanks Ken, will make sure to do some full gross training then. A lot of the flying will be at or near gross.

Mike
 
Does the plane still have the automatic gear extend system installed? We have a T-tail and it's been giving us fits not stop. Otherwise, I love our plane.
 
Traket92X said:
Does the plane still have the automatic gear extend system installed? We have a T-tail and it's been giving us fits not stop. Otherwise, I love our plane.
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Yes it does but it has been suggest that we disable it.

Mike
 
Neither of mine had it installed anymore. It was one of those ideas that may have been good in theory, but in practice left a little to be desired.
 
flykelley said:
Yes it does but it has been suggest that we disable it.

Mike
Click to expand...

I have it in my Arrow. Today will be my third flight with the mechanic to adjust it. When I bought the Arrow you had to be at stall for it to drop; it's supposed to drop at 105 mph.

If you decide to keep it, remember that the AD requires that you, as pilot, make an entry in the aircraft log that you know how to use it.

One problem with it is that it only works if you pull the power completely off. So if you hold a bit of power all the way down then it is useless. When I did my complex in a similar Arrow, I was taught to pull the power completely off, listen for the alarm, drop the gear, slow to 100 then add a notch of flaps and put the power back in. if you develop this habit then it has a chance of being useful. But if you stick to that habit you won't need it. Catch-22 :idea:

edit: actually, the logbook requirement may be an MSB, not an AD so not required for Part 91? use. See:

http://www.piper.com/Company/Publications/SB 0866A.pdf
 
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alfadog said:
One problem with it is that it only works if you pull the power completely off. So if you hold a bit of power all the way down then it is useless. When I did my complex in a similar Arrow, I was taught to pull the power completely off, listen for the alarm, drop the gear, slow to 100 then add a notch of flaps and put the power back in. if you develop this habit then it has a chance of being useful. But if you stick to that habit you won't need it. Catch-22 :idea:
Click to expand...
That is why I hate that system - you are far more likely to suffer the performance loss by having the gear stuck down on a climbout than be saved by the system from a potential gear up.
 
TMetzinger said:
And one is more likely to be fatal than the other.
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Where it really screws you is high DA takeoff with the sun at your back.

The airspeed where it prevents the gear from being retracted increases with DA to the point where it is at or above Vy. And with the sun at your back, you don't notice that the green lights are still on. Happened to me at Big Bear....fortunately I was light.
 
Fearless Tower said:
That is a definite advantage over the T-tail. With a T-tail, you don't want to get under 95....especially if you are light
Click to expand...

Try flying even the straight tail on final, holding 75. It can be done with considerable power. Don't close the throttle 10 feet off the runway though!
 
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