Conversion in a Tecnam Sierra then over to Porepunkah

[alf jessup]

Been thinking the last few months of getting type rated in the beautiful looking Tecnam Sierra we have now based at West Sale airport here in Gippsland.

 

Well I finally got my a$$ into gear and started my conversion this weekend just gone after having reading the flight manual for the Sierra a few times in the last month.

 

Rocked up at Edge Aviations awesome facilities and met up with my instructor Bob MacGillvary on a chilly but calm saturday morning.

 

Filled the usual paperwork out while enjoying a cuppachino made by Lorraine also an instructor and a very good one at that.

 

Pulled 4772 out of the hanger and gave her a topping up of premium unleaded and started my preflight on this sexy/sleek new bird i was about to commit aviation in.

 

Preflight done we climbed aboard and strapped ourselves in, first thing i noticed was it was surprisingly roomy for someone 6ft 1 and fairly broad.

 

Being familiar with the 912 we fired her up and ran through the various checks while doing the mandatory rotax thing (waiting for the oil temp to reach 50 deg).

 

Temps up, radio calls done and checklist complete we taxied out onto rwy 27 and lined up.

 

As I bought the power on the first thing i noticed was the amount of right rudder required to keep lined up with the centerline which seemed a lot more than the J160.

 

The ground roll wasnt much and the Sierrra pointed her nose skyward in an instant, i noticed a fairly high nose angle was required to keep this bird from exceeding the 70 kt flap extension speed, flaps up at 200agl fuel pump off at 400 and we were rocketing skyward climbing out at 75 kts.

 

We headed out to the south west climbing to 4000ft agl and conducted some 30 deg turns then some steep turns followed by some stalls clean then with both stages of flap, this was followed by some side slips then the mandatory forced landings while trying out the best glide speed on the way down.

 

We headed back to the aerodrome and did a number of circuts before calling it a day, was i impressed with my first session, hell yeah i was, i found it far easier to land than the J160 (not that i have had trouble landing it).

 

Sunday morning arrived with nil wind clear blue skys as far as the eye could see and I was back out there ready to do it all again, another session was done and I was signed off and free to go explore the country side with my new little toy, as Bob was more than comfortable with my abilities in the Sierra.

 

Hmm, where shall I go, I know over to Porepunkah to visit my trike instructor and his wife.

 

I topped up the fuel to full tanks rechecked the fuel drains/oil/coolant and basically the plane again grabbed my maps, checked the wx and gave Bob & Lorraine my planned track and ETA to Porepunkah and whilst walking out to the Sierra ran into my mate Mick who was just about to commit to a trike flight.

 

I offered Mick a ride to Porepunkah if he wished and it was taken up with "trike flying today NA i'll go with you.

 

While saddling up in 4772 I briefed Mick on where and what we would be flying over and what we would be doing in case Mr Rotax decided he'd had enough, where the epirb was located and just the general stuff you say to your pax.

 

Lined up on 27 we applied the juice and lifted off making a non standard departure from WSL and tracking 358 deg direct to PPKA climbing to our cruising alt of 8500.

 

The flight went smooth and the ground passed beneath us much faster than it does in the trike when doing the same trip.

 

We ran at 5100 rpm burning 17lph at altitude and had an indicated airspeed of 98kts and a ground speed of 109, which was good as I was expecting 20 kts of headwind going by the forecast.

 

15nm out from PPKA i started a slow decent while still over the hills as this bird is fairly slippery and likes to stay up, inbound calls made and over flying PPKA's 18/36 i decided 18 was for me, downwind checks done turning onto base i got the speed back to 70 and applied 1st stage flap and retrimmed for 60, turning final full flap and retrimmed, this bird was on rails all the way to the ground where the wheels kissed the grass a mere 52 minutes after leaving the bitumen of YWSL.

 

Mick was suitably impressed with the landing considering it was the first one with me in a different type.

 

Lisa arrived at the hanger a few mins after we landed complete with the boston buns, Steve was still out with a student on a x/country flight to Wangaratta.

 

We consumed some coffee and some boston bun and gave Mick some baby sitting duties while I took Lisa for a flight up to Hotham and back, on our return Steve was in the air and wanted some footage of the sierra so we slower up and fufilled his wishes before landing.

 

Greetings done and it was Steves turn for a sortie up to Hotham and back which he was suitably impressed with the Sierra qualities.

 

More coffee and bun consumed it was time for us to head back, call to the cheese and kisses and to Lorraine letting her know our return track back via Hotham and Dargo Valley we departed 36 down the valley and cruise climbed our way to 7500 and towards Mt Hotham, changing frequency to 126.750 (YHOT) we heard 2 aircraft, one from the north @9500 heading to Bairnsdale and one from the south inbound to YHOT @6500 we gave our position ,alt and intentions and flew on by making a right turn 3nm sth from the airport and tracking sth west towards Dargo Valley, we climbed to 8500 where the air was smoother and tracked direct to YWSL at 115kts groundspeed (the winds were with us once again).

 

30nm out from YWSL and still over the hills i started once again a slow let down knowing full well i was well within gliding range of the flat lands of my local area, once abeam of Stratford and at 2500 ft we rode the only bumps of the day back to YWSL, overhead the airport and joining mid field then downwind and base for 27 we were rewarded with the mains of the Sierra kissing the bitumen of West Sale a mere 1hr 7 mins after leaving PPKA and topping of an awesome day and weekend for me.

 

After emptying my wallet and smiling all the time doing it i consumed a cuppachino and went home totally satisfied with my weekend just gone.

 

All I can say is I want one and I'm sorry i didnt take a camera to share this expericence with you all.

 

Cheers

 

Alf

 

 

[skeptic36]

Something something something Dark side.........

 

Something something something Complete

 

Seriously, a good read Alf.

 

Good to hear from you again you've been quiet lately.

 

Regards Bill

 

 

[Tomo]

And that's the way I like it!

 

Good stuff Alf, I'll be looking to get my trike ticket in the near future...

 

 

[.Evan.]

Great stuff Alf! Thanks for sharing.

 

I was also flying on Sunday - at YLTV. Perfect day!

 

 

[alf jessup]

G'day Don,

 

I didnt really take all that much notice as I had no trouble seeing over it, what i did notice compared to the J160 was the Sierra seemed to look more nose down in cruise, maybe it was an optical illusion.

 

Yeah soft landings alright it's the first low wing i have ever flown (and here i was thinking it was me lol).

 

I was quite taken back with the Sierra, not only does it look good it flies as well as it looks, damn shame they are so expensive i would have one tomorrow.

 

Very nice handling qualities solid but nimble in feel and yeah damn easy to land once trimmed up.

 

Glad you enjoyed the read.

 

Alf

 

 

[Mike Ludbey]

Been thinking the last few months of getting type rated in the beautiful looking Tecnam Sierra we have now based at West Sale airport here in Gippsland.Well I finally got my a$$ into gear and started my conversion this weekend just gone after having reading the flight manual for the Sierra a few times in the last month.

Rocked up at Edge Aviations awesome facilities and met up with my instructor Bob MacGillvary on a chilly but calm saturday morning.

 

Filled the usual paperwork out while enjoying a cuppachino made by Lorraine also an instructor and a very good one at that.

 

Pulled 4772 out of the hanger and gave her a topping up of premium unleaded and started my preflight on this sexy/sleek new bird i was about to commit aviation in.

 

Preflight done we climbed aboard and strapped ourselves in, first thing i noticed was it was surprisingly roomy for someone 6ft 1 and fairly broad.

 

Being familiar with the 912 we fired her up and ran through the various checks while doing the mandatory rotax thing (waiting for the oil temp to reach 50 deg).

 

Temps up, radio calls done and checklist complete we taxied out onto rwy 27 and lined up.

 

As I bought the power on the first thing i noticed was the amount of right rudder required to keep lined up with the centerline which seemed a lot more than the J160.

 

The ground roll wasnt much and the Sierrra pointed her nose skyward in an instant, i noticed a fairly high nose angle was required to keep this bird from exceeding the 70 kt flap extension speed, flaps up at 200agl fuel pump off at 400 and we were rocketing skyward climbing out at 75 kts.

 

We headed out to the south west climbing to 4000ft agl and conducted some 30 deg turns then some steep turns followed by some stalls clean then with both stages of flap, this was followed by some side slips then the mandatory forced landings while trying out the best glide speed on the way down.

 

We headed back to the aerodrome and did a number of circuts before calling it a day, was i impressed with my first session, hell yeah i was, i found it far easier to land than the J160 (not that i have had trouble landing it).

 

Sunday morning arrived with nil wind clear blue skys as far as the eye could see and I was back out there ready to do it all again, another session was done and I was signed off and free to go explore the country side with my new little toy, as Bob was more than comfortable with my abilities in the Sierra.

 

Hmm, where shall I go, I know over to Porepunkah to visit my trike instructor and his wife.

 

I topped up the fuel to full tanks rechecked the fuel drains/oil/coolant and basically the plane again grabbed my maps, checked the wx and gave Bob & Lorraine my planned track and ETA to Porepunkah and whilst walking out to the Sierra ran into my mate Mick who was just about to commit to a trike flight.

 

I offered Mick a ride to Porepunkah if he wished and it was taken up with "trike flying today NA i'll go with you.

 

While saddling up in 4772 I briefed Mick on where and what we would be flying over and what we would be doing in case Mr Rotax decided he'd had enough, where the epirb was located and just the general stuff you say to your pax.

 

Lined up on 27 we applied the juice and lifted off making a non standard departure from WSL and tracking 358 deg direct to PPKA climbing to our cruising alt of 8500.

 

The flight went smooth and the ground passed beneath us much faster than it does in the trike when doing the same trip.

 

We ran at 5100 rpm burning 17lph at altitude and had an indicated airspeed of 98kts and a ground speed of 109, which was good as I was expecting 20 kts of headwind going by the forecast.

 

15nm out from PPKA i started a slow decent while still over the hills as this bird is fairly slippery and likes to stay up, inbound calls made and over flying PPKA's 18/36 i decided 18 was for me, downwind checks done turning onto base i got the speed back to 70 and applied 1st stage flap and retrimmed for 60, turning final full flap and retrimmed, this bird was on rails all the way to the ground where the wheels kissed the grass a mere 52 minutes after leaving the bitumen of YWSL.

 

Mick was suitably impressed with the landing considering it was the first one with me in a different type.

 

Lisa arrived at the hanger a few mins after we landed complete with the boston buns, Steve was still out with a student on a x/country flight to Wangaratta.

 

We consumed some coffee and some boston bun and gave Mick some baby sitting duties while I took Lisa for a flight up to Hotham and back, on our return Steve was in the air and wanted some footage of the sierra so we slower up and fufilled his wishes before landing.

 

Greetings done and it was Steves turn for a sortie up to Hotham and back which he was suitably impressed with the Sierra qualities.

 

More coffee and bun consumed it was time for us to head back, call to the cheese and kisses and to Lorraine letting her know our return track back via Hotham and Dargo Valley we departed 36 down the valley and cruise climbed our way to 7500 and towards Mt Hotham, changing frequency to 126.750 (YHOT) we heard 2 aircraft, one from the north @9500 heading to Bairnsdale and one from the south inbound to YHOT @6500 we gave our position ,alt and intentions and flew on by making a right turn 3nm sth from the airport and tracking sth west towards Dargo Valley, we climbed to 8500 where the air was smoother and tracked direct to YWSL at 115kts groundspeed (the winds were with us once again).

 

30nm out from YWSL and still over the hills i started once again a slow let down knowing full well i was well within gliding range of the flat lands of my local area, once abeam of Stratford and at 2500 ft we rode the only bumps of the day back to YWSL, overhead the airport and joining mid field then downwind and base for 27 we were rewarded with the mains of the Sierra kissing the bitumen of West Sale a mere 1hr 7 mins after leaving PPKA and topping of an awesome day and weekend for me.

 

After emptying my wallet and smiling all the time doing it i consumed a cuppachino and went home totally satisfied with my weekend just gone.

 

All I can say is I want one and I'm sorry i didnt take a camera to share this expericence with you all.

 

Cheers

 

Alf

Been thinking the last few months of getting type rated in the beautiful looking Tecnam Sierra we have now based at West Sale airport here in Gippsland.Well I finally got my a$$ into gear and started my conversion this weekend just gone after having reading the flight manual for the Sierra a few times in the last month.

Rocked up at Edge Aviations awesome facilities and met up with my instructor Bob MacGillvary on a chilly but calm saturday morning.

 

Filled the usual paperwork out while enjoying a cuppachino made by Lorraine also an instructor and a very good one at that.

 

Pulled 4772 out of the hanger and gave her a topping up of premium unleaded and started my preflight on this sexy/sleek new bird i was about to commit aviation in.

 

Preflight done we climbed aboard and strapped ourselves in, first thing i noticed was it was surprisingly roomy for someone 6ft 1 and fairly broad.

 

Being familiar with the 912 we fired her up and ran through the various checks while doing the mandatory rotax thing (waiting for the oil temp to reach 50 deg).

 

Temps up, radio calls done and checklist complete we taxied out onto rwy 27 and lined up.

 

As I bought the power on the first thing i noticed was the amount of right rudder required to keep lined up with the centerline which seemed a lot more than the J160.

 

The ground roll wasnt much and the Sierrra pointed her nose skyward in an instant, i noticed a fairly high nose angle was required to keep this bird from exceeding the 70 kt flap extension speed, flaps up at 200agl fuel pump off at 400 and we were rocketing skyward climbing out at 75 kts.

 

We headed out to the south west climbing to 4000ft agl and conducted some 30 deg turns then some steep turns followed by some stalls clean then with both stages of flap, this was followed by some side slips then the mandatory forced landings while trying out the best glide speed on the way down.

 

We headed back to the aerodrome and did a number of circuts before calling it a day, was i impressed with my first session, hell yeah i was, i found it far easier to land than the J160 (not that i have had trouble landing it).

 

Sunday morning arrived with nil wind clear blue skys as far as the eye could see and I was back out there ready to do it all again, another session was done and I was signed off and free to go explore the country side with my new little toy, as Bob was more than comfortable with my abilities in the Sierra.

 

Hmm, where shall I go, I know over to Porepunkah to visit my trike instructor and his wife.

 

I topped up the fuel to full tanks rechecked the fuel drains/oil/coolant and basically the plane again grabbed my maps, checked the wx and gave Bob & Lorraine my planned track and ETA to Porepunkah and whilst walking out to the Sierra ran into my mate Mick who was just about to commit to a trike flight.

 

I offered Mick a ride to Porepunkah if he wished and it was taken up with "trike flying today NA i'll go with you.

 

While saddling up in 4772 I briefed Mick on where and what we would be flying over and what we would be doing in case Mr Rotax decided he'd had enough, where the epirb was located and just the general stuff you say to your pax.

 

Lined up on 27 we applied the juice and lifted off making a non standard departure from WSL and tracking 358 deg direct to PPKA climbing to our cruising alt of 8500.

 

The flight went smooth and the ground passed beneath us much faster than it does in the trike when doing the same trip.

 

We ran at 5100 rpm burning 17lph at altitude and had an indicated airspeed of 98kts and a ground speed of 109, which was good as I was expecting 20 kts of headwind going by the forecast.

 

15nm out from PPKA i started a slow decent while still over the hills as this bird is fairly slippery and likes to stay up, inbound calls made and over flying PPKA's 18/36 i decided 18 was for me, downwind checks done turning onto base i got the speed back to 70 and applied 1st stage flap and retrimmed for 60, turning final full flap and retrimmed, this bird was on rails all the way to the ground where the wheels kissed the grass a mere 52 minutes after leaving the bitumen of YWSL.

 

Mick was suitably impressed with the landing considering it was the first one with me in a different type.

 

Lisa arrived at the hanger a few mins after we landed complete with the boston buns, Steve was still out with a student on a x/country flight to Wangaratta.

 

We consumed some coffee and some boston bun and gave Mick some baby sitting duties while I took Lisa for a flight up to Hotham and back, on our return Steve was in the air and wanted some footage of the sierra so we slower up and fufilled his wishes before landing.

 

Greetings done and it was Steves turn for a sortie up to Hotham and back which he was suitably impressed with the Sierra qualities.

 

More coffee and bun consumed it was time for us to head back, call to the cheese and kisses and to Lorraine letting her know our return track back via Hotham and Dargo Valley we departed 36 down the valley and cruise climbed our way to 7500 and towards Mt Hotham, changing frequency to 126.750 (YHOT) we heard 2 aircraft, one from the north @9500 heading to Bairnsdale and one from the south inbound to YHOT @6500 we gave our position ,alt and intentions and flew on by making a right turn 3nm sth from the airport and tracking sth west towards Dargo Valley, we climbed to 8500 where the air was smoother and tracked direct to YWSL at 115kts groundspeed (the winds were with us once again).

 

30nm out from YWSL and still over the hills i started once again a slow let down knowing full well i was well within gliding range of the flat lands of my local area, once abeam of Stratford and at 2500 ft we rode the only bumps of the day back to YWSL, overhead the airport and joining mid field then downwind and base for 27 we were rewarded with the mains of the Sierra kissing the bitumen of West Sale a mere 1hr 7 mins after leaving PPKA and topping of an awesome day and weekend for me.

 

After emptying my wallet and smiling all the time doing it i consumed a cuppachino and went home totally satisfied with my weekend just gone.

 

All I can say is I want one and I'm sorry i didnt take a camera to share this expericence with you all.

 

Cheers

 

Alf

[Mike Ludbey]

Just like to say thanks Alf for the fly over to Porpunkah, the scenery and snow was spectacular.

 

I think you should have a go at flying one of the PC 9s at the raaf next. Ill see if I can sneek you a fly ha! ha!

 

When you get back we will plan a camp out at Marlo. With Trikes.

 

see ya soon mick.