Phil Matheson wrote: >But my reply was meant ask Why you would want to put out your Brake at high >speed. 130 knots. Or even 100 kts.
That's an easy one...by accident! On my very first flight of N56ML I had a plan to go to altitude and test stall speeds, both with and without the flaps deployed. When I was done gathering data (with the flaps still down), I shoved the throttle in and started back down. It only took a few seconds to hit 140 mph, but the plane seemed to hit a brick wall. I still had full flaps! Oh well...check off "flaps deployed at no faster than 90 mph", which had been next on the checklist. This Sunday I was doing touch and goes in Tennessee and the climbout felt like I had a giant bungee cord holding me back down to the airport. Whuuuups, belly board was still down! Like most stuff in these planes, a little margin for stupidity is always good. To answer Paul's question, although I can deploy the belly board at any given position, I normally just drop it all the way (by holding the switch down for five seconds or more) at the point on base/final that I feel like I have the runway made. That way I know it's all the way down, and I'm done with it. About the only time I deviate is when I'm blasting into the pattern at high speed and need to slow down, and I'll deploy it maybe 1/3 of the way to bleed off some speed. The other exception is when I "thought" I had the runway made but realize I'm not going to make it, and then I'll stow it a bit to stretch the glide. This is because almost all of my landings are simulated engine-out landings, with the engine at idle. Learning to stretch the glide without an engine is something I try to master. If I'm too high I'll slip it hard to still try to get it as close to the end of the runway as possible, at the lowest possible speed. These skills are something that you never know when you might need, but are really good to have when you need them.... Mark Langford, Harvest, AL ML "at" N56ML.com www.N56ML.com
