T-41B Pilot Report on Flight Characteristics

[L-4Pilot]

Flew the T-41B yesterday for the first time since it was delivered. Personal observations of flight characteristics.

As expected the aircraft is very nose heavy, close to the Hawk XP I have flown but heavier. The best comparison is a Cessna 180 when making a three point landing, either trim it properly or suffer sore biceps from the amount of force needed to keep the nose up.. It is a trim airplane and like the B model Cardinal if trimmed for proper rotation you have to trim some nose down during climb for proper angle.


It has a higher drag coefficient than the C-172 or Hawk XP, the large cowling opening and big fat prop hub with no spinner are major culprits along with the oversize nose gear.

When trimmed properly for takeoff the aircraft comes off the ground faster than any other Cessna I have ever flown including the L-19, in part due to the Horton STOL kit and light overall weight (interior stripped out). Current ground run is only a couple of hundred feet.

Acceleration is brisk but you need to have a strong right leg to keep her on center line because engine torque and P factor are intense. Hard right ruder is also needed during climb out as there is no rudder trim like most Cessna aircraft with engines this size.

In flight cruise is more akin to a bread truck than a Porsche with indicated speed more like a L-19 than Hawk XP. Level down low at 2000 feet we were seeing 97 knots at 22 square and 9 gallons an hour. All of the L-19s I owned cruised at 90 knots an 10.5 GPH.

Landings are a hoot but you have to be prepared for a higher sink rate than you are used to. 85 mph works well in the pattern with 15 inches of MP and no flaps until close in on the base legs. The pattern looks more like a Cub than a Cessna....very close in.

Full stall landings with power off and full flaps are more of an arrival than grease on and she lands with a solid thunk as the mains touch very shortly before the nose while you are pulling back on the yoke like Hercules is trying to wrest it away from you. You will most likely have to add power to make the first turn off because it lands so short it is nearly hard to comprehend how little runway was used.

My best landings were made carrying a little power and thirty degrees of flap or less, no flaps.....no problem because she settles fast with power off.

After one flight in the beast you can understand why the Army liked this aircraft, it feels and flys like a much heavier aircraft and is very, very, very good at getting in and out of tight places.

The best part of all is the sound......no other Cessna sounds like this one, deep throaty growl of the IO-360 210 HP engine with it's loping exhaust note says this is no ordinary Cessna trainer. The Air Force boys must have been eating their hearts out when they saw this beast after flying their O-300 145 hp T-41As.

smile smile smile

[RyanShort1]

Thanks for the PIREP! Nice writeup.