Here's a reprint of an older post...
Focke-Wulf Fw 149D
S/N 167
C-FWOL
First impression is that the Focke is a alot of airplane to be pulled by a wee 275HP engine.
Climbing is helped by the springloaded handle on the side of the fuselage, which retracts afterwards. Steping on the seat helps getting in the cabin, and the rear seat is accessible by lowering the pilots' seat back. Strapping is easy, we put Hooker Harness in there. Startup is fairly standard for a pressurized carburator engine : Boost pump, then prime 5 shots, mags on M1, engage starter and when it fires, shove the mixture forward. It starts very easily each time. Once it is running, put the mags on M1+M2 so you're running on both. While the engine is warming up, I set my switches (lights and so forth), avionics, trims and check the controls. Also, I enjoy the throaty growl of the BMW-Lycoming GO-480-B1A6.
Run up is your standard piston engine procedure. When you're ready to take-off, close the canopy (it can't be opened in flight), lower two notches of flaps, boost pump on and off you go. It is an atmospheric engine, so MP will be at around 30". Rotation is made at around 60KIAS, once you assert that you have a positive rate of climb, retract the u/c. This is the most awkward manoeuver, since you have to change the stick from your right hand to your left. In fact, you have to do this everytime you need to mess with the gears, flaps, radios and systems on the right side of the cockpit. You have to be careful during the take-off roll to put enough rudder, because the aircraft has a good tendency to swing to the left and it is hard to correct. Also, rotating too soon will blank the rudder and again, it'll be hard to hold straight. Once the u/c is up, reduce prop RPM to 3000 and suck the flaps up slowly at around 100KIAS. The flaps are manual, so you need a good arm, especially when retracting them.
Cruise is done at 2750RPM and 23-24" of MP, burning 17-20 gallons an hour. There is no mixture control, so you just burn fuel. It gets a little bit better if you go up. Airbatics are easy, but the aircraft is slow to respond. During a roll, you have time to email your friends about it. Split-S are easy, although speed builds up rapidly, so I always start them in a climb.
Stalls are non eventful, with plenty of shaking and buffeting 4-5 knots before the break.
Approach and landings are easy, although you sometime have to work quite a bit to slow the aircraft down, as you can't really pull the power all the way back without damaging the gear box. Drop the gears and the flaps at 110KIAS, and usually 30 degrees will get you down safely at a Vref of around 85KIAS. For shorter fields, full flaps and 80KIAS take care of the job. In base leg, advance prop RPM to 3000, it helps slowing you down and once you activate the boost pump on final, you're set for an overshoot if the need arises. Also, be sure to check your carb heat for any ice, as the aircraft has a tendency to ice up.
So, that's how my trainer flies.
P.S. Here's a small video of the beast in action :
http://www.f00sly.com/video/aviation/rv ... f_csb3.mpg
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
