Beaver Tips

[flyinthebug]

I believe the different postioning of the throttle leaver and prop control are for civillan and millitary issued beavers.

You are correct. Military had the throttle lever in the center and prop far left and reversed for civilian. That said, I wonder if anyone can shed some light on why they set the quadrant up differently for military vs civilian aircraft? When your flying 7 diffrent DHC2`s, it can cause "finger problems" if 4 are civilian and 3 are military. Does anyone know?

[beaverbob]

My tips: if it's windy taxi with the flaps UP, if it's really windy takeoff with the flaps up until you are established on the step.

I respectfully have to say that this makes absolutely no sense.

[beechnut]

I have not seen much mentioned on the actual handling of the engine on the Beaver. If I may add my 2 cents worth I think that a good pull through is imperative . 1 blade per cylinder [ do the math] on your daily inspection mags off of course ,checking for hydraulic lock on the cylinders.Its a relatively easy fix if its an oil lock,you just pull the spark plugs and turn the engine over to get rid of the oil. If you find a fuel lock you have a much bigger problem. The primer lines are hooked to the upper cylinders. That means that the whole engine could be full of fuel. All of the cylinders, the crank case, the sump, bad news! It takes about a half a day to drain and dry out the inside of the engine. I realize that some of this is engineer duties but you as the pilot should know a little about your engine and its health.

Be very careful when you start the engine after a fuel lock,have a fire extinguisher handy and don`t stand by the exhaust stack.You will have a big fire for a few seconds.
Anyway,after you get the engine running,don't pull any power out of it until you have the oil temperature in the green. There are several reasons for this valve clearances , piston clearances and probably the most important is the blower bearings .
A 10 to 1 blower at an engine RPM of 1000 means the blower is spinning at 10,000 rpm .When the oil is cold, the oil is like glue. With 40c oil, the blower bearing get about 1 third as much oil as they get with 60c oil .Cold oil will severely limit the life of the bearing, we all know what a Beaver looks like on start up with a bad blower seal. If you see a pilot take off with cold oil mention it, it will be for his own good.
I hope that this information is of some help .
regards
Beechnut

[Oldfartus]

The old blade pull through before startup one. You would think being a four stroke and a direct geared engine it would only require two complete revolutions to make sure there was no oil in any of the cylinders? I have heard of people being told to pull trough twenty two blades!!!!!!!! What does that achieve?
I'm going to go out on a limb and say I rarely pulled a Beaver through before starting. When I first started flying an old fella who had done a bit on Beavers told me not to worry, he said the starter had less torque on the crank than pulling the prop through by hand. Never had hydrolic lock on a Pratt, either 985 or 1340. I did a bit with a Drom a while ago, I did make sure I pulled that one through before start up. A minor point that this was in a fairly temperate climate, rarely saw below -10C and no more than 40C.

[beechnut]

Oldfartus
If you have ever seen a bent articulating rod you will understand what I am referring to . I still say 1 blade per cylinder at a minimum
Beechnut

[Oldfartus]

I'm not suggesting others start up without a pull trough I was Just saying I never used to in a Beaver.

[xsbank]

Difficult on floats. Besides, never much below -10.

[beechnut]

A hydraulic lock doesn't care what the temperature is and its easy to throw a board across the floats I have done it for years

[Castorero]

[quote][/quote]When I first started flying an old fella who had done a bit on Beavers told me not to worry, he said the starter had less torque on the crank than pulling the prop through by hand. Never had hydrolic lock on a Pratt, either 985 or 1340. I did a bit with a Drom a while ago, I did make sure I pulled that one through before start up. A minor point that this was in a fairly temperate climate, rarely saw below -10C and no more than 40C.

We must have had the same instructor...
I always thought I was taking a chance doing that and would spin the prop with the starter and mags off before starting. I was never comfortable doing this on a leaky older engine, mind you.

Any further thoughts?

[Cat Driver]

All radial engines are prone to hydraulic lock, some more than others.

The longer a radial sits unused the higher the risk.

[bronson]

Bronson why do you taxi with flaps up?


'cause I've seen a few flip over as they turn back into wind. We are talking REALLY windy here!

[bronson]

Beaverbob:
"I respectfully have to say that this makes absolutely no sense"



Ever seen a Beaver roll over before it even gets on the step? Ever come pretty close yourself? Make sense now?

[beechnut]

For the fellow who is asking for the Tips on the Beaver maybe the grey hairs could share some of our experiences on oil on the windshield.
One comes to mind in the form of a cracked piston which pressurizes the crankcase and forces the oil out through the front prop seal. Its suprising how much oil and how quick it covers everything.
Another is the grease that comes out of a freshly lubricated Hydromatic prop after an inspection[some what normal],leaking blade seals another snag.
Beechnut

[Dr. Mcillicuddy]

Havenever seen a hydromatic that has grease nipples. where can you get these woderful things

[xsbank]

Yeah Beech, you've got your props mixed up!

As for oil? Lemon Pledge.

[beaverbob]

[quote]Ever seen a Beaver roll over before it even gets on the step? Ever come pretty close yourself? Make sense now?/quote]

Two no's there, Not in my beaver time.
Flaps down help in downwind taxiing and proper control inputs will never roll over in any wind.
bob

[302sc]

from cat All radial engines are prone to hydraulic lock, some more than others.

very true particularly for the R2000

[beechnut]

Doc I'm just trying to help out the young fellows with a bit of information,I may have the prop types mixed up .
Thanks XS. Beechnut

[beaverbob]

[quote]As for oil? Lemon Pledge/quote]

Lemon pledge works ok, but leaves a wax build up and needs to be washed off with soap and water once in while. I like something called "210" or B210
I can't remember the whole name.

[ragbagflyer]

As for oil? Lemon Pledge/quote]

Lemon pledge works ok, but leaves a wax build up and needs to be washed off with soap and water once in while. I like something called "210" or B210
I can't remember the whole name.

I hate pledge. I find the same thing, it tends to leave a thin waxy/oily residue. It appears clear enough until you get some water spray on it and it gets messy in a hurry. I honestly can't figure out why it's so prevalent down here. I like 210 as well, but it's pricey and can be hard to find. A great alternative is Plexus. Unlike pledge, it's actually designed for plastic. Go figure.