@covey582
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We’ve flown our restored & modified ’77 AA5B in/out of Santa Fe and Ruidoso, NM, and Greeley, CO. Our machine has an MT constant speed prop, the Lycon ported & polished cylinders, a Powerflow exhaust, an overhauled engine, fairings, and a new shiny paint job. The Lycon and Powerflow companies each claim 10-15 higher “effective HP” for their respective mods. Let’s call it 200 total effective HP (vs. 210 effective HP) on our O-360-A4K. We used standard POH performance charts to be conservative; with two occupants (total 360#), near 38 gallons of fuel (just at the tabs)(with a fuel stop planned once out of the higher elevations) and we carried two light weight small bags. The MT gives the climb prop we needed, then was reset for cruise once leveled off. Without using instruments to calibrate the performance, my recollection (key word) out of KSRR is that we had (and planned to fly) a tad over 300 FPM, with the density altitude about 8,000 on a cooler morning, and with light winds. I could have gone with less fuel, improving the performance slightly.
I flew for airspeed also, not just max FPM, in case I needed a little more energy to gently maneuver around the terrain. The performance is noticeably less robust than out of our home airport back in Texas (650’AGL) but the airplane handled well — just “easy does it” on the control movements and expectations. The biggest mountain issue is the lack of flat terrain to drop into, should the need arise. That got our attention more than the performance. If mountain flying was to be a norm, I’d do some test flights solo, with as light a fuel load as needed, being alert to FPM vs. airspeed capability as I neared the higher elevations — so to judge “my” airplanes handling. Needless to write, always have an escape route planned as you venture near the Cumulus-Granitous. I miss the pointed-end airplanes also. But, flying a Tiger is a nice replacement for a retiree. -
Mike,
Give me an email at pacurs@gmail.com, so I can pass along more info.
Thanks,
Paul
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