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Old 02-06-2020, 08:37 AM   #79
Rupert
 
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Wellington, NZ
Default Re: An-2

Quote:
Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
Indeed. Also, it takes a long-time to pre-flight, which is certainly a negative, albeit not one that precludes the use which the two on Gadeloupe and Martinique will be put.
I liked the bit where it was noted by one pilot that after you'd done your pre-flight, and turned the engine over a few times, you had a 5-10 minute wait for the oil to flow through the engine properly, so that was when you went in and logged your flight plan with the tower. They also noted that if you took too long, all the oil would have flowed into the bottom cylinders, and if you started the engine you'd bend all the valves and the engine would have to be torn apart and rebuilt. As the cure was to drain the engine, re-oil it and start over, I expect An-2 pilots to not tarry to chat with people in the tower when filing their plight plans.

For people who might need to leave a beach in a hurry, this means you give the pilot a departure window no more than 15 minutes wide and make damned sure you're there, or you accept that final pre-flight will take 10 minutes and you give that much warning of your impending arrival.

I also expect that these sorts of foibles were common to aircraft of the similar or older vintage, as most of them stem from using simple equipment with basic designs dating from WWII or earlier.
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