Flight Training - November/December 2021 - 6

ALWAYS LEARNING BY KOLLIN STAGNITO
Senior Vice President of Media and
Marketing KOLLIN STAGNITO has flown
24 different single-engine piston aircraft
models, and has many left to learn.
kollin.stagnito@aopa.org
YOU CAN WIN THE AOPA
SWEEPSTAKES GRUMMAN TIGER.
Eligible AOPA members with a student pilot
or more advanced certificate are automatically
entered. Find full sweepstakes rules at
aopa.org/sweeps.
quick airplane partly because of its streamlined,
form-fitting engine cowl. However,
the cowl's small air inlets don't cool the
engine effectively during climb, so Paul
must reduce power, or climb angle-or
both-to manage engine temperatures.
Paul discovered stalls in this Tiger are a
LEVEL UP
" It flies like an RV-12, but much heavier, way more powerful,
and with a lot more systems to think about, " said AOPA Live
Video Producer Paul Harrop after shutting down AOPA's
Sweepstakes Grumman Tiger.
A 250-hour private pilot, Paul was eager to fly a faster, more capable cross-country
cruiser. With 180 horsepower and a 139-knot cruise speed, the Tiger is a nice step up
from the Van's RV-12 Paul normally flies. The mission that morning was a checkout
flight in the Tiger that would enable him to fly it confidently without supervision.
The RV-12 has a free-castering nosewheel and Garmin G3X Touch flight displays,
and the Tiger employs the same technology. But now Paul would be introduced to the
workings of an electrically controlled, constant-speed propeller in an airplane that
has 80 percent more horsepower, flies 30 percent faster, and weighs almost twice as
much as the RV-12.
Once in the airplane, Paul started noticing differences right away. The AOPA
Sweepstakes Tiger has one magneto, one electronic ignition, and no ignition key. Prime
the engine, master on, flip two ignition switches, press a starter button, and the engine
roars to life. Although the engine runup was familiar, the preflight check of the propeller
was not. Paul followed the checklist, but we also discussed why it's important to
manually change the propeller's pitch on the ground (to verify the system works), and
what to do if the automatic system fails in flight (there is a manual override feature).
On takeoff, the stall warning horn blares if you force the airplane to fly before
it's ready. Paul was impressed by the rapid rate of climb at 90 knots but noticed the
engine's cylinder head temperatures slowly creeping toward redline. The Tiger is a
6
FLIGHT TRAINING NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021
non-event because the Garmin Electronic
Stability and Protection (ESP) system
stubbornly prevents the airplane from
stalling. ESP alerts the pilot through flight
display notifications and aural warnings
when the airspeed falls below prescribed
limits and then uses the autopilot to
nudge the control yoke forward to reduce
the angle of attack and keep the airplane
flying. Excessive bank angles are similarly
prevented by ESP. Paul could, and did,
overpower the system to see what would
happen-but he's not likely to accidentally
stall this airplane.
Slowing the Tiger when entering the
traffic pattern was another new experience
for Paul. Smooth, rivet-free wing
and fuselage skins, and a propeller set in
cruise configuration, create a slick airplane
that does not want to slow down easily.
Advance planning and appropriate manifold
pressure and propeller rpm settings
are required to slow to a speed allowing
flaps to be deployed. Once full flaps are
deployed on final approach, the airplane
flies surprisingly slowly considering how
fast it is in cruise; 65 to 70 knots on final is
normal. The airplane feels nose heavy in
the flare when speed is at its lowest, but
the nosewheel must be held off the runway
as long as possible on rollout to prevent a
pilot-induced porpoise.
It was a lot for Paul to absorb during
his first flight in the Tiger. But by the
sixth landing, he was beginning to get
comfortable with the systems, settings,
and attitudes that produced the desired
airspeeds and flight path. After the flight
we sat in the cockpit debriefing for a few
minutes, and I noticed a familiar look on
Paul's face. It was the satisfaction of a pilot
taking on a new challenge, learning a lot
in a short period of time, and reaching the
next level in their aviation journey. FT

http://www.aopa.org/sweeps

Flight Training - November/December 2021

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