AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - October 2019 - T-15

for example-are presented in smaller,
thumbnail views nearby.
Pre-takeoff checks complete, it's time
for lineup and takeoff-an autothrottle takeoff. The first step is to arm the command
bars by pressing the GA button, followed by
pressing the NAV button on the glareshield
controller, then putting the speed knob in
the FMS position (we'd selected a VY-124
knot-climb speed in the climb profile earlier). Then press the AT button.
Get on the brakes, push the power lever
up to 70 percent torque (now the torquemeter
is prominent on the MFD), and the autothrottle wakes up, taking power to 100 percent
torque. After brake release, steer down the
centerline, wait for 90 knots, and rotate into
an aggressive climb to your selected altitude
while following the flight-planned route.
That day, we flew out to the Everglades.
For an enroute climb, the speed knob was put
in manual mode and we dialed in a 170-knot
climb and then pressed the flight level change
(FLC) button to activate it. Within 14 minutes
we were leveling off at FL280 on autopilot,
even in Florida's above-standard conditions.
For a cruise demonstration, the SPD
knob was put into FMS mode and we
called up the cruise page on the GTC
580. There's a choice-maximum cruise,

normal/recommended cruise, long-range
cruise, or a user-selected cruise speed. We
picked maximum cruise. And just like that,
the autothrottle advanced power. This is
one more advantage of autothrottle flying. There's no flipping through the pilot's
operating handbook to find the right torque
setting for the temperature and pressure
altitude at hand. The autothrottle takes
care of power management no matter what
cruise setting you select. For the record, our
maximum cruise speed turned out to be 320
KTAS, burning 58 gph. With our 255 or so
gallons of fuel remaining on board we could
have flown from Pompano Beach to, say,
Oshkosh-in no-wind conditions.
With the heat of the day, a line of buildups came between us and Florida's east
coast. We'd have to fly through some of the
tamer ones to fly back to Pompano Beach, so
a speed reduction was in order. In order to
ride the bumps safely, we used manual speed
control to slow the airplane to 160 knots.
You can leave FMS mode at any time and go
to MAN autothrottle speed selection (and
back again) for just such eventualities. Just
remember to select flight level change (FLC)
to capture a manually selected airspeed.
Our airplane had the optional Garmin
GWX70 weather radar, with turbulence

Just like that, the
autothrottle advanced
power. There's no
flipping through the
pilot's operating
handbook to find the
right torque setting
for the temperature
and pressure altitude
at hand.

THE 940'S SINGLE POWER LEVER (far left)

combines the functions of thrust management and condition lever through an
H-patterned gate. Center photo shows the
author (left) and Nicolas Chabbert, senior
vice president of Daher's Aircraft Business
Unit (right), on approach to the Pompano
Beach Airpark. Push the Auto switchlight
(right) and ice protection is automatic.
Push it again to manually activate the
deice boots.

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AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - October 2019

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