I had the privilege of working on 2 Beech Dukes that had been used as air ambulances by the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Western Australia. Both had been flown from the USA to Australia with long range tanks back in the early 1970's. They were the most beautiful looking aircraft at the airport. One of them is still flying today. Anyone lucky enough to have a Duke has a real piece of aviation history

@williameudy633

6 жыл бұрын

Mik P they're pretty to look at for sure but expensive to maintain and operate.

Duke's a meaty airplane. A beast. Good luck finding guys to keep it running, and you're gonna hate the fuel costs lol.

My first ride in the Duke also. Thanks. Beautiful airplane. I like the way you explain everything you're doing and include the numbers. Include "paper" on your checklist. :-)

Always like the Duke; it's a tough looking airplane. Ultimate incarnation would have to be the Royal Turbine Duke with Pratt PT6As replacing the finicky Lycomings.

Outside major engine overhauls, etc, what do annuals usually run on this aircraft?

Awesome plane, great video... There's nothing wrong with a "cheap" Duke thats for sure. Being a Marine Corps combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom that is disabled by PTSD I would give anything to have a "cheap" Duke. I got my license in 2007, PTSD took everything from me in 2009. Count your blessings brother, you couldn't even imagine how bad it hurts to not be able to fly after waiting a lifetime to be able to...

@davem5333

8 жыл бұрын

+Aaron Thomas There is no such thing as "cheap Duke." If the price is low it is probably because the maintainence has been deferred. Think the upkeep is expensive? Wait until you start to play catch-up on the maintainance. Seems like once the air-cooled pistons engines go over 350HP they get get real delicate.

Was it taken with a head-mounted camera? Trying to figure out POV elevation for RealAir's model for FSX. Thanks.

MUY BUEN VIDEO SALUDOS AMIGO C.P.....!

Looks like a fun trip.

I love the Duke, they look good and they are fast. But they are thirsty for fuel.

Do you have the intercoolers? At 400' I pull the engines to 34/2750 and pull the mixtures back to 1580 and watch the temps on the heads.

Very nice video. I hate to critique, don't want to be a "home-seat flight instructor" but rotating at 80 IAS is below Vmc of 85. This is a big no-no. If one of your engines decided to kick-it at that moment, you probably wouldn't have the time to catch it. AFM Chapter 12 (pp. 12-13) recommends Vmc+5 for Vr unless the POH specifies a Vr or Vlof. In this case, rotate at least 90, and the takeoff charts show 89-94 KIAS based on weight.

@steinwaygrande3971

9 жыл бұрын

Colin. Agree with you 100%. I would rotate at 90 knots and climb out at 100+

@nickdean1364

7 жыл бұрын

The majority of Dukes produced are modified with my VG kit which reduces red line to 77, with the addition of winglets and aft body strakes Vmc is well below that so 80 kts is a very acceptable and safe rotation speed.

@steinwaygrande3971

7 жыл бұрын

The Duke was not the greatest of planes to fly from personal experience

Most engine failures happen at the first power reduction. Engines are strong. I met one operator (who made TBO) who ran TO power all the way to altitude. I used to reduce power at an altitude where I could return to the field on one engine, i.e. 1000 to 1500ft above airport altitude. Dukes are dogs in a single engine climb. Loved the plane but so did mechanics. Most didn't know how to work on them. A Beech shop in the NE overtorqued my wing bolts, that was expensive to repair (removed one wing etc.), at Palm Beach a major shop couldn't figure out how to overhaul my a/c system, same FBO damaged the nose gear when towing it out of the hangar. Cheapest annual was $5K, most expensive was $35K at Beech in OPA before they closed shop (they were the best at keeping it in great condition). Loved flying it. At a Duke owner's meeting sat at a dinner table, question was posed "anyone deduct the costs against your business?". Everyone raised their hand. Nuff said.

@mattrobinson4994

8 жыл бұрын

+Gm Furnald If the compressions remain good, and oil is changed frequently, do you believe these engines would go 2-300 hours past 1,600 TBO?

@gmfurnald9219

8 жыл бұрын

+Matt Robinson Hi Matt. They will go and go! I sold my Duke with 1600 hrs. on the original engines. A couple years later I saw it for sale again with 2300TT. I was curious if the new owner changed the engines. No, was the answer. However, that's not to say they were not high maint. engines. At around 1100 hours one engine threw an oil injector, had to change a cylinder and it went to Lycoming for a removal and teardown. That was about $9K at the time. Had to put in a new turbo mid time. When I sold the Duke, we could not figure out why one engine would maintain climb power to 21,000 ft. Anything higher the throttles were split, MP was erratic. Better have a great mechanic who really knows the airplane. Or else your costs will be higher and they'll spend a lot of time trying to figure it out. Luckily I met a fellow Duke owner who knew the ship inside and out. He had all the manuals and would consult with mechanics if they were willing to listen. I once had a problem with the prop. sync. Spent a lot changing this and that on the system, still didn't work right. With a screwdriver and a voltage meter my pal fixed it perfect in his hangar.

@mattrobinson4994

8 жыл бұрын

Gm Furnald Thank you for that info. Encouraging to know the new owner got to 2300. Again, if I purchased one (best price I've seen so far is $115,000 for a 1977 B60 w/ just over 1,500 hour engines) I would try and get around 300 hours out of it before any major issues. Did you have any major problems with the pressurization system?

@gmfurnald9219

8 жыл бұрын

+Matt Robinson Matt. 1. After 900hrs or so those engines somehow don't deliver the same power as when new. As a result you'll see poor single engine climb performance. I always cruised at 30in and 2500 rpm. leaning to about 19.5-20 gph on a Shadin which is critical in my opinion to knowing exactly your fuel situation. I changed oil every 25 hrs. and did the oil analysis. And used the "snake oil" additive to protect the camshaft. So a lot is going to depend on how the engine was treated. 2. Re pressurization: only problem I had with it was the dump valve at rear of cabin stuck open once around 18,000 ft. due to neglect of annual to clean it. It took a knowledgable shop 10 minutes to clean it and that was the end of the issue. 3. Duke's big weaknesses are: delicate nose gear. I had it collapse on me at KPIE with no crosswind, under gross, and a smooth landing. After analysis we believed aggressive FBO towing damaged the nose gear centering bracket, thus the nose wheel was not centered when extended; every 100hrs. I changed the end bearings on the generators as suggested by another experienced owner and thus never had a generator issue; the tail is magnesium, if the plane has ever been stripped for a repaint, look for tell tale signs of new corrosion on the tail. Bottom line: get a real good pre-buy and examine the log books carefully. I would rather see you buy one with less time on the engines. There is a really low time Duke in Massachusetts with under 700 hrs. TT that was nursed but not not run in ages. Maybe you can make a deal on that one!

@mattrobinson4994

8 жыл бұрын

Gm Furnald Thanks again for sharing that information! My other possible choice would be the Piper CR Navajo, but I would really like to have a pressurized cabin.

Left seat had a woodie the entire flight.

You have a Garmin 530 that will compute the TAS for you....

Ohh Yea, do a walkaround and presentation if you can too. :)

fly wayne - No - 30-35 gal per side is typical on take-off and climb out - depends on what you want to keep the temps at. Once you level off this comes down to about 20-22 x side on the Lycomings. Duke suck fuel.

30 gal per engine cruise? more like for both. A 30 gal fuel burn would have to be a 600 hp engine

@jrgb9945

4 жыл бұрын

fly wayne 45-50 gph.

Does the duke belong to you now?

Cant even see the instrument panel !!!!!!!! Where is the prop synch gauge -cant even see that either

The COWL FLAPS should always be OPEN for taxi. Take OFf and CLIMB. Normally on most Beech products the 1st or approach flaps should be selected before the gear. Also it is a pretty big No No to lean a turbocharged engine in the climb. The higher fuel flow adds to the engine cooling. RTFM

@baronpilot2bb

5 жыл бұрын

You are wrong. The cowl flaps are closed for take off on a Duke, PERIOD. If you lose an engine in a Duke and have the cowl flaps open the airplane will not climb and, in fact, will lose altitude. You can open the cowl flaps after the gear is up and 140 knots is obtained. This plane is very unforgiving to a pilot that does not understand its takeoff limitations. The drag created from the cowl flaps is unbelievable and the performance on one engine at blue line at gross is marginable at best when it is clean. With the cowl flaps open and an engine out below blue line you are going down quickly. You can take off in a B55, C55, D55, E55, 58, or 58P (I have owned all of them) with the cowl flaps open and it is safe. It is not in the Duke. RTFM.

Hard to believe these guys are multi rated. They’re just a little too cavalier for my liking. Do the calf Lab stay open? I don’t know I’ll ask somebody. Seriously? Smh

@baronpilot2bb

3 жыл бұрын

Flying the plane is easy. If it's not second nature you probably should stick to cars :)

@jonnuyen4360

2 жыл бұрын

i concur

You might look at your accelerate Go table. Also, Vmc & Vmsy. Climbing out under Red line and then Blue line is a no no... Talks too much.

@baronpilot2bb

7 жыл бұрын

Looked at the table. 5000' ft runway. Did not climb out under redline. You basically rotate at redline. You always initially climb out under blue line. Blue line is best rate one engine out. I have a couple thousand hours in twins and CFI.

@Capt_Ron

7 жыл бұрын

Hope for the best- but plan for the worst. If you rotate at redline and have a complete loss of thrust on one engine, you are going off the runway and possibly onto your back. Getting to Blueline quickly on departure is critical unless you believe you'll never have an engine failure. There is very little margin for error. Best of luck. ATP/FE/A&P/IA....Typed SD360, B-727, DC-8, A300. 20,000+ hours

@baronpilot2bb

7 жыл бұрын

If you rotate at red line you are at red line + 15 before your wheels get off the ground. The SOP for the Duke is simple: Rotate at red line (or slightly below since it takes time to actually get the wheels to leave the pavement), leave hands on throttles until you reach for the gear. When your hand leaves the throttles and touches the gear switch you are now committed to take off and are roughly 100+ knots. If you lose an engine before touching the gear handle you kill the other engine. To be honest, the plane is under powered. Even at blue line - on a hot day and close to gross it will barely climb. Take the POH and burn the performance section. Also, the cowl flaps have more drag than the gear being out. If you have the cowl flaps all the way open and lose an engine the plane will not climb. It is a nice handling plane and looks good, but it's takeoff performance is quite horrible. I do get your point, though. I also forgot to mention that this plane has VGs and will stall before VMC rolling.

Bro get a life!

You said your Pressurization is trying too maintain sea level? You might not be setting it properly if that is what it's trying to to.. It should be trying to maintain 4.6 psi through the outflow valve, not the max differential valve.