"Fuel tanks? There are two wing (main) tanks, left and right. These are coupled together. And there are two tip tip tanks, which feed into the main tank when you select them. And an auxiliary tank behind the back seat, which also feeds into the main tanks when you pull the petcock."
"Each of these is 20 gallons. Oh, and the main tanks feed into a small accumulator tank, which is what feeds the engine."
Hmmm, this is going to be interesting. And to think that all I wanted was something to fly to garner the coveted "complex/high performance" endorsement in my pathetic little PP/ASEL logbook (but don't scoff, I do have a spin endorsement there! useful if and when I ever want to become a CFI)
The aircraft is a 1950 Ryan "Super 260" Navion, a "substantial" four place retractable with a P51-like tail and a sliding canopy just like a Grumman Tiger. It has been STC'd - the original GO-435-C2 geared Lycoming has been re-engined with an IO-520 Continental and Hartzel three-blade prop. 285 hp, or about 105 horsepower more than anything else I've ever been officially checked out in. She is for rent at Trans Air at San Carlos, CA (SQL) for a mere $76 per hour, tach.
I've had a genetic interest in Navions because my father used to take me flying in a battered CAP (Civil Air Patrol) L-17 Navion back in the mid-1960's when I was a lad of twelve to sixteen years. Dad used to refer to the Navion as his "personal airliner" (sorry, Mooney), although one could readily tell that he REALLY preferred to fly the L-16 Champ or the Stearman PT-17 available to him. At any rate, this whole adventure I chalk up to genetics and my pre-adult introduction to the Navion, (although I did not learn to fly myself until age 33).
The panel on a Navion is really interesting. If I can remember, from left-to-right, I was able to sort of identify these instruments and avionics - remember this is in order left-to-right (usually two or three stacked vertically) !!)
(the various switches are similarly arrayed, you have to look for them)
It gets better... I press my feet onto the pedals, and there are no toe brakes. Ahhhh, a "Johnson Bar" brake lever falls readily to hand under the center of the panel. Oh, and let's see - gear and flap handles are both polished metal and close together (do not confuse!), and the gear, the flaps, and the brakes are ALL hydraulically actuated from a single system, which you must turn ON or OFF from the master hydraulic switch, about ten seconds prior to any operation of these functions.
Taxiing with the Johnson Bar brakes is very different for those who have learned on modern airplanes (myself included) but actually is fairly easily learned if you are always thinking about it. I have the impression that the San Carlos tower was playing with us when they said "exit taxiway Charlie if able" after my hot little landing, if only to enjoy the prospect of this humble "new-voice-on-the-radio" Navion student trying to find the brakes, but alas I had flown a 1950's Comanche and Tri-Pacer before, and knew of the Johnson Bar setup. In fact I really used to enjoy a midwest Jazz band, "the incredible swinging Johnsons", but I digress...
(with a Johnson bar you steer on the ground with the rudder as usual, but brake by tugging on the Johnson Bar. You can turn tightly by pressing one rudder hard, giving a twist of throttle, while simultaneously using the Bar.) It feels really weird to taxi a 285hp airplane like this, kind of like skating on thin ice! My instructor was sporting a thin smile during this whole exercise, but he did not say anything.
285hp on takeoff feels pretty good. My instructor warns me that this will require a lot of right rudder. As a tailwheel pilot I know what a rudder is for, and pretty much ignore him while I proceed. :^)
We head out towards the ocean and do a bit of steep turns, slow flight, etc. What a neat bird! The old Navion has a very, very smooth roll input, the closest I have seen is the early Bonanza and the Mooney, but Wow! the Navion is way better than both in roll smoothness. In fact, I am startled to find that the airplane has the "feel" of a large air transport aircraft while banking and turning, it is VERY stable in turns. Yet, despite this, the Navion is fairly responsive, it can even do dutch rolls easily and with vigor. This is certainly no Cherokee or 172; I would compare it to the Bonanza or Mooney definitely (but not as sporty as the Grumman Tiger). Not a bad airplane at all. The elevator is a bit more ponderous, however, although not impossibly so. Kind of like a C172.
Most of my familiarization flight is at low RPM and MP, as I'm exploring handling and slow-flight, etc. They say this ship will go 180mph. I doubt it, but we will see in future flights. This is a big airframe by Piper/Mooney/Bonanza standards.
In fact, we fly for about fifty minutes, and return to San Carlos, and the tach says ".4"! Somebody kiss me quick! My CFI and I speculate about this, and finally agree that it must be turning over to .5, but he accepts my theory that most of our flight was at relatively low RPM which accounts for the disparity between tach and real time. So be it then... we can fly a 285hp Navion at 16" MP and 2300rpm for ---$38 per hour! Airspeed at these setting is about 105 to 110 mph.
Slow and comfortable. Reminds my of my Mom.