User Guide

Flight Instruction
241
Flight Instruction
240
ROOF PANEL
We’ll take it from the top down and from left to right. At the
very top, the two rows of black pushbuttons test various aircraft
systems and warnings. Push any of them, and the respective warn-
ing lights (and, where applicable, audio warnings) will be activat-
ed.
The leftmost triangular area, with its various switches and
warning lights, controls all the ice protection systems. Of particu-
lar interest is the large black dial that looks like an egg timer. In
fact, it is an egg timer, and even goes “ding” when it runs out! This
time, however, it controls operation of a pump that distributes an
antifreeze-like fluid through tiny perforations in the leading edges
of the wing and horizontal stabilizer. The system is very effective
as an anti-ice device, i.e., it can prevent ice from forming, but isn’t
so good at getting rid of it once it forms; be sure to turn it on
before you enter icing conditions. The fluid tank is good for about
an hour (there’s a gauge for it on the copilot’s side panel). In the
actual airplane, its filler is inside the main cabin door, so for long
flights you can carry a jerrycan of extra fluid and top it up inflight.
The next area, again with switches and warning lights, is
devoted to the engines. The switches you’ll use often are the three
across the top: a master start power switch, which must be turned
on before you can use either of the individual starters to its left and
right. Below the bank of warning lights are the switches for the left
and right fuel boost pumps, which are normally on at all times.
Further to the right, a large area is devoted to the DC and AC
electrical systems. At the top are switches for the batteries, and for
external power if you have the airplane plugged in to a ground
power unit. While there’s enough “oomph” in the batteries to start
at least one engine, it’s hard on both the engine and batteries - it’s
a much better idea to start up using either external power or the
airplane’s own Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) which we’ll discuss
later. If you have a major electrical problem, moving the master
battery switch to its EMERG position will keep the most essential
systems and instruments alive while you figure out what to do
next.
If the pilot is so thick-headed as to ignore this warning, the air-
plane moves on to the “stall identification” phase, and at this point
it doesn’t mess around. Somewhere in its little electronic brain, it
says, “enough, already,” and shoots 2,500 psi of hydraulic pressure
to a cylinder attached to the elevator controls: the “stick pusher.”
The nose drops smartly, just as it would if a conventional airplane
were actually stalled. Since the consequences of an actual aerody-
namic stall would be so disastrous, the airplane produces a “syn-
thetic” one with sufficient margin for recovery.
COCKPIT TOUR
Let’s start looking around the cockpit. If you’re coming from
smaller airplanes, you’ll probably be struck right away at how
much stuff there is in the ceiling (or, as the Brits call it, the “roof
panel”), so let’s look there first. Luckily, the roof panel has white
lines dividing it into various functional areas.
Engine Start Buttons
Engine 1
Start Power
Engine 2
Alternator 1 & 2
LTR Master
Amps
Wing Tail
Anti-ice
Ice Protection Buttons
Screen Heat
Pitot/Vane Heat
Engine Anti-ice
Eng Ignition
Fuel Control Buttons
Row 1: Left/Right Pump
Row 2: Eng1 Computer/Eng2 Computer/Synch
Exterior Lights
Fire Detection and Extinguish
Cabin Temperature Adjust
Amp/Amp
Emergency Lights
Volts/Volts
Hawker 800XP Ceiling Instrument Panel