New Turbo Flying Advice

allsportster

Hey everyone, I finally picked up my new Saratoga II TC! My wife and I are so excited for the opportunities that it will open up! I flew it back to Denver from Montana last weekend, and I have a lot to learn about it. I have a bunch of hours in a NA Saratoga, but this turbo is a new beast to me. The engine is high on hours, so I really want to baby this to get as much time out of the engine as possible.

I have read through the POH and understand the book way of doing things, but I would like some "real life" input from people that fly turbos regularly. How do you climb, cruise, descend, cool-down? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Seneca38173

No advice, just envy. What a beautiful airplane!

Bob

roevadas

Welcome and great looking Toga...I fly my Lance II LOP to lower the CHTs and baby the engine...I'm getting used to a new set of GAMI injectors and getting great fuel economy. Go to there website, they have a lot of info about turbo operations...

Scott Sherer

Having owned three Seneca 2's and 3's with TSIO-360's and one Turbo Arrow with a TSIO-360 over the last 30 years I'd say I had a few thousand hours of turbo experience, at least in a TSIO-360. Whether it operates the same as what a Saratoga does I don't know. However, I follow the instructions in the POH to the letter, if not a bit more conservative. I fly high, over 10,000 on all trips greater than 45 minutes and at 70 to 75 percent power. I run rich of peak always and keep my TIT, EGT and CHT's cooler than they should. If I need to use more fuel for cooling, so be it. On descent I always come down at 500fpm and 40 to 50% power. I make slow throttle adjustments and avoid shock cooling. On the ground I always run at idle for at least five minutes. If the temps show high on the ground or in the air, mixture rich and cowl flaps open. Good luck with your beautiful plane.
Oh yes, I have Merlin Black Magic automatic waste gates and electronic ignition.