Red Lake, 8.8.2003
RLBA M003 - flight no. 6
Vulcanair VF600w Mission, a quick test flight
As mentioned earlier, we just got the plane delivered at Red lake saturday 6/8, late afternoon.
Yesterday we had a chance to put 1 and 1 and 1 together and make a quick flight from Red Lake to Pikangikum and back.
The 1-1-1 solution was just a matter of sound finances and efficient time management; just in case sir Darkwing was monitoring us.
1- We got Gianni, the factory pilot, his sightseeing trip over canuck country. The pics are also kind of PR for sir trolls turf :-)
1- That was me getting checked out on the plane and ready to take over and keep it at ACLF for the upcoming trade show.
1- The last one. Chimo seeing some work being done; delivering a contracted shipment at Pikangikum and flying another load back to CYRL.
OK, what can I say?
The plane is still much of a 'newcomer' and still on it's way to receive certification.
It comes from a renowned manufacturer; the name of Vulcanair replaces that of Partenavia; you may remember their successful P.68 model series...
Looks familiar, doesn't it? Yes, it's roughly the same size and outline as a Cessna Caravan or rather a Grand Caravan. Similar performance and just a few pound better on the payload capability, but... most important -are you reading Darkwing?- it has a price tag of only 2/3 of the Caravan's: where the Caravan comes it at about 1.500.000 $, the VF600 goes for approximately 1.000.000 $.
The plane is powered by a 777 shp Walter 601F turboprop -yes, with a 5-bladed prop sir Skybuster- and her full name is Vulcanair VF600w Mission.
We took off from Red lake at about quarter to seven in the morning, for a nice and quick trip to the Pik. we did so at MTOW, carrying some 3 hrs of fuel, pilot and co-pilot plus 4050 lbs of cargo. Weather was very nice; clear and sunny, 22º C, mild turbulence and winds of 4 to 16 kts at 150º.
Most of the flying we did while cruising at 4000 ft and 80% throttle, doing a comfortable 175 kts. That is, all except a low pass over Kirkness Lake; to enjoy the scenery.
(click the snapshots to enlarge)
Flying that smooth and quick, it took us only 27 minutes to get from Red Lake to Pikangikum (ramp to ramp)...
After exchanging the cargo load and checking the 'horse', we were ready for the flight back to CYRL. This time with a lighter all up weight: 3204 lbs of cargo, pilot and co-pilot plus the remaining 724 lbs of fuel.
Now we did try the high speed cruise, doing about 180 kts (100% throttle with a ±10 kts headwind) at FL80... 24 minutes from the ramp at CYPM to the hangar at CYRL.
The bird seems to be doing fine, though after all those slooow flying planes and extreme STOL things that I've seen the last few weeks a landing speed of 65 to 70 kts seems a bit fast :-)
Next I'll have to find a suitable set of floats; we simply need them around here, don't we. We'll probably be the first to test and fly the plane on floats.
(click the snapshots to enlarge)
take off Pikangikum <- -> leaving the Pik
cruising at FL80 <- -> turning for CYRL 08
on final CYRL 08, crosswind
Cheers,
Brick
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