Flying The Big Engine

By the time a typical aircraft has a few years under its belt, its been modified from what rolled out of the factory. It might be additional or replacement avionics, a climb prop, vortex generators, auxiliary fuel tanks or a more powerful engine. It might be something relatively simple, like a ski tube or an external power port. For example, both my Beech Debonair and the Aeronca Champ Im a partner in have seen performance-enhancing mods since they were new.

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Monday, August 12, 2019 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Aircraft often undergo modifications (e.g., engine upgrades), but documentation detailing their impact on performance, such as increased fuel consumption, can be outdated or missing, especially for older planes.
An accident analysis highlights a fatal instance of fuel exhaustion where a pilot failed to account for the significantly higher fuel burn of a modified, more powerful engine.
Despite potential documentation deficiencies, pilots bear the ultimate responsibility for understanding their aircraft's current performance characteristics and meticulously planning fuel to ensure safety and prevent fuel exhaustion.

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By the time a typical aircraft has a few years under its belt, it’s been modified from what rolled out of the factory. It might be additional or replacement avionics, a climb prop, vortex generators, auxiliary fuel tanks or a more powerful engine. It might be something relatively simple, like a ski tube or an external power port. For example, both my Beech Debonair and the Aeronca Champ I’m a partner in have seen performance-enhancing mods since they were new.

Of course, any changes to the original aircraft need to be documented, certified and experimental alike. Among the documentation should be some discussion of what impact the modification has on the aircraft’s performance. If there isn’t any change to performance, the documentation should say that, also, along with adjusted weight and balance data if necessary. The thing is, that doesn’t always happen.