Just coming level at 23,000 feet, I bring the props back to 1900 rpm, double-check the altitude with the copilot’s altimeter and the Garmin 430, vend myself a cup of hot coffee and sit back to survey with satisfaction the good fortune that presents itself before me: an interesting two-day, three-segment trip in our Cheyenne that will mix business with the pleasure of family. High pressure and good weather dominate the route. Then to my left, I see it. The early morning flight has put us on just such a heading and altitude so that the sun casts a perfect shadow on the left engine. I can see clearly the outline of our windshield wiper etched on the cowling. It is a dark shadow on the sparkling white purposeful-looking structure that houses a Pratt & Whitney PT-6, a magnificent thing in its own right.
I love those wipers. It makes the airplane look like it means business. They look not unlike wipers on the big airliners. I don’t use the wipers much, never in flight that I can remember, but I love them. Most often the wipers are useful when taxiing out for the first flight of the day when the airplane has been outdoors overnight. The condensation of humid air on a cold airframe obscures the view but the heated windshields and wipers make a delay unnecessary. Experienced Cheyenne operators claim that the wipers are good for removing ice, too. So far I’ve never needed any augmentation of the window heat in icing, and I think I would prefer to keep things that way.
