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[Sleek-Jet]

Automotive carbs usually only operate a one altitude most of the time, thus they can get away with a fixed mixture setting supplied by the jets and or metering rods.

Airplane carbs have to be able to operate over a wide range of altitudes, from sea level, all the way to 15000 feet or even higher.  So, a way of adjusting the mixture is required for optimum profomance.  At higher altitudes, leaning for best power is mandatory for satifactory perfomance. 

The mixture controll on aircraft carbs is essentially a movable metering rod. 

As far as the Caravan and all those power levers... what would be the mixture lever in a piston engine is the "condition" lever for a PT6... it essentially turns the fuel on and off.  The throttle lever on a turbine is the "power" lever, and it adjust the fuel metering to the power section.  The more fuel and air, the more power a turbine engine will make, until you either reach a temperature limit or a power limit set by the manufacturer.  There is no lean or rich mixture, a tubine engine needs as much fuel as there is air to burn it with.  That's why higher is better.  The less air there is, the lower the fuel burn.

Keep in mind that a gas turbine is a completely different animal than an internal combustion piston engine.

There was a really good set of article in AOPA pilot a few years ago about the fuel metering circuit and power outputs in turbine engines.  If I can find them, I'll post them here.

The "beta" range, or reverse, is on the power levers as a mater of lowering pilot work load.  The didn't always used to be there.  I've seen older aircaft with "reverse" pitch toggle switches.   

[Gulfstream Driver]

Yes, feathering is used only in real emergencies.  Can you imagine the resistance for a running engine if it had to spin a prop that's 90 ^o to the direction of travel?

I've heard that Rod Machado is quite good.  He adds humor to his lessons, which makes them easier to read.  I like Jeppeson, because they have very good pictures.  I've never used anything else.  The King programs are supposed to be very good, as well, but they're quite dry.

[Inept]

I've used the King system for my instrument rating, and now for my commercial license.   Saying they're dry is like saying that the ocean is wet.   They're mind-numbing.   That having been said, they are loaded with good information, and since they are videos, you can rewatch the sections you zone out on.   It's like a boring academic lecture at college, except that you can pause the lecturer, and no one will complain if you bring beer into the classroom with you. 

[Gulfstream Driver]

Not a lot of people complain about beer in a college classroom, either.   

[Plthijnx]

Yes, feathering is used only in real emergencies.....*snip*

not necessarily. in twin training and on the check-ride the applicant has to demonstrate securing an engine (usually the left).....just sayin'

[Gulfstream Driver]

But, if you do your multi in North Dakota in January, you practice securing, but the instructor zero-thrusts the engine. 

[Plthijnx]

yeah, i did plenty of zero thrust throughout my twin training.....however one thing that i wasn't expecting was that on my check ride i had to secure the engine while under the hood. took me by surprise but i just followed the check list proceedures and all was well. the scenario given to me was that "we were losing oil pressure and had to shut down and secure the engine to save it for landing." my D.E. was/is the type of guy that i'd of loved to have had for all of my checkrides. he makes sure you get your money's worth. it's not only a checkride but also a lesson. he loves to teach. anyway, i could give him props all day long but for the discussion, he had me secure the lefty and then shoot my ILS into Galveston. the only thing i goofed on was i "ducked under" once i reached DH rather than follow the GS to the runway. eh, i was trying to impress him by landing on the numbers...oh well, we both got a chuckle out of it.....Freddy

[Frank N. O.]

Thanks for the explanation about the levers For me it would be most logical to have the reverse-pitch a part of the main prop-pitch control after feathering but people are different so no problem there, and sometimes you can learn a different system, I do also see an advantage in the system since you normally throttle back when landing and then with that control-system you can go back over a click or something and go straight into reverse thrust.

I know planes have to be a lot more sturdy and reliable than cars but how come there's no automatic mixture system now that there is also fuel-injection instead of carbs, also eliminating risk of carb ice according to articles I've read.

In MS Flightsimulator both the King's and Machado have been in the instructor section for several versions and yes the King's might be more dry but when one wants to fly they tell the facts straight and calmly as one would need them, but I guess it depends on one's personality if that works for you, in fact I read one place that you should make sure you chose an instructor you're on wave-length with otherwise the instruction won't work as well.

Frank

[Gulfstream Driver]

The student-instructor relationship is an important one.  If you don't click, it makes it a lot harder to teach.  My first student was very quiet and reserved, and extremely hard to read.  I could never tell if he was excited or not.  Made it difficult to figure out how to teach him. 

[fireflyr]

The new FADEC systems seem to be the answer to the engine control complexity in light aircraft, as usual for aircraft, it's taking time for them to be implemented but they are coming.   Anyone out there flown one yet?

[Frank N. O.]

I see we're still waiting to hear from a FADEC pilot but in the meantime can someone give me an idea of what an ultralight with a "chambered wing" is? That was such a thing my best friend Chey soloed in. Googling for that didn't gave any real results either. She did say it was controlled with a stick and had kind of a windshield so it wasn't a motorized handglider.

Frank

[Gulfstream Driver]

is that chambered or cambered?

[Frank N. O.]

I'm pretty sure she wrote chambered because I remember it puzzled me but maybe the h was an error since she was a bit under the weather and tired last we talked, she sadly has a lot on her mind health-wise atm (btw I always make sure if she wants to talk or rest when she's not feeling good). Having a 9 hour time difference is a big problem even if I currently sleep off-set almost the same amount of time.

Frank

[Gulfstream Driver]

That's too bad about your friend.

The only thing I can think of that might be a chambered wing is a parachute.  They do make paragliders where you basically hang a frame and an engine below a parachute....Not sure if that's what she's talking about.

[fliboye]

the caravan has the reverse thrust triggers on the throttle because as you force the oil into the prop hub to push the blades to a negative angle you must in crease the engine speed so you do not over temp the engine it is a reverse flow engine which means the air is sucked in the back of the engine and pushed through to the front same as a king air. to answer the question the prop lever only controls prop rpm and the mixture controls engine speed on the ground hi and low/ fuel metering for another word. It is agreat airplane to fly cruise at 160kts. downhill at 175kts to the MM and stop by the first taxi way. by the way it stalls dirty at 45kts.  waaaaaaahooooo!!!!!!