Lead Sled
Sitt'n on the throne...
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2004
- Posts
- 2,066
I'm back now, so I'll try give you my take on your questions.
Like a lot of airplanes you've got to watch your winds. If you’re thinking about flying a G100/SPX over water there are a couple of things you need to consider - make sure you've got the long-range O2 system (two bottles) installed or you'll be carrying some portable bottles in the cabin. The airplane will fly further on one engine than on two, so the only real concern is the amount of O2 that you have on board - without the twin bottles (or some portable bottles in the cabin) you could have some wet foot print issues to deal with. Also, the rafts and survival gear go into the cabin so you’re going to have to remove a seat or two to make room for them. Finally, to keep things within the loading envelope you will be pretty much limited to 5 or 6 total passenger seats with full fuel - depending on your particular airplane. The airplane comes with a removable extension tank takes up about 1/3 of the baggage compartment, but with some creative packing you can make it work out. For domestic flying I never use the extension tank, so baggage is seldom an issue.
As far as other items...
Max gross takeoff weight is 24,650 for all of the Astras/G100s. The BOW for most SPXs and G100s are in the 14,500 to 15,000 range. All of the airplanes carry roughly 8700 pounds of fuel with standard fuel. They all have a removable “extension” tank that takes up 1/3 of the baggage compartment. With this tank installed the fuel capacity is roughly 9400 pounds.
You've got to watch the C.G. - they tend to go out the forward end of the envelope (even with the APU installed) when you top off the tanks and put more than 5 (sometimes 6) passengers in them.
The APU is installed on a Duncan Aviation STC. Most of the newer G100s have them. Many SPXs also have them. Fueling in via Single point, but they have over the wing capability (actually over the fuselage.) Ground cooling is provided via bleed air either from an engine or from an APU depending upon the particular airplane. All of the airplanes have external lav servicing.
As far as flying them is concerned, they've got straight forward systems - there aren't too many "gotchas". They're easy to get good landings with - if you watch your speed on final. They handle crosswinds well, but (for boosted ailerons) they're a bit heavy in roll and "typical jet" in pitch. They do OK for a swept wing airplane - if you're careful, you can operate them out of 4,000' runways, but don't plan on going very far. 5,000' is, of course, better and 6,000'+ runways won't offer you too many restrictions even on the hottest of days.
As far as the "boots vs. heated leading edges" go, you need to remember that heated leading edges are considered anti-icing devices and pneumatic leading edge boots are considered deicing devices. There is a big difference between the two concepts.
The problem with heated leading edge anti-ice systems is that they need heat and lots of it. The heat typically comes from an engine bleed air source. Anytime you take that much heat from an engine you also take away a significant amount of power.
For anti-ice systems to be effective you must turn them on prior to entering icing conditions, otherwise they will just melt the ice and the water will flow back to places that are protected and refreeze - not a good thing. Also, chunks of ice can come off and go through the engines (B727, DC9, MD-80, Lear, Citation, etc. Anything with rear mounted engines.)
On the Lears and Falcons that I've flown, turning on the wing heat had a significant effect on the climb capability of the aircraft. The Astras and G100 have the "old fashioned" boots on the leading edges. When I first trained in the aircraft, I was very sceptical - boots on a modern jet airplane, you've got to be kidding? In the real world, they're actually pretty nice. You only use them when you need them, and they don't extract a performance penality when you do. I've got 4,000+ hours in Astras and G100s and they work extremely well, I think. I say that because I can count on one hand the actual number of times that I've ever had to use them in self defense, all of the other times were for entertainment purposes only. The wing just isn't a real ice collector.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
LS
Yes, but...
Like a lot of airplanes you've got to watch your winds. If you’re thinking about flying a G100/SPX over water there are a couple of things you need to consider - make sure you've got the long-range O2 system (two bottles) installed or you'll be carrying some portable bottles in the cabin. The airplane will fly further on one engine than on two, so the only real concern is the amount of O2 that you have on board - without the twin bottles (or some portable bottles in the cabin) you could have some wet foot print issues to deal with. Also, the rafts and survival gear go into the cabin so you’re going to have to remove a seat or two to make room for them. Finally, to keep things within the loading envelope you will be pretty much limited to 5 or 6 total passenger seats with full fuel - depending on your particular airplane. The airplane comes with a removable extension tank takes up about 1/3 of the baggage compartment, but with some creative packing you can make it work out. For domestic flying I never use the extension tank, so baggage is seldom an issue.
The company I flew for owned several of them. We averaged about 700 hours per year per airplane. They were practically bullet-proof. When the airplane first came out it had some teething problems - mostly with the hydraulic and slat-flap systems; but those issues are long since resolved. The hydraulic issues went away with the installation of improved couplers and the slat-flap issues were due to improper maintenance practices. As with a lot of things, timely and proper maintenance resolves a lot of issues. Anyone having slat-flap issues in an Astra needs to have a heart to heart talk with their maintenance people.
There's the old joke that says that the only problem with the Astra is that it has 6 hours worth of fuel and 4 hours worth of cabin. All in all, the SPX/G100 is a great compromise when it comes to real world flying. The Astras definitely don't have the biggest cabin, but it's big enough most of the time. Also, it has an honest to goodness lav with a sink and flushing potty which the passengers will approciate on those long legs. However, if your only flying is going to be to Hawaii then you'd probably he happier with something bigger, but for the occassional trip to Hawaii or Europe it's going to be tough for any other mid-size jet to touch it.
You do the math... Normal cruise, it will burn 2000 lbs the first hour and around 1400 to 1500 pounds every hour after that. That will get you 460 KTAS to 470 KTAS at FL410 to FL430. It will climb straight to 410/430 on all but the warmest of days and 450 is a usable altitude. There are no real maintenance "gotch ya's" and most inspections are based on flight hours, not the calendar. MSP and Collins CASP will adequately protect you against most budgetary "surprises". In other words, you'll have a tough time finding any other light to midsize jet that will have lower cost per mile numbers.
They're not the quietest airplane out there so close the cabin door entrance curtain and get yourself a comfortable headset and you'll be OK with it.
.76 mach for oceanic and long-range cruise. Normal cruise is .82 to .85 depending on weight, temp, altitude, etc. The biggest problem that guys have in getting the range or speed out of the airplane is that they don't bother to read the AFM. If you want book performance you have to fly it by the book. FWIW, I've yet to fly an Astra yet that wouldn't do at least 1% or 2% better than what the AFM said it would do.
As far as other items...
Max gross takeoff weight is 24,650 for all of the Astras/G100s. The BOW for most SPXs and G100s are in the 14,500 to 15,000 range. All of the airplanes carry roughly 8700 pounds of fuel with standard fuel. They all have a removable “extension” tank that takes up 1/3 of the baggage compartment. With this tank installed the fuel capacity is roughly 9400 pounds.
You've got to watch the C.G. - they tend to go out the forward end of the envelope (even with the APU installed) when you top off the tanks and put more than 5 (sometimes 6) passengers in them.
The APU is installed on a Duncan Aviation STC. Most of the newer G100s have them. Many SPXs also have them. Fueling in via Single point, but they have over the wing capability (actually over the fuselage.) Ground cooling is provided via bleed air either from an engine or from an APU depending upon the particular airplane. All of the airplanes have external lav servicing.
As far as flying them is concerned, they've got straight forward systems - there aren't too many "gotchas". They're easy to get good landings with - if you watch your speed on final. They handle crosswinds well, but (for boosted ailerons) they're a bit heavy in roll and "typical jet" in pitch. They do OK for a swept wing airplane - if you're careful, you can operate them out of 4,000' runways, but don't plan on going very far. 5,000' is, of course, better and 6,000'+ runways won't offer you too many restrictions even on the hottest of days.
As far as the "boots vs. heated leading edges" go, you need to remember that heated leading edges are considered anti-icing devices and pneumatic leading edge boots are considered deicing devices. There is a big difference between the two concepts.
The problem with heated leading edge anti-ice systems is that they need heat and lots of it. The heat typically comes from an engine bleed air source. Anytime you take that much heat from an engine you also take away a significant amount of power.
For anti-ice systems to be effective you must turn them on prior to entering icing conditions, otherwise they will just melt the ice and the water will flow back to places that are protected and refreeze - not a good thing. Also, chunks of ice can come off and go through the engines (B727, DC9, MD-80, Lear, Citation, etc. Anything with rear mounted engines.)
On the Lears and Falcons that I've flown, turning on the wing heat had a significant effect on the climb capability of the aircraft. The Astras and G100 have the "old fashioned" boots on the leading edges. When I first trained in the aircraft, I was very sceptical - boots on a modern jet airplane, you've got to be kidding? In the real world, they're actually pretty nice. You only use them when you need them, and they don't extract a performance penality when you do. I've got 4,000+ hours in Astras and G100s and they work extremely well, I think. I say that because I can count on one hand the actual number of times that I've ever had to use them in self defense, all of the other times were for entertainment purposes only. The wing just isn't a real ice collector.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
LS
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