I've got time to add some more stuff that has popped in to my head today. I'll second cvsfly's post for the most part, though I'll say my landing technique is just a little different ... I aim for the aiming point markers and close the throttle over the threshold, and usually get good landings. However, our airplane does have three-bladed vs. four-blade props, which could make a difference.
Yaw damp is your friend ... generally, you'll use it 400' to 400' ... as mentioned, don't forget to turn it off before touchdown. My procedure is this ... when I'm ready to take the airplane back from George, I just move the electric trim ... this disconnects the AP without disturbing FD modes or tripping the yaw damp. I drop the flight director in the VFR pattern, and will use one click on the red button on final to kill the yaw damp.
A/C ... run your condition levers up to 65% after start and you can run your environmental on the ground with no problem. Just remember to bring the levers back at some point (I usually do this one at a time above 10k) or you'll float on landing. Make sure the environmental comes off before you close the throttles on landing (we do it around 400', but that's also two-crew).
Window ice needs to be on above 10k, but there's really not a reason not to keep it on all the time. Autofeather I usually keep on below 10k, but again, I don't know of a good reason you couldn't run it all the time.
Takeoff with approach flaps shortens your distances a fair amount, but gives you a pretty good second-segment climb penalty. When you're high-hot clean works best for t/o, flaps work well on short runways, other than that it is a matter of discretion. Remember that you can get in to places you can't get back out of; keep that in mind, esp. with 135 field requirements.
Fuel/weight management. Fully fueled, you've got 3500 lbs. Outboards only, about 2600#. In our a/c (OEW 8600#) we can put two pax and bags on with full fuel, or go to 2000# of fuel and fill the airplane. A good rule of thumb on fuel consumption is 800-850 the first hour, and 600-650 thereafter. Up in the mid-twenties you can get down to around 260PPH per side. For altitude planning, take your trip distance in nautical miles and plan on that flight level ... i.e., for an 80NM trip I wouldn't go higher than 8000'. Beyond 300NM, go as high as you like. The airplane is certified up to FL350 but I've never had reason to go above 290 ... I like 24 or 26 westbound and 25 or 27 eastbound. At gross weight, your climb performance will be pretty poor any higher than that.
Unless you have an FMS, get good at time to descend calculations ... it is pretty common to be at 240 and get a "cross X at 11,000' clearance ... develop a mental wag to meet that restriction.
It's a good airplane for busy areas, too ... the airplane will do 200-210 clean with little trouble if you need it for sequence ... just remember to plan time to slow down. I like doing approaches at 130 kts with gear and approach flaps, but going faster isn't too tough. Once you get full flaps in the airplane will slow pretty readily.
Single pilot, don't forget to start your cabin down at top of descent, and keep an eye on your cabin rate. 500FPM works fine most of the time, but if I know any of my pax have a cold, I'll keep it around 300FPM.
Good luck ... if you have any more questions, just holler!
R
Thanks Again.
