Reflections on a tanker taking off

I enjoyed the video on the P-2 tanker take-off that I posted the other day because it gave me a sense of sitting in the cockpit during take-off. A great feeling. But, I found myself wishing that I could look at the P-2 cockpit instruments during take-off. That is unlikely to happen anytime soon, if ever.

However, from time to time I do have the opportunity to go up in a Cessna Cutlass (172 RG) when I go on a scenic flight. Unlike the trainer, the Cutlass has a fuel pump, retractable landing gear, cowl flaps and a constant speed propeller. The engine is carburated. There are about four instruments in the cockpit of the Cutlass that are not in the trainers that I usually go up in.

Before our flight, I showed the pilot the P-2 tanker video along with G's comments.

Some of the instruments are the same as that found in the P-2V in the video. I wanted to watch these gauges for myself during a short flight to a nearby airport. By the way, a great day for flying. I was watching the gauges so no pictures from the flight.

So I watched the instruments. And got a bit of a sense of what my friend G was saying in his commentary describing the P-2 take-off. When we were on our take-off roll in the Cutlass the manifold pressure was 28" with a prop rpm of 2700. A point of comparison, G tells me "in the P2, we would pull about 52 inches and 2900 turns (of the prop) on take-off."

I have one important job on take-off and landing, when the pilot said that he was lowering the gear, I looked out my window and told him that the gear on my side is up (or down). He calls out that the gear on his side is up (or down).

As we climbed in the Cutlass, the pilot reduced the MP to 25" and a prop rpm of 2500. As we climbed the MP goes down but the prop rpm stays the same. Cruise power is MP of 21" and a prop rpm of 2300.

I watched the gauges as we flew and listened to the pilot as he spoke. And I learned more. I had dug up some Cutlass check lists on the internet so I had an idea of what the power settings would be. And I understand more thanks to a great pilot and teacher. But there was more. I thought about flying a tanker with two large recips and the jets used on take-off. And an awful lot more instruments to keep track of.

I thought about the how the pilot and the co-pilot in the video worked together during the take-off. Each had their jobs. Two pilots are needed to fly the P-2V. It was awesome watching them work together in the video. Elegance in action.

The role of the co-pilot is to watch the gauges as the pilot flies the airplane. And I thought that there is nothing simple about flying a tanker loaded with retardant. Or as Larry Kraus told me once, "See, I told you that the tanker business is complicated." Elegant but complicated.