cfiaime@ihnp4.UUCP (Jeff Williams) (01/08/85)
As promised, here is the preliminary pilot report on the STARHAWK,
the airplane first mentioned in the February PRIVATE PILOT magazine.
This report has been sent to several other magazines, but has not been
published yet. So, here it is, another netnews exclusive!
STARHAWK:
A Pilot's Perspective
By: Jeff Williams
Every pilot is enthusiastic about an airplane when he first checks
out in it. He may have flown larger airplanes, faster airplanes, or
more comfortable airplanes, but he still can not say enough about
the new type. The trick is to ask the pilot his impressions of the
airplane after living with it for a while. There are Learjet pilots
who complain about the rate of climb, there are Cessna pilots who
complain about the high wing, and there are Grumman pilots who
complain about the visibility. Well, I have flown the STARHAWK for
several months now, and still find it to be one of the most
enjoyable airplanes that I have ever flown.
The PIK-23 STARHAWK is a composite, two-place, low wing monoplane,
designed as an advanced trainer and to tow gliders. Built by the
Valmet corporation of Finland, this plane was imported by Condor
Enterprise, Aurora Municipal Airport, Sugar Grove, Illinois, with
an eye towards placing the airplane into production. All of the
flying that has been done with the airplane has been towards this
end.
The qualities needed for towing gliders also make for an enjoyable
sport airplane. A glider tug needs a good power to weight ratio, a
good rate of climb, and a good climb angle once airborne. It needs
good low speed handling, good visibility, and a good rate of
descent for return to the field after a tow. Above all, the
airplane must be reliable, The STARHAWK excels in each of these
areas.
In the STARHAWK, both the fuselage and wing are built of a
fiberglass/epoxy/PVC foam sandwich structure with the wing blending
into the fuselage via a large wing-root fairing. Spar caps in the
wing are built of layers of carbon fiber. Aside from the front and
rear spars, butt rib, tip rib, and a half-rib for the fuel tank,
there is no internal structure to the wing. Each fuel tank holds 26
gallons, for a total usable fuel of 51.5 gallons. The ailerons are
the Frise type, mass-balanced, and with differential action,
producing little adverse yaw in the air. Manually operated, plain
flaps, are installed.
The fuselage has no internal structure, with the exception of
forward and aft cabin bulkheads, and a rear attach bulkhead for the
tail. The forward bulkhead has a stainless steel firewall attached.
The windshield bow and canopy frame are carbon fiber, as is a
reenforcing strip under the canopy rail. Right now, the trim system
is electric, but plans are in the works to add a manual trim wheel
for a backup. The trim switch may be relocated from the center
console to rocker switches in each control-stick grip. A tow-hook
is mounted in the tail-cone.
A heavy-duty, tricycle landing gear is fitted to this airplane. The
main gear legs are carbon fiber, while the nose gear is a modified
Cessna 150 unit. The airplane sits quite tall on the gear, which
gives good propeller clearance on rough fields. You don't realize
just how tall the STARHAWK is until you either try to climb into
the cabin or wash the tail. With the tall gear, the horizontal tail
is over five feet off of the ground.
The rest of the airplane is quite conventional. Power is supplied
by a Lycoming O-360-A4M, with a Hoffmann fixed pitch, composite
propeller. There are two large cowl flaps.
But enough of looking at the airplane, let's get into it and fly
it. Preflight inspection includes the normal poking and prodding,
as well as a close look for any damage of the composite structure.
Remembering that the skin of the airplane is the structure, you are
wise not to accept any damage other than scratched paint. Until
more experience is gained with a molded composite structure, it
pays to be a bit conservative.
Once the preflight is completed, you need to enter the large, two-
place cockpit. The first step is a stretch. Entry into the cockpit
requires stepping on the floor near the rudder pedals. This is
because the structure directly in front of the seats is quite light
in an effort to save weight. Feel free to hold onto the windshield
frame to help get you into the cockpit. After getting seated and
adjusting the seat, you will need to fasten the four-point seatbelt
and shoulder harness. This comfortable harness is from Germany, and
features a single point of release. Because there is no sound
proofing, noise attenuating headsets are used.
Starting the airplane is straight forward. The engine starts quite
easily with two or three shots of prime. There is an electric fuel
pump that is turned off after the engine starts, and on again for
takeoff and landing. You will notice that the visibility and tall
gear make maneuvering on the ramp quite easy. The headsets pick up
a lot of wind noise with the canopy open, so you either hold your
fingers over the microphone or close the canopy. After the runup,
you are ready for takeoff. Rotation is at about 65 knots, with the
initial climb at about 70 knots. This will give an easy 1400 foot
per minute rate of climb on a 75 degree day. This drops off to
around 1000 feet per minute at 8500 feet. Visibility during the
climb is better than most production light airplanes at cruise.
Once at cruise, the controls are quite well balanced. Very little
effort is used to perform rolls, loops, or lazy eights. Rudder
pressure on a left chandelle is rather high because of the large
engine in the airplane. STARHAWK is quite stable, with no tendency
to wander from trimmed airspeed, unless the pilot gets ham-handed
on the stick.
Stalls are quite conventional, with very little tendency to drop a
wing with either the flaps up or down. During slow flight, all of
the controls are crisp and responsive. The stall warning horn
sounds about 7 knots above the stall, which ranges from 50 knots
flaps up to 42 knots flaps down. Spin entries are sharp, as you
would expect from this shape wing and powerful rudder. Recoveries
from an incipient spin are almost instantaneous.
Approach and landing are quite easy in STARHAWK. Over the fence
with full flaps, you will be at 60 knots. With full flaps, there is
very little tendency to float. If you are too fast, or if you are
not using flaps, you will float quite a ways past your desired
landing spot.
When will this airplane be available? Condor Enterprise is looking
for a manufacturer for the airplane at this time. Much of the
certification data has been obtained on tests in Finland, but will
be verified here. As for cost, it is too early to tell. Labor
should be much less than for a comparable two-place airplane
because there are fewer parts to assemble, and easier material to
work with. If a manufacturer can not be found, some thought has
been given to offering STARHAWK as a kit.
STARHAWK is a revolutionary airplane with good looks and very good
handling. The time is ripe for the airplane, and the construction
techniques used to build it.
Jeff Williams, Chief Pilot
for Condor.
(In real life) - AT&T Bell Laboratories
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