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 ihnp4!cfiaime