G-SUEO (DA40NG) Notes
(as at May 22)

Key Contact Information

Sue Bell 07764 616826
SueAir’s email address sue.bell@sueair.co.uk
SueAir’s website address https://www.sueair.co.uk
Code for SueAir’s cupboard in the hangar 0042
Weald Aviation (fuel & hangar movements) 07718 115470
North Weald ATC 01992 524740
North Weald airfield website (incl. actual wx & airfield status) North Weald Airfield Users Group

Don’t hesitate to contact Sue Bell on 07764 616826 if you have any questions or problems.

Executive Summary

• Know the operating hours for North Weald airfield
• Let Sue know if you notice any tech items either before or after your flight
• Check MTOW, max landing weight and MZFW are all within limits
• Carry out a water sediment check before every flight
• Minimise the time before you start the engine once the electric master is ON
• Know the fuel consumption and understand how to use the fuel totalizer
• Do not flat spot the tyres by braking early
• Do not land on grass runways or taxi or park on grass
• Put the control lock and pitot cover on after every flight
• During summer months clean the canopy using a soft cloth and cleaner
• During summer months put the canopy cover on after your flight
• Items left in G-SUEO will be put on the top shelf of my cupboard in the hangar

Collecting and Leaving G-EO

You will find G-EO on the apron in front of Hangar 6 at North Weald airfield. It will be left parked into wind, with the pitot cover ON, the control lock in place, the nose wheel chocked and the parking brake OFF. During summer months, the canopy cover will be ON. The fuel baffle should be removed if the outside air temperature is above 20 degrees Celsius (it is stored in the pocket next to the P1 seat when not in use). The keys are located in the pocket next to the P1 seat.

After your flight, please leave G-EO in the same state as set out above. If you have set up your own pilot profile in the G1000 (aux page), please reset this to the DEFAULT profile after your flight.

Pre-flight Checks

If you notice any tech items before your flight, please let Sue Bell know.

Carry out an A check before the first flight of the day. This includes:

• Water sediment check. If water enters the fuel injectors or high pressure pump it will cause significant damage and could lead to engine failure. There is a strainer in the storage space behind the pax seats and there are 3 drains to check. In the unlikely event you do find water in the fuel, please let Sue Bell know. Pilots are required to sign off on his check before every flight because it is so vital
• Check the wing tip lights and landing & taxi lights
• Check the pitot heat is working (only turn ON for a few seconds or it will overheat)
• Check the stall warner horn is working
• Check the oil (see section below)
• Check the fuel state (see section below)
• Check the airframe & propeller
• Check the tech log & aircraft documents

Carry out W&B calculations. A spreadsheet to enable you to do weight and balance calculations more easily can be found on the Aircraft page of SueAir’s website. It is vital you check the MTOW, the maximum landing weight and the maximum zero fuel weight. All three of these weights must be in limits before take-off and before landing at your destination.

How to move the Rudder Pedals

If you need to move the rudder pedals either before or after your flight, please do NOT put your feet on the rudder pedals when you are moving them. Instead rest your feet on the black metal bars either side of the rudder pedals. The pedals will move easily if you do this. If you try to move the rudder pedals whilst your feet are resting on them, they will not move and you will damage or snap the cable. Also, when you pull on the handle you should hear a click and then the rudder pedals will move easily.

Oil

You are responsible for checking the oil level and topping it up, if necessary (i.e. Weald Aviation do not provide this service). Spare oil and cardboard funnels are kept behind the pax seats in the storage space underneath the floor. In the unlikely event there is no oil or funnels in G-EO, more spare oil and funnels can be found in my cupboard in the hangar. Only ever put in 0.5 litre (i.e. half a container) in the engine as this amount of oil will take the level from the bottom to the top. Ideally, have a tissue to hand to catch oil drips. Discard a funnel after you have used it.

Fuel

The plane will be left on the apron with full mains in the absence of a special request. However, please do check the tanks are full as Weald Aviation do occasionally forget. Should you wish to depart with less than full mains, when you request a booking through the on-line booking schedule, please put a note in your booking request (there is a field called "Special requests" where you can do this) to say how much fuel you would like in the mains and I will arrange this. If you need to arrange your own refueling at North Weald, please call Weald Aviation and they will put it on my account. If you do not depart with full mains, please treat any figure entered into the tech log with caution and in this scenario looking at the fuel gauges (which are accurate) gives you the best indication of the fuel state. Some pilots use the fuel measuring device (found behind the pilot's seat) to determine the fuel on board prior to departure. If you use this device, please make sure you empty out the fuel from it before putting it back in the plastic bag provided. There are latex gloves behind the pax seats which you may wish to use.

As mentioned above, it is very important to check the fuel for water contamination prior to the first flight of each day. If water enters the high pressure pump it will cause significant damage and lead to engine failure. Water also damages the fuel injectors. There is a strainer in the storage space behind the pax seats and there are 3 drains to check. In the unlikely event you do find water in the fuel, please let Sue Bell know.

If you collect G-EO with full mains, remember to use the fuel totalizer to record the fuel on board in the G1000 by pressing the “reset fuel” soft key and you will then know very accurately the amount of fuel on board at every stage of your flight.

I record fuel state on the Tech Log in USG. When the main tanks have been filled, please put 28 USG in the tech log. If you are not able to rely on the fuel figure in the fuel page of the G1000 (either because you forgot to press the "RESET FUEL" soft key before your flight or you departed with less than full mains and you think that you cannot rely on the figure in the G1000) assume a fuel consumption of 6.5 USG per hour when calculating the fuel used for your flight.

If you are away on a trip for a few days, there is a BP card in the flight bag, which you are welcome to use and fuel purchased will be invoiced to me by AirBP. Should you need to buy fuel (e.g. at an airfield that does not accept a BP card), I will either net the amount off your invoice (up to a maximum limit – see next paragraph) or put a credit on your account that can be used to purchase further hours (if you decide to buy a block of hours) or refund the amount to your bank account.

I meet the cost of fuel purchased by a pilot on a trip up to a maximum amount per hour calculated as follows:

(Weald Aviation’s fuel price before VAT x 25 litres + £6.00) + VAT@20%

Post Flight Actions

If you notice any tech items either after your flight, please let Sue Bell know on the day. Do not leave it for the next pilot to find.
After each flight:

• Fill in the tech log, take a photo and email this to Sue Bell. Note that take-off and landing times are recorded on the tech log (not brakes off to brakes on)
• Put the control lock ON (see below for details of how to do this)
• Put the pitot cover ON (after the pitot tube has cooled down)
• Chock the nose wheel
• Put the keys in the pocket next to the P1 seat
• During summer months, clean the canopy so that it is clean for the next pilot (windscreen cleaner and a soft cloth are located in the storage area under the floor behind the pax seats)
• Return borrowed headsets, life jackets and life raft to my cupboard in the hangar

How to put the Control Lock ON

The rudder is large and will get damaged even in relatively light winds if the control lock is not in place when G-EO is parked. The straps have been left at the correct length assuming the rudder pedals are in the most rearward position (i.e. the position for a shorter pilot) and that the control lock is put onto the base of the control stick - please don't change the length of the straps at it is very fiddly to change them again. If you think the straps are the wrong length it is more likely that you have not moved the rudder pedals to the most rearward position! See section above on how to move the rudder pedals.

The photos below show how the control lock should look when it has been correctly fitted.

Checklist, AFM and Aircraft Documents

A current checklist can be found in the front LH pocket of the aircraft. If this has been misplaced, please let Sue Bell know. There is a soft copy of the checklist within the G1000 and also, a link to a checklist can be found on the Aircraft page of SueAir’s website.

The aircraft’s flight manual (AFM) is located in the blue flight bag behind the pax seats. Please do NOT remove this from the aircraft. A link to the AFM can be found on the Aircraft page of SueAir’s website.

All the aircraft’s documents are in the tech log folder. Please do NOT remove any documents. Contact Sue Bell if you need soft copies of any documents.

Cruising Power

Please fly in the cruise at a power setting of 70% to 75% (ideally 70%). A cruise setting of 70% helps to minimize engineering costs and will give you a better range.

Brakes

DA40s have relatively small wheels. As well as making it difficult on grass one of the other issues with small wheels is that it is easy to lock the wheels on braking after landing. The problem then is that this permanently 'flat spots' the tyres, so they bump down the taxi way and need replacing pretty soon afterwards. Unfortunately, I have now had to replace the tyres on my planes several times owing to flat spotting (usually just after the tyre has been replaced), and therefore need to ask all pilots please to take care not to apply the brakes until the aircraft has slowed down considerably after landing. This means ensuring your heels are on the floor and your toes are pointing slightly outwards on finals and on the initial ground run. Assuming the runway is clear and you land on the numbers (all SueAir pilots do!) then there should be lots of room to allow natural slowing first.

Obviously if there is an emergency, then saving the flat spotting of the tyres is not a priority.

Payment of Duty on Jet A1 for Private Pleasure Flying

There is a legal requirement binding on pilots flying aircraft using Jet A1 to pay excise duty to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for fuel used during any 'private pleasure flight'.

There are notes on the Hire Rates page of SueAir’s website that gives further detail on this subject. In basic summary, if you fly within the UK for private pleasure (as opposed to e.g. training - see the detail in the note regarding exclusions) a pilot has to account within 30 days to HMRC for duty on the fuel used. This is a personal legal obligation on the pilot.

Because this increases the cost to pilots of certain flights, SueAir will offset that cost in part as provided in the note.

Control Lock, Tie Downs & Yellow Baffle

Always put the control lock in place after your flight. The rudder is relatively large and will become damaged if the control lock is not in place when G-EO is parked. Details of how to do this are set out above.

Tie downs are located in the storage space behind the pax seats (i.e. same location as the oil & canopy cleaner). Please use these if you are away from North Weald over-night and strong winds are forecast.

There is a yellow baffle under the right hand wing that should be removed prior to your flight when the outside air temperature is above 20 degrees Celsius. If you do remove it, I suggest storing it in the pocket by the P1 seat (where the keys are kept) whilst you are flying. Please put it back under the wing after your flight.

Tow Bar

If you need to maneuver G-EO on the ground prior to starting the engine, there is a tow bar behind the pax seats.

Canopy Cleaner & G1000 Screens

A can of Plexiglas to clean the canopy, together with a soft cloth, can be found behind the pax seats under the floor (where the oil is kept). I clean the screen regularly but in the summer when there are lots of flies please clean the screen after your flight so that it is clean for the next pilot.

Please do NOT try to clean the G1000 screens. I have special antistatic cleaner and a very soft cloth that I use on the screens. Also, please do not touch the screens when you are flying.

Please do NOT put headsets or PLOGs on top of the G1000 screens as this will lead to the canopy being scratched.

North Weald Operating Hours

It is NOT possible to land at North Weald when it is closed, so please do plan your flights so you are back before they close. The closing time is updated daily on North Weald’s website North Weald Airfield Users Group.

Note that in winter on days when the light is poor the closing time is sunset (rather than sunset + 30 minutes) so do check!

Grass Runways

SueAir's aircraft are not suitable for grass runways. In the summer sometimes it can be OK, but the risk in winter is too much. If you do want to visit a grass airfield, please ask for Sue Bell’s approval first.

Life Jackets, Life Raft and Headsets

Life jackets are available for hire from SueAir at a cost of £1.25 + VAT per jacket for the first 2 days and £0.90 + VAT per jacket for each additional day.

A 4 man life raft is available for hire from SueAir at a cost of £12.50 + VAT for the first 2 days and £9.00 + VAT for each additional day.

2 headsets are available to borrow at no cost.

If you would like to hire life jackets or the life raft or borrow a headset, please put a note in the "Special requests" field of the online booking form. You will need to collect them from SueAir’s cupboard in the hangar on the date of your flight. Please return them to the cupboard after your flight.