Overall Performance: Stunning, spectacular, incredible…those are common adjectives to describe the Royal Duke. The excess power translates into performance that is much like any vehicle that has high power-to-weight ratio. It’ll accelerate rapidly, decelerate rapidly, and go fast in between. This is one of the best reasons to buy a Royal Duke!
Ground handling: The adjustable rudder pedals are a nice touch that really does make the Duke ergonomically better. Turns are easy and the turning radius is similar to a PA46, meaning that it turns nicely in a tight area. The steering is mostly “positive and smooth” and there is no propensity to dart away from the intended path. I found myself rarely using the brakes for steering in the Duke (and I use them fairly often in a PA46).
Takeoff and early Climb Performance: This is where the Duke really shines. Whenever I would takeoff in the Duke the people at my airport would stop and come see the airshow. The takeoff roll can be super-short…easily less than 1500′, and probably much less. Acceleration is brisk, even downright startling for the uninitiated. Rotation comes quickly and the climb rate increases quickly. At near gross-weight on a 85F day the Royal Duke will easily climb at 3500FPM and it’ll probably do much better than that if it is lighter or cooler. While the RATE of climb is impressive, the ANGLE of climb is even more impressive. From my 5000′ runway, I could easily start the takeoff roll at one end of the runway and be at 1600′ AGL when over the departure end of the runway. It is a fabulous short field airplane, for both takeoff and landing. The takeoff performance is so good that I migrated to departing with less-than-full power habitually, simply not needing the additional power. I would slowly advance the Power Lever to about 200 lb/torque below the redline and then finesse the additional power in the climb once things had settled down. This way the airplane accelerates less quickly and is much more controllable. -Casey Aviation Inc.-
Start-up, taxi and depart from (TVSC) Canouan Airport. It is the airport located on the island of Canouan in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The airport serves the surrounding tourist areas and environs of the Grenadines and is a major destination during the Caribbean winter leisure season.
Fly "round-about" the Canouan Island with tourist areas. Then land, taxi, and park for arrival right back at (TVSC).
** Please process this video as "Video Quality" = 4K at 2160p 60FPS. **
23 июн 2024
