Flying the Cessna 206

Finally... Wednesday, 23 May 2012, was here.
A Cessna 206 was available for training and conversions. An instructor was available. The money was available. The time was available. The weather was good. The catch? The aircraft is based in Clanwilliam, some 250km from where I live.

0630... Wake up, eat, go pick up a friend.
0730... Sit in traffic.
0815... Hit the road, equipped with music and foods (crisps and energy bars).
1100... Arrive at the airfield, "Clanwilliam Nooitgedacht", a dirt strip with one heck of a slope (I mentioned it in my "The Middle of Nowhere" entry, http://www.the-flying-fish.blogspot.com/2011/07/middle-of-nowhere.html).
We park the car, and stretch our legs as we walk to where the C206 is parked.

Seeing that aircraft with its white-blue paint scheme and the cargo pod... well, it was love at first sight. Two hours were spent writing the technical exam and waiting for another guy to finish his training. Come 1300, it was our turn. There were three of us that were there for the conversion, so when one was flying, the other two sat in the back and observed.

I chose to fly second, so I got comfortable in the back, ready to take notes, learn, relax and enjoy the view.
We took off from Nooitgedacht and were airborne no time, the six-cylinder engine firing away and hauling us into the air with ease. After take off we turned right and routed north towards Bushmans Kloof ("Bushmans Kloof", http://www.the-flying-fish.blogspot.com/2012/01/bushmans-kloof.html). Climbing to 4000ft, the training began. Sitting in the back allowed us to note power settings, learn about the aircraft's quirks, and quietly run over the procedures. And we also admired the view.

After about an hour, we did a full-stop at Bushmans Kloof and I climbed into the left seat.
Once strapped in, I taxi'd the aircraft around to get a feel for the rudders, then completed the power checks and got acquainted with the cowl flaps (the lever to open and close them is located between the two front seats, and is quite difficult to operate).

Happy that the aircraft was still working as it should, I released the brakes and let her roll forward slowly. As we rolled off the concrete block and onto the gravel, I applied a bit of power to get us moving a bit faster, and as we picked up speed, I pushed the throttle all the way in. Two things happened...

As the throttle moves past the half-way point, it's as if the engine hits a power band; she suddenly roars to life and you actually feel yourself being pushed back into your seat from the acceleration. From that point on she just hurtles down the runway like there's no tomorrow. It's an amazing feeling and sound.

And once you enter that 'power band', you find yourself veering off to the left. I've heard about yaw on take off, but this was insane! Kick the right rudder and, like a taildragger, she suddenly changes direction and shoots off to the right. Ease in the left, just a touch of right, the speed builds up and she starts getting light on the wheels, you can kind of maintain the runway centreline, and before you know it, you're climbing away at 1000fpm.

First off, climb to altitude and get a feel for the aircraft. She's repsonsive and the controls are light. Unlike other Cessna's I've flown, you actually need to use the rudder when turning. Once at altitude, it was time for some gentle turns, followed by steep turns. Keeping your eyes outside, it's easy to line the dash up at a 45deg angle to the horizon, and maintain altitude and bank throughout the turn.

After that, some stalls. First in the clean configuration, then with 10 degrees of flaps, and then full flaps (30 degrees). Now, I knew from watching the guy before that she was very docile in the stall... but actually trying to get her to stall was a lot like trying to get the Cubby to stall; little to no buffet, and she just mushes along. The only time she didn't behave nicely was as you recovered using power; if you don't catch the yaw, she tries to drop a wing. But even that was easy to recover from.

After the upper air work, it was time for some circuits. I had been told that raising the nose in the flare could be difficult, so it was best to keep a bit of power on, just to help you out. With that in my mind, I set up an approach and flew it down. It was all going well, until we bounced off Mother Earth; I'd pretty much forgotten to flare. With such a high nose, it's difficult to judge your height about the ground, so the wheels found it long before I realised just how low we were.

No problem though, the C206 is rugged and built to handle hard landings. The next few landings were much better, and I got better and better at anticipating the kick of power and yaw to the left as the throttle was opened. The 30 degrees of flaps were like barn doors, and slowed the aircraft down in no time.

I was working hard, and the hot sun beating down on me didn't help. I was quite relieved once I'd finished 6 circuits and swapped places with the next guy.

To finish things up...
The C206 is a dream to fly. I was expecting it to have heavy controls, and be tricky to handle, but the controls are light (lighter even than the C172RG's) and she's incredibly docile (like a Cubby with flaps in the stall). With four on board, full tanks, and operating at 1000ft elevation on a warm day, she performed as if she were a C172 flying at the coast with half tanks and one on board, and half the time she simply refused to stop climbing.

I now know why they're so popular in Botswana. A workhorse indeed, and a beautiful machine to boot.