I booked Phil Mathews for the checkride, the immensely experinced head of the flying club and the CFI. Taciturn and a man of few words, but he will tell you when you have gone wrong and will encourage you to analyse your own errors and tell him what went wrong.
He explained the oddities of the aircraft and I did the walkaround check. Three fuel drains, a non-dippable fuel tank, so rely on the gauges, well obviously cranked wings and fabric covered, etc.
Pulled her outside and clambered in. Run through the checklist and locate all the switches in an unfamiliar layout - a fairly spartan VFR fit, albeit with a nice GPS. She starts readily enough, then the first bit of fun - the braking system. Phil explains that this was lifted directly from the original DR221 series (a taildragger), so no toe brakes, instead and old American car like brake / handbrake, so right hand on the throttle, then when you want to brake, close the throttle and use the same right hand to pull the brake. Oh, an full rudder deflection engaged the brake in that direction for a better turing circle, problem is that it stays engaged until you unlock it with rudder movement away from full lock! Sounds complex to explain, but once shown and once youv'e tried it a copuple of time, it is easy enough.
The weather isn't wonderful, but plenty good enough for a few circuits, which is all Phil think I will need as I am familiar with the Alphas at Cotswolds.
Take off is easy and uneventful, full power, hold her straight and a positive, but not stenuous rotate just past 50kts. She climbs very happily at about 900 fpm with us two big guys on board. She handles much like a PA28, not crisp, but solid. I do notice I need to carefully watch the yaw and stay active on the rudder for a nice balanced turn.
She runs out at 95kys at 2300rpm as I call downwind for a touch and go. We are pushed out wide to about 2 miles by the PA28 in the circuit in front, not his fault as he is forced out wide in turn by the Slingsby in front again. I turn in to base and see that I am going to be close to the PA28, so on final, we slow to 60kts to let the PA28 get further ahead. The tower seems concerned about spacing and gives me a 'go around', but Phil elects to have a word and tells the controller we are now flying very slowly and is very confident there won't be a spacing issue. The controller accepts this and we continue - good practice for slow flying anyway for me.
The first landing is a normal fully flapped landing, just to get me used to the feel of the plane. This goes pretty well as Phil gets me to chop the power quite high in the roundout, but she glide extremely well and settles for a gnetle and flattering touch. Clean up, full power and we are very quickly flying again.
This time we go for a flapless. So 70kts approach, chop the power high and round out. Hold off, and off and off and off and off and off - well, you get the idea, the bloody thing floats halfway down the runway before deigning to touchdown - this thing handles like a bloody glider! Power and we are up quickly, which is just as well as there wasn't much runway left - even at Gloucester!
This time, Phil asks for and is given a full PFL glide approach from the overhead. So we climb to 2000' into the overhead and Phil chops the power. I go into the engine failure routine and set her up for best glide at 75kts and get her nicely trimmed. We seem to be losing about 600fpm, a very decent glide. I carefully position for left base on runway in use 22 and carefully compare the picture with the known wind and altimeter readout to judge my approach. I am high, but I can always lose height, I can't get it back!
Still high, but no flaps and bit close. So I pull on one stage of flaps. 1000' now and probably half a mile in a 10kt wind. Full flap now. Coming in but still high. Bit of a sideslip fopr 10 seconds, still high but watch out for the sink over the factory building on short final, so live with it. Good call as we come in high but OK for close on to the numbers on 22. Round out and flare. Really hold this plane off and try to keep it flying until it gently stalls in the last foot for a good landing. Pleased with that, been ages since I have done one of those.
Phil announces that he is happy and we taxy in. He asks if I want to go up by myself. Sure, why not. So we hold just past the tower as he hops out and I call for taxy again for a local.
Up and away from 22 again in a 10kt wind and I am buffeted a bit on climbout, I guess we are that much lighter. I climbout to about 2200' and head west then north.
It's pretty murky with some very thin and scattered cloud at 1500', but generally, I can fly up to 3000' clear of cloud. Visibility isn't great. I head over towards Tewkesbury and checkout the abbey. Then on to my favourite landmark, Bredon Hill. A few steep turns to get the feel of the plane, then onto buzz my Mother's house in Bishops Cleeve - at a perfectly legal altitude of course. I head back towards Winchcombe and collect the ATIS.
I call for a rejoin and request a direct join for runway 22 as I am pretty much on the a very extended final for the runway in use. I am given this and asked to report at four miles. So I trundle in with a cruise descent at about 100kts.
The approach is uneventful as I carry out my 'downwind' checks. The approach is good and the landing also pretty rair. This really is a solid and forgiving plane.
I taxy in a shutdown. I have recorded 30 minutes of P U/T and 35 minutes of P1 pottering about the neighbourhood. Between the time and the landing fees, I notch up a Cotswolds bill of about GBP180 - ouch!
Well, that's the DR400 checked out on. I have it booked for next weekend for a two hour slot to take my sister and her husband flying around the local area.
