1. Props. THIS THING WILL KILL YOU, SPEND THE $$$ AT A REPUTABLE SHOP THAT KNOWS BRASILIAS!!!

2. Flaps. See above.

3. EECs. They tend to drop offline in climb often, causing the engine to roll back about 10-20%Tq. Requires you to level off, power that engine to idle, and reset them. If it craps out on takeoff, the engine "fails fixed" at takeoff power, and the power cannot be retarded until you reset the EEC! That's why it's best NOT to abort for an EEC fail on takeoff!

4. Random items. I won't lie to you. This airplane is maintenance intensive, and the parts are becoming scarce. You can pick -120s up cheap, but they're expensive to PROPERLY maintain. And this particular airframe is very unforgiving to shoddy maintenance. Keep that in mind.

 

Thanks much for all the info guys, i'm really getting some good info here. It's an ER QC model so we can configure it for both. I'm sure we'll get up to the ER limit on some days. Did you guys roll back the flap speeds for operational use? E.g. by -10kts

 

Yes...........

 

Well said! Thanks again for all the info John! Did you guys T/O with bleeds off, low or auto? We are planning to use APG for the T/O perf and W & B calcs. Anything else we should have ready at hand as flip cards, etc.

Regards

Kiz

 

Wow, now you're getting technical. I haven't touched once since 2003! I'm thinking we took off with engine bleeds closed, packs running off APU at both places if the APU was available. If APU deferred, it was bleeds off, unpressurized, or big weight hit. APG is good... that's who we used. Flip cards? I'd opine V speeds, power settings, and immediate action items.

 

John is absolutely right, the props wan't to kill you. Some design issues with the prop have been changed since the numerous and once lethal overspeeds in the aircraft's early years, and for the better. Can't remember the technical term, but that worm gear thingy in the middle of the hub saw a materials change, which meant the mechanism's threads didn't progressively fret away, leading to loss of control of the prop. So that got fixed then the lovely 14RF-9 found new ways to kill. One nick inside the quill shaft (aluminum boss that interfaces with the rest of the blade's foam core) led to blade loss, a nacelle bent 90 degrees sideways, and the horrific fatal ASA accident. So when he says don't cheap out on the props, don't. Prop related issues account for about half of the US wrecks, off the top of my head. I've never survived a severe overspeed in the sim.

At our company we are almost laughably quick to perform a precautionary engine shutdown. Just a few percent Np over and folks secure it, I don't know if that's really warranted, but we've never lost an airplane. One still murky overspeed to 120% right after takeoff was halted by a lightning fast first officer who got it feathered before the Capt could even ask for it. Alarmingly, the transfer tube can be physically installed backwards. If you chase the prop control schematic closely you'll find that the loss of a single oil line will drive the prop to an overspeed condition, but I can't remember if the pitch lock function would try to save it. Regardless, one piece of strategic FOD in the hub could render the pitch lock unable to retain hub oil, and therefore pitch.

- "Max speed for setting NP to 100% .. 200 KIAS (Don’t use props as speed brakes!!!)"

This one is interesting, we didn't have it Lakes. But a new Brasilia pilot will be tempted to use the props for drag exactly once: "Condition levers max!!" comes the panicky cry....and exactly nothing happens. Makes the issue moot. The inflight low pitch stop is set high enough that it is just not an issue.

Flaps. They were designed by a dork. If you're getting disagrees resist the temptation to lube, spray, or grease the very obvious and visible flap tracks. Once you add any form of goop to the equation you're begging for worse disagree trouble down the road. The superior solution is to to keep the flap tracks operating room clean. Dry and shiny is the optimum. Plan on doing lots of flap computer resets anyway. Oh, and the assymetry with one outboard panel going to 45 degrees is mortifying, but survivable. Plan on full aileron, possibly full rudder, with differential thrust putting you back in the world of controlability.

Landing gear. It doesn't like to retract, but you'll always manage to get it down, one way or another. Our 6 airplane airline probably averaged one manual extension per year, and that was more often due to some catastrophic hydraulic problem that actually the landing gear's fault. There are various and sundry reasons for it not to retract, on a check flight for an airplane fresh out of C-check we would cycle the living hell out of the gear. Once you get your succesful retraction ratio up above 90% I generally considered it good to go.

Don't get too excited about the door annunciators, especially the service door. That panel wants to suck open at high speeds and routinely throws it's light. Don't ever reef on the cargo door. If bags have fallen against it and it's difficult to open, put all your strength into pushing the door inwards, NOT into cranking the handle. Torque the handle and the door comes off it's tracks, and you are f-ed. I'll never forget specifically warning a ramper about our full cargo bin, and asking her to avoid hanging off the handle. 15 mintues later, "Clunk," and we were done for the night.

Get slow or pull many Gs in ice and the airplane will signal its dissatisfaction with some wiggles and shudders. So just don't. Some turboprops are ice trucks, this one isn't.

But altogether it's a great machine. She's like a redhead, alot of fun until she gets ****ed off. In what other manmade device can you carry 30 people at FL300kts and see a cruise fuel flow of 1000pph total? I really miss the Brasilia, I loved that portugese speaking drama queen.

 

I agree with everything that's been said both John and Cardinal......

I'll first add that the E120 does not like it when it’s cold. You’ll often have FFOD (First Flight of Day) system check failures due to it just being cold. I recommend you let the a/c warm up and try it again. If it fails a second time then call Mx Control. This happens most often with the AP test.

BTW, the best way to warm up or cool off the EMB is to start the APU, open the APU bleed and crossbleed and trun the Packs on Low, leave the fans off so it cools/heats the belly of the a/c first. Then after you feel warm or cold air coming out of the side pilot console vents then turn the fans on which will circulate the cold/warm air throughout. Keep mind that the main temperature sensor is by the main cabin door (MCD). During the winter, when the MCD is open keep the Pack temperature knobs on full cold otherwise you will burn up the packs and smoke the cabin due to the sensor always sensing the cold air from the MCD.

Engine starts: After start the eninges make sure the Nh is above 60% before you move the Condition Levers to Min. Otherwise the EEC’s won’t come on line. If they don’t, just start the second engine and then reset the EEC’s.

Takeoff: What for “fail Fix’s” and only abort at slow speeds. The 2 FF’s I’ve had both happened just after I added power (only moving about 20kts) so I aborted. If your power is set to TO power and you experience a “Fail Fix,” DO NOT!!! abort as you WILL ground-loop the a/c (the failed side will stay at TO power and the other side will retard).

Next, just after rotation as you're passing through 120 knots the green rudder hydraulic actuators system is suppose to depressurize. If it does not you will end up with an overboost situation which will freeze your rudders. The QRH will simply tell you to turn the Blue isolation rudder switch off…………memorize this. At SKW we have the right to turn the switch off without consulting the QRH only if it happens during a critical phase of flight such as just after TO. Remember the E120 requires you to add a lot of right rudder on TO and climb out so if your rudders are frozen that is a very serious situation.

Climb: We climb at 180 and in tail wings 170.

Power Changes: Get used to always trimming the rudder. Any change in power will require you to trim the rudder, this is nonstop.

EEC’s: If they fail on climb out or in cruise it will feel like an engine failure. The failed EEC will cause a rollback in torque of around 20% which can be dramatic if you have high power settings.

Props: DO NOT USE THEM AS SPEED BRAKES. These things are dangerous and many accidents have occurred due to using them as speed brakes. Treat them very kindly and move them slowly!!!!!!!

Be careful this is a reenactment of an E120 prop overspeed at a very low altitude. Replay it a few times and watch at what speed they moved the props to max and checkout the Np’s. Then check out the pilots fight to maintain control.

YouTube - Voice Recorder / Black Box of Embraer 120 Accident

ASA FLT 7529, August 1995: http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/1996/aar9606.pdf

YouTube - Lost Wing - Tribute to Flight 529

MEMORIZED the “Prop Overspeed” procedure and know it well.

Ice: Do not go slower than 170 knots in icing conditions; I hope you have the “Comair” box installed.

Comair 5054, March 2001: NTSB - Advisory

Comair 3272, January 1997: DCA97MA017

This is a start, I’ll add more later when I get a chance.

 

EECs. I dont recall a need to level, idle, and then reset, perhaps that is what the QRH says. But we often treated it as an informal immediate action: Yaw, "Engine Control," reach up and reset it, power is restored and you're back on an even keel after only one swing of the nose. It happened often enough to become a habit.

Don't put the packs on high unless you desire a cabin full of smoke. Never do it if you're on only one pack to begin with - the remaining pack will eventually trip and now your cabin is climbing. If you sniff environmental smoke after landing just wait for it, in about 60 seconds you'll have your answer: after the offending pack trips you'll know which inoperative ground cooling fan to either a) Strike with a rubber mallet, or b) Replace.

Gear indication system works well but is prone to damage. Frozen slush on the gear leg will totally thrash the proximity sensors, and you'll see a christmas tree on the lg indications. But the gear has 3000psi of motivation, so it's probably down and locked.

When in doubt, reset whatever troubles you. Often the solution to gremlins lies in total power removal from the aircraft. I think i remember removing all power from the aircraft for troubleshooting purposes and the APU kept running, so that might be handy someday.

 

Our QRH says to do the above; it's mainly for the PAX inorder to reduce the yaw tendencies from large torque changes.

 

Gospel truth. Amazing that the thread got this far before it was brought up. A couple % torque, or as little as a 4 or 5 knot airpseed change will demand rudder trim. It's simply a fourth primary flight control, treat it as such and budget your workload so that you have a hand to run it.

Disclaimer: I haven't turned a prop on the Brasilia for 2.5 busy years so take everything with a grain of salt.