When
the Division of Wildlife of the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources began
thinking about replacing it's aging Cessna 207 Skywagon with a new
aircraft, a small twin engine plane appeared in the marketplace which
had many of the qualities necessary for natural resource work: the
Partenavia P68C.
Since
most of the jobs for which an aircraft is used by the Division of
Wildlife require looking downward it was mandatory to have the wings and
other view obstructions above and out of the way. Also, most of the
areas over which the airplane would be flown are not conducive to an
emergency landing, so having two engines (with the capability of
satisfactory single engine flight), was also a requirement. Some of the
other desired features on an airplane for this special field of flying
in which the Partenavia excelled it has docile, slow flight
capabilities; long range fuel tanks, easy maintenance and low noise
level important in surveillance work.
After
a couple of flights in a privately owned P68C and a "look
inside" the machine by Ohio's DNR Aviation Maintenance Section,
pilots, mechanics, biologists, game protectors and administrators all
agreed on the choice of the Partenavia. The arduous and time consuming
task of buying an aircraft within the framework of a state bureaucracy
began in early February, 1982 and was delivered two days before
Christmas of that year... (a miracle).
The
Avionics Section installed a "barebones" temporary radio
package that allowed us to start work within just a few days on deer
poaching projects. The machine worked quite well, in fact, a lot better
in most ways that it's predecessor. The visibility on night projects was
tremendous with no door post obscuring sideward view. The leading
edge of the wing, well aft of the pilot and observer, permitted steep
turns without the wing blocking view of a violator.
A couple of shortcomings were apparent in the
first "cold" night operations when the muff cabin heater did
not provide sufficient velocity of front seat heat and defrost air to
keep the forward two occupants feet warm and the windshield defrosted
when flown at speeds below 100 kts. The problems were partially cured by
cutting open the heater air intake ports to double their normal size,
but on the very cold nights (0°F and below) the plane must be flown at
higher airspeeds to provide sufficient heater air velocity to overcome
the cabin chill.
Without
exception, all the game protectors listening on the ground during the
night projects said the Partenavia was much quieter than the Cessna,
which might prevent a violator from hearing us flying overhead. Sadly,
we pilots lost our best excuse for quitting a shiner project early after
buying the Partenavia. The plane could be flown from Columbus in the
center of the state to the farthest corner (150 nm) in about an hour,
fly a 6 hour project at reduced power, return home and have an hour's
cruise fuel left in the tanks. Oh, well!
Several
different types of daylight surveys were flown with biologists quite
experienced in aerial surveys. Their projects involved waterfowl census,
turkey habitat assessment and searching for new bald eagle nests. The
opinions of the biologists varied from somewhat better to a great deal
better visibility than the single engine Cessna that was used in
previous years on similar flights.
Cargo
capabilities of the airplane appear good in all respects except the weak
floor under the rear seat. All the seats can be removed in five minutes
to accommodate bulky cargo, but the area exposed under the rear bench
seat must be reinforced to prevent breaking thru the plastic floor
covering. The large rear cargo door facilitates easy loading and
unloading of bulky items.
Equipped
with nearly 200 lbs. of special avionics gear and survival equipment,
with full fuel tanks (7 hours cruise at 75% power) there is slightly
less than 600 lbs. of payload remaining. When the fuel is reduced to 4
hours at cruise the machine can carry 1000 lbs. of people or cargo. 75%
power setting yields approximately 150 kts true airspeed at 6500 ft. on
an average day in Ohio's aircraft. Our machine is about 10 kts. slower
than the demonstration aircraft that was flown a year ago, most likely
due to the many antennas and unfared, oversized landing gear on our
ship. 75% cruise uses about 19 gallons per hour while sustained slow
flight around 90 kts. burns about 12 gallons an hour total fuel
consumption.
Maintenance
personnel at ODNR have completed four 100 hr. and four 50 hr.
inspections in addition to a complete avionics installation in the last
year of operation of the Partenavia. Overall, they state the aircraft is
substantially and carefully constructed, except for a few
"pop‑rivets" used in some areas. An inspection is
readily accomplished due to the speed and ease of removing cowlings,
covers, etc. Access to the rear of the instrument panel and avionics
remote
equipment
is facilitated by two large, removable panels forward of the windshield.
Our mechanics say that, if removal of any of the rear cylinders becomes
necessary, the engine would have to be pulled because of the nearness of
the wings' leading edge. The only major maintenance problem encountered
in the last 400+ hours of operation has been recurrent cracking of the
exhaust pipes on the left side of the left engine. Each of the half
dozen times we have needed any part quickly in the last year, the
importing company (Mire Slovak) has shipped immediately and we received
the component the next morning from California. The effectiveness of our
new aircraft in the survey and surveillance role for the Division of
wildlife is enhanced by several rather versatile pieces of avionics
equipment. The Foster LNS616 Loran is used to rapidly pin point fish
& game law violators with a very accurate and unique combination of
Loran and Vortac data. It is quite difficult to locate a deer poacher in
certain parts of Ohio at night due to the hills, crooked roads, and
absence of identifiable landmarks. But after a "shiner" is
spotted, the Loran can store the coordinate of poacher These coordinates
are transferred to a county road map with latitude and longitude grids
down on the map. This equipment is also used in commercial fishing law
enforcement on Lake Erie to record locations of illegal gill nets near
Ohio's international border with Canada. The Foster Loran-C unit is not
affected under typical circumstances by the inaccuracies associated with
Loran-C signal propagation due to a self correcting feature which
utilizes VOR and DME data (when in range at these types of stations) to
update the Loran information. Generally, the largest error encountered
is approximately one tenth of a nautical mile or 600 ft. Although none
have been accomplished yet, the game management section plans to take
advantage of the low altitude accuracy of the Loran to fly transect
flight lines for survey of animal populations on a year to year basis.
In addition insuring adequate overlap of flight lines will enhance
biotelemetry search patterns. The Partenavia is also equipped with a
Wulfsburg Flexcom with low and high band capability. This gear enables
the game protector to communicate with any of the rural sheriff's
department during night projects to exchange information about game law
violation. The Wulfsburg also facilitates enforcement projects when
jointly accomplished with a bordering state or Ontario DNR by permitting
direct communication with our sister agencies. The extra equipment,
specially installed for the wildlife mission, also includes a Bendix
RDR230PH color radar which is sensitive enough to pick up commercial
fishing boats on Lake Erie in addition to its normal weather-avoidance
role. A David-Clark
voice-actuated intercom is a valuable adjunct, enabling pilot and
observer in any seat to communicate easily through headphones. The
Federal P.A.100 public address system permits hailing instructions from
more than 1000 ft. overhead. Finally, provisions are installed for quick
detachable biotelemetry antennas and receiver. The gear can be attached
in just a couple of minutes with wiring and cables permanently installed
in the air frame. The electrical connections integrate the telemetry
receiver audio into the headsets of all observers on board. Except for a
few minor problems, our pilots feel that the Partenavia is the best
machine available for the wildlife mission in Ohio. Does your department
have new equipment about which you can give us "hands-on"
information? Tell us... the sales representative's vested interest
"sometimes" causes defect or difficulty censorship.
CONSERVATION
AERONAUTICS WINTER 1983
