BT-13 habits?

[JFS61]

Remember that there are also only three bolts holding the tail on, so not a lot of funny stuff.

[Dave Hadfield]

Yes, I would not do snap-rolls in a BT-13. But a barrel-y roll is very little stress, unless you screw it up and dish out of it, which I try not to do.

The Corsair outer wing is held in only 3 points.

I was pleased that the tailwheel did not shimmy -- quite a common thing.

And I do enjoy flying behind a Wasp, or Wasp Junior. Nice engines...

[JohnB]

On the plus side, they gave them to a lot of low time cadets straight out of primary trainers. So they can't be too bad.

[aftCG]

I must have lurked on here for two years hoping to learn about the BT-13 but found very little. Since then I've amassed maybe 80 hours.
For reasons mentioned above, and under the good advice of a crop duster pilot who had been part owner in a BT and T-6, I only use 20 degrees of flaps period.
It's what you use for takeoff, it's what the manual tells you to use for climb, and therefore what you would use in a go around. It just happens to work fine for landing. Trust me, with the power pulled out it will come down just fine. In a go around you'll be all about the engine and maintaining attitude. Why screw with cranking up flaps then?

It will lift it's own tail not quite level and fly off at around 70, or you can push the tail up and "fly it regular". I own a 150hp Citabria and the BT will jump off the ground just as quick and pull away in the climb - and that's saying something. I actually would have called BS had someone else said that but I put 22 hours on the plane last month and did plenty of climbing. It's not a dog.

I use 35" mp for takeoff with a reduction to 30" once I'm pitched at 90 for climb. For cruise climbs I run the prop to 2100 and then use 30". The supercharger is direct drive from the back of the crank. You'll continue to bump the throttle up to maintain 30" as you continue up. I haven't found that the recommended flaps for climb made any difference in a cruise climb.

Cruising "on the step" is another thing I tested out. It's for real. If you climb and level of it will wallow just a bit. If you climb an extra 200' and push over to pick up speed then set cruise you'll see at least 5-8 mph better cruise speed.

I use about 15" and 90 on downwind where I'll crank those flaps to twenty, 85 on base and final, 80 over the fence. If you like to grease wheel landings keep just a bit of power in.

The crop duster guy's opinion was that people who killed themselves on base to final had a bunch of flaps cranked in on base. With power out you set yourself up for a massive sink rate, and then if you rudder it around you'll get a spin entry that you aren't prepared for.
As an aside, unlike other trainers of the period the BT airfoil is symmetrical.
The stick forces are light, and they get very light in the pattern. I really only got a telephone checkout so I was a bit tender with the plane for a while. My turns to base and final are done in a descending arc with the wing "unloaded". It's quite graceful flown that way.

Flying the BT is really about flying the R985. Per the crop duster, radials are quite reliable and that if they're going to break it is usually during a power change. The main rule is to never let the needles on the gauges (specifically manifold pressure) move faster than the second hand on a watch. That also helps avoid the torque problems on initial takeoff roll.

In level flight I use 28" and 2000 rpm for local cruising. For cross country I use 25" and 1850rpm, lean by ear. I managed 16.7 gph over a 1200 mile trip.

Do not exceed a "ten spread" in power settings. In other words 30" and 2000rpm is pushing it and above 30" you're abusing it.

I could probably come up with more but it sounds like you're already flying around. It's a fun plane that draws more attention than a big set of t*ts

[Dave Hadfield]

Thanks!

Yes, that sums up what we have been doing.

I like that 10-spread suggestion -- good one.

It sure leaps off the ground compared to a Harvard/T6.

Dave