Pipistrel Virus 912, Flight And Maintenance Manual, Page: 87 / 108

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Appendix
As you start to move, pull ste stick 1/3 of elevator’s deflection backwards to ease the pressure on
the nose wheel and lift it off the runway slightly. Do not use full back deflection as this will cause
the aircraft’s tail to touch the ground.
When the nose wheel is lifted off the ground correctly, there is nothing else but to hold the same
angle of attack and the aircraft will become airborne.
Crosswind take-offs, depending on wind
strength, require a little bit of aileron deflection into the wind. Remember, wings must stay level
thoughout ground-roll, rotation and initial climb!
Having lifted off the ground, gently push the stick forward just a bit to accelerate. At some 90 km/
h
(50 kts)
set flaps to 1
st
stage, at 110 km/h
(60 kts)
set them to neutral.
Climb
A comfortable setting for climb is flaps in neutral position, speed of 115 km/h
(62 kts)
at some 5000
RPM. In summer time or
when outside temperature exceeds 30°C
you should
consider climbing at
some 130 km/h
(70 kts)
to provide more airflow to the engine radiators. Trim the aircraft for comfort-
able stick forces.
Cruise
Passing through 140 km/h
(75 kts)
, set flaps to negative positon (handle full down). A confort-
able cruise setting is 25 InHg manifold pressure with 4500 engine RPM. Take advantage of the Vario
propeller to meat these settings. For those who do not have a manifold pressure gauge installed, set
engine to 5000 RPM at flat pitch and then screw the propeller pitch knob to the right to meet 4500
RPM. Of course, cruising can be conducted at various power, propeller and flap settings.
As the Virus is sensitive to flap setting, ALWAYS use negative stage of flaps beyond 150 km/h
(80
kts)
and neutral below 130 km/h
(70 kts)
.
Cruising fast, do not kick-in rudder for turns! Above 160 km/h
(85kts)
the rudder becomes almost
insignificant in comparison to aileron deflections when it comes to making a turn.
Cruising fast, it
is extremely important to fly coordinated (ball in the middle) as this increases efficiency and de-
creases side-pressure onto vertical tail surfaces. Also, pay attention to turbulence. If you hit wake
turbulence, reduce power immediately and increase angle of attack to reduce speed.
If necessary,
set flaps to neutral position (below 130 km/h,
70 kts
).
If flying a traffic pattern, keep flaps in neutral position and set engine power so that airspeed does
not exceed 150 km/h
(80 kts)
.
Descent
Descending with the Virus is the stage of flight where perhaps most care must be taken. As the air-
craft is essencially a glider, it is very slippery and builds up speed very fast.
Start the descent by reducing throttle and setting propeller pitch back to flat (screw propeller
pitch knob fully to the left). Do not, under any circumstances, increase speed or use airbrakes to
descend at high speeds.
If you have cruised at 200 km/h
(105 kts)
this is your top descent speed. During initial descent
I would recommend you trim for a 30 km/h
(15 kts)
lower speed than the one you decided to descent
at. Do this for safety. In case you hit turbulence simply release forward pressure on the stick and the
aircraft will slow down.