Do you use the VNAV feature with Garmin GPS?

[FlyingMonkey]

if you pull power and fly your trimmed airspeed the pitch changes itself. i find i end up descending at my cruise speed if I pull power only, this method could potentially pass up an opportunity to go fast.

 

That's certainly true. If you want the speed, then pitch away!

 

I agree that the pitch is self changing with a power change, that was was my point. I just like pulling power slowly until my vertical speed is where I want it, this seems an "elegant" way to come down and keep speed relatively constant. I might change to the pitch method when I start doing longer cross country flights and just want to get to the destination ASAP.

[Ed Cesnalis]

Pulling power only to maintain cruise speed works great, otherwise I always think in terms of "pitch and power adjustments"

 

My cruise RPM is 5,500 so if I pitch only I will overs peed my engine.

[Jim Meade]

You guys keep in mind that there are several sources of Vne. Flutter is only one.

 

The other side of pulling power on descent is that you give up the speed you have banked in the form of energy. It might be interesting to do the math on fuel burn of going down at 5200 rpm 500 fpm as opposed to 4800 rpm 500 fpm. I'm fixing my combine but maybe someone can do the fuel and distance calculations and see how them come out.

[FastEddieB]

I'm just used to maintaining cruise rpm in descent and getting back some of the speed in the descent that I lost in the climb.

 

Yesterday, for instance, I just throttled back so as to maintain the 5,200 rpm I had been maintaining.

 

Of course, I always keep an eye on the yellow arc, and will throttle back more if need be.

 

But lots of different ways to manage descent - use whatever works for you.

[FlyingMonkey]

That makes sense Eddie, I didn't think about "getting back" the speed from the climb...that makes a lot of sense. I was thinking that one advantage of the power method was more consistent airspeed for flight planning, but if you can average your climb speed and descent speed, the pitch + power method is probably more consistent. Okay, I'm a convert!

[FastEddieB]

I've flown with pilots who, from 5,000' or so would put on carb heat and come back to idle for their descent. Just never made a lot of sense to me.

 

I think many pilots of higher performance aircraft plan "cruise" climbs and "cruise" descents.

 

An old saying is, "I didn't buy a fast plane to go slow!"

 

As an aside, I recall that in air races where wind is not a big factor, the fastest way to get from one place to another is to barely climb at just below normal cruise so as to arrive at your chosen optimum altitude at the midpoint, and then barely descend for the second half. Don't know if that's true - just wondering if anyone else has heard that.

[Ed Cesnalis]

The barely climb and barely descend mindset helps me when light sport rules limit available altitudes.

 

Example, flying south to Los Angeles the hemispheric rule is hard to adhere to because your bearing and heading are often right on 180°. If you go over the enormous central valley its hard to claim the 2,000' exception when you are 10,000' AGL and 8,500 is too low for what is ahead and 10,500 is over 10,000.

 

Often the best altitude for me to fit in is 10,000 but that's an IFR cruise altitude if I'm over 3,000' AGL. I often do 100 mile climbs or descents.

 

When on the East side of the Sierra Nevada I use Eddie's barely climb to avoid wasting time climbing. I can always climb at better than 100kts TAS, so I do.

[Ed Cesnalis]

I often cruise over the mountains and in the MOAs to use the within 3,000' of terrain exception and fly at 10,000'. Often I have a glide to the valley.