I am a King Air pilot for the last 7 years. We generally come out of beta around 60 knots during the landing rollout. This is because of blade erosion and the potential of debris being sucked back into the engine. This is really apparent when landing on dirt strips and seeing the dirt cloud move from behind the engine towards the front of the blades as the aircraft slows. I know it seems weird from behind the engines to the front, but it happens.
Also we King Air guys taxi with the props at low pitch at just in and out of beta vs using the brakes. It's a trade off between heating up the brakes or using beta on long taxis at the larger airports. And we run the ice vanes extended to limit as much of the debris getting sucked into the intake as possible.
Another advantage to using reverse is backing. Not a normally recommended procedure nor authorized by all operators, but you can do it; just don't hit the brakes to stop your movement in reverse or you will sit on the tail. Instead, ease of out of reverse until you feel the plane start to surge forward, then you can come onto the brakes.
Blows the runway debris in front of the plane which it then runs into. Check out a king air prop sometime where the pilot uses beta a lot.
Typing and grammar errors courtesy of Siri and the iPhone.
"I do not intend to full blast reverse (unless there is an emergency), so
keeping prop and skin damages under control."
Hi Ronald,
Just curious, how would full reverse damage the prop or skin?
Dennis
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