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Aviation History
1974
1974 - 1143.PDF
FLIGHT International, 8 August 1974 139 Mifm MMm^&^MMk^n^w^kA •&t&0$ti00Z msMms^m, No 19 Lake LA-4-200 Buccaneer THE FIRST impression of the Buccaneer as it parked neatly on the Ipswich grass was very much that of a waterfowl on land—a little ungainly, as if it would be more at home in the air or on the water. A closer inspection showed that the design for the three elements had been carried out in a very workmanlike manner. The aircraft was stoutly built and access to the cabin, the mooring locker on the nose and engine were straight forward, either on land or water. Non-slip walkway surfacing was fitted on the nose and cabin-top, and the wing-skinning was thick enough to be walked on in soft shoes—an asset at awkward moorings. Two aircraft were flown to Ipswich on the day of our test by the UK distributors, Medburn Air Services, the Buccaneer and an earlier version, the LA-4. We were particularly interested to note that the finish of the older aircraft had withstood the ravages of salt water operation. All detail parts are etch-primed and Alodine-finished before assembly and further protected with Alodine before final finish. Features which caught the eye as we walked round the Buccaneer were the flat-bottomed floats which looked too square but proved very effective in practice, the retractable water rudder which extended from the bottom of the main rudder, and the large trim tabs outboard of the elevators and on the same hinge-line. The cabin was compact and sufficiently wide, though the rear passengers' legs are just accommodated by a deep foot-well when the forward seats are slid well back. The lOin fore-and-aft travel of the pilots' seats is ample for any size of pilot. The wheel is small, requiring a wrist action to apply aileron, but proved to be comfortable when flying and left room for standing up when mooring. The fore-and-aft wheel movement was straight, without the irritating upswing at full up elevator which mars many such installations. The instrument panel layout was non-standard and a little messy, having the wheel growing out of it high up where the directional gyro should be. The engine controls were overhead, the directional sense being normal, but the forward-to-open throttle was upside-down and rotationally unusual, demanding a reversal of the wrist action. This positioning of the engine controls no doubt simplified the engineering, but was not as comfortable as a conventionally placed console. The undercarriage, flaps and trim were hydraulic, and the controls, lights and emergency hand pump were positioned centrally under the instrument panel where the throttle console normally resides. The trim lever was mounted between the seats. The trim knob had to be held forward or aft until the required trim was attained, after the fashion of the modern electric thumb-switches. The flap had just two positions, up and down.
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