AIRCRAFT WALKTHROUGH: P-750 XSTOL
19 Feb 13

Walk around any ramp at any airport and there are bound to be a few planes that stand out as slightly different from the rest. As I taxied my Caravan onto the ramp in Surkhet, Nepal one day last March, I saw a plane that looked like a cross between a Piper Cherokee and a Thrush.

I’m more used to the high wing bush planes in Alaska, so the low wing configuration looked a bit odd for rough field duties. Then I started thinking about how well cropdusters perform with a similar wing design. The last clue was the large “XSTOL” written on the nose. The XSTOL confirmed that this was a plane made for operating out of short rough strips.

However many questions remained, and it wasn’t until I finally caught up with the pilot, James Burgess, that I started to get some answers. The aircraft was a Pacific Aerospace P-750 XSTOL, and James flew it for a Surkhet-based airline called Air Kasthamandap. I convinced him to give me a tour of the plane, and I got it all on video for you.

In this aircraft walkthrough you’ll learn:

• What “XSTOL” means.
• Why the P-750-XSTOL wing is so fat.
• Why the wing tips tilt upwards.
• What the metal plates on the wheels are for.
• What sort of cargo the unique belly pod door lets you carry.
• Why skydivers like the P-750 XSTOL.
• How the “semi-automatic” start sequence works.
• What the “IPS” air bypass system does.
• The advantages of the combined analog/digital engine gauges.
• Why most P-750 XSTOL agricultural pilots fly from the right seat.
• Why Daniel thinks the air strips in western Nepal are actually more challenging to fly into than Lukla (which seems to get all the glory).
• About the development of the P-750 XSTOL, and its predecessors.

Watch the video here.

Source: Published on July 23, 2011 by Aidan Loehr in Aircraft Walkthroughs