Auxillary Controls

T-34C CONTACT

CHAPTER THREE

Do not perform rapid accelerations with the EPL. Due to the nature of the manual

fuel control system, proper fuel/air ratios are not readily achieved with rapid power

application. The turbine must spool up (accelerate) as fuel is introduced, particularly

on the low end of the power range.

Normal operation of the landing gear warning system is provided except that when

BOTH the EPL and PCL are forward of the 75% switch at the same time, the gear

horn and light will function when the gear is up. This mode functions as an alert to

the pilot that both power systems are engaged. For a more detailed discussion of the

Manual Fuel Control system and EPL, refer to the T-34C NATOPS Manual.

304.

AUXILIARY CONTROLS

The auxiliary flight controls consist of the landing gear and flaps.

Flaps. Flaps are high lift devices used to increase the maximum lift coefficient during low

speed flight. The T-34C employs electrically operated slot-type wing flaps. The flaps are

applied to the trailing edge of both wings near the root. The deflected flap segment is moved aft

along a set of tracks which increases the chord and therefore, the camber. Additionally, the wing

area is increased; all of which contribute to an increase in lift and a decrease in the stall speed.

In the T-34C, the flaps are electrically operated by a flap lever located on the left side in each

cockpit. Lifting the lever "UP" raises the flaps; moving the lever "DOWN" lowers them.

Moving the lever to the "OFF" (center) position, will stop the flaps at any intermediate position.

Otherwise, they will continue to move until full UP or DOWN travel is reached. At this time,

the limit switch shuts off the flap motor whether or not the lever is moved to OFF. In primary

training, no intermediate positions are used. The flaps will always be in either the full UP or full

DOWN position. The flap position indicator is labeled in terms of percent extension. No

emergency extension system is provided for operation of flaps in the event of an electrical

failure.

Landing Gear. The T-34C employs electrically operated, fully retractable tricycle landing

gear. In order to provide satisfactory maneuvering capabilities, a free castering nose wheel is

used with limit stops 30 either side of center. The landing gear handles are on the left front

console in both cockpits and mechanically linked to one another. Either handle will electrically

operate the landing gear system. The main wheels retract inboard into the wings and the nose

wheel retracts aft into the nose wheelwell. Fairing doors, operated by gear movement, fully

cover the landing gear when retracted. The main gear inboard doors open during the gear

extension and close again when the gear are fully extended. All gears are actuated by a single

D.C. motor and gear mechanism located under the front cockpit, and raise and lower through a

push-pull rod to each main gear side brace and nose gear drag brace. Individual uplocks,

actuated by the retraction system, lock the gear positively in the retracted position. Mechanical

downlocks lock the gear in the extended position. A downlock is not provided for the nose gear,

since the over center pivot of the linkage provides a geometric locking effect when fully

extended. A safety switch on the right main strut prevents accidental gear retraction on the

ground. In flight, the gear may be manually extended in an emergency. There is no provision to

manually retract the landing gear.

USE AND EFFECT OF CONTROLS 3-9