Thanks mike for digging up the 421 and 210 wing loadings.

So a mu2 has smaller wing which obviously means less drag and hence higher cruising speeds. (And smoother ride per this discussion)

And I understand it needs full span flaps to give reasonable approach and landing speeds.

So what happens if you lose an engine with flaps down? Do you immediately clean up gear and flaps like my 421? Or are the flaps required for lift?

I’ve never really followed the discussions regarding mu2 safety - but is this a key factor - or have I got it completely wrong?

Flaps retract on a schedule based on speed just like a jet. When you lose an engine on take off, flaps are typically at 20 degrees. Leave them there and get the gear up. Accelerate to 140 knots for flaps 5 and 150 knots for flaps 0.

One question I do have regarding the MU2 experience is in regards to rudder trim. It required quite a bit of adjustments with airspeed changes. Curious why that’s so and if it’s a common characteristic to the type.

Lots of torque from a pair of 331's. Changes in power settings require rudder adjustments to balance...

Gotta be something else, something airframe specific. The 331’s in a Merlin IIIC are putting out a lot more power than in a MU2 and I almost never change the rudder trim.

Gotta be something else, something airframe specific. The 331’s in a Merlin IIIC are putting out a lot more power than in a MU2 and I almost never change the rudder trim.

I’ve never heard of frequent rudder trim changes from other 331 aircraft, only for the MU2.

all ears as well

Actually, from my limited experiences, its more of a trim adjustment after power changes and less of, or no rudder change...

Lets wait on Mike. I was thinking maybe it had something to do with the full span width flaps, small wing or rudder size.

Is there no Yaw Damper in MU2?

Yes, there is definitely a yaw damper.

Yes, there is definitely a yaw damper.

If the yaw dampener is on, you can't adjust the rudder trim. It will adjust automatically.
If your hand flying you only need to adjust the rudder trim if the engines are out of balance which happens easily if you make a power change or if the something changes the balance like uneven fuel transfer. The point being that the MU2 is very sensitive to trim.

If the rudder is out of trim due to uneven power setting would you not even up the power instead of trimming for the mismatch?

The MU-2 (especially short body) is a very short-coupled, compact aircraft with a small wing, lots of horsepower and full-span flaps that don’t always move down with exactly the same amount of travel. Slight power inequality will create fairly large yaw force if you don’t match the engines. I find myself trimming the rudder before AP engagement so there is no yaw as the AP takes control, but other than that, I’m mostly dealing with pitch trim changes with power setting change, and roll trim settings with flap configuration change. I don’t mess with the rudder trim after initial climbout. I did find out recently that unlike pitch and yaw trim, roll trim can be adjusted while the AP is engaged (at least on my M4D) which makes the transition off AP more smooth (I used to hold the yoke pretty firmly after deploying approach flaps if I saw the yoke roll in correction on AP during flap extension). I’ve since had them adjusted to match better and there is only a little roll now between 5 and 20 degrees flap extension. So yes...a very trim intensive airframe, but IMO, not much on the rudder.