Barry Farrah: Cessna 441 Conquest II Pilot

     Most notable has been the improvement in the stability of the aircraft from the perspective of passengers. I have passengers who regularly were in the aircraft before the strakes were installed. Upon their first flight after the strakes were installed they conveyed to me that it felt more stable. This was primarily noticed on short final. They do not know how to say this, but basically they are noticing a more stable aircraft after I disconnect the yaw damper on short final.

     Second, I have observed a modest increase in cruise speed. the folks at Weststar [Grand Junction, CO] calculated the increase to be be 4.5 knots. My engines are nearly due for overhaul. As a result, before the strakes were installed the aircraft was performing at 7 knots below book. It now performs at 2.5 knots below book. I don’t know if the improvement will be more pronounced after the engines are overhauled, but it will be interesting to see.

     Finally, it appears that I have a slightly better climb out. Unfortunately, I did not perform a “before strakes” test on this — so it is subjective, but it does feel that it climbs out a bit faster.

     In addiction to the sharp look, I am sure the strakes add some strength to the tail. Thank you for performing a meticulous job of installing these — I am happy with the results.