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KevinR

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    http://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinlreed/

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    Florida
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    After a ten year hiatus, I'm thankful to be a Mooney owner again. Looking forward to using my Rocket to visit customers across North America. Interested in soaking up some of the vast knowledge in the Mooneyspace community.
  • Reg #
    N252DR
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    Rocket

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  1. A friend was at the airport- he believes is was an engine failure and attempt to turn back to the runway. Does anyone know N96398? One fatality, 1 injured. Ocala is my home base. Let me know if I can do anything from here. http://www.wftv.com/news/local/plane-crash-at-ocala-airport-kills-1-injures-another/204243213
  2. Worked through the same set of questions two years ago. Bought a 252 Rocket and couldn't be happier. Completed a firewall forward extensive overhaul so I can speak at length on the maintenance costs and support from Rocket Engineering. Contact me if you'd like to talk. My favorite aspect of the Rocket is its versatility. Flew round trip from Florida to California last month. Take your pick: Pull the power back and fly LOP 178kts burning 13 GPH. Hammer down, 24 GPH & see an honest 225 up high (FL 240). Climb out at 140kts / 1500 FPM and you'll find clear air 99% of the time. I'd take a big turbo over TKS any day. IMO, best value in the market for 2 people who want to go fast & far.
  3. SLOW progress- and hit a few snags. As we were getting ready to clean up the air box and connect it to the turbo, we found out the overhauled turbo didn't have and holes drilled in the outer case. See picture. Sending the turbo to Rocket to get it drilled. As promised, here are the numbers: Engine overhaul including all accessories except the alternator (less than 150 hours since new): $36,450 Camshaft exchange: $1,500 New Millennium cylinders: $3,300 Gami injectors: $1,200 Tempest fine wire plugs: $700 over standard plugs included in OH prop overhaul including governor and new hub: $9,201 hoses: $2,014 exhaust and engine mount (Rocket didn't itemize the bill, not including shipping since my home base is about as far from Spokane as you can get): $4,970 Barry mounts: $440 So not including freight, labor, or shop supplies, you can firewall-forward a Rocket for just under 60 AMU's. Real money no doubt. Although I'd still have to spend another million dollars to shave 30 minutes off of a 1,000NM trip...
  4. Just finished an informative conversation with a man who has been overhauling propellers for 35 years. Here's a quick recap: (for the lawyers out there, the following is my interpretation of the conversation- your mileage may vary... don't try this at home...) if the prop governor fails, the prop will go into feather if the governor is working properly there are only three prop governor failure modes he has ever seen in his career: complete loss of engine oil pressure which means your engine is about to quit anyway some internal failure in the engine which injects more metal into the engine than can be held by the oil filter, which then clogs up the governor with metal, which means your engine is about to quit anyway the shaft that transmits power from the engine to the governor shears. Only witnessed one time in 35 years. since the same oil, approx one cup, stays in the governor until the prop is feathered, it is recommended that we cycle the prop into full feather at least once a year. Paraffin can build up in the oil which could prevent the prop from going into feather- that would be bad in the case of an engine failure. When we feather the prop, all of the oil is drained from the governor back into the engine oil sump. Feathering the prop cycles new oil into the governor. Maybe we should make feathering the prop part of our pre oil change routine- purge the old governor oil into the sump right before you drain the oil. lock pins in the hub engage below around 600-800RPM. This is why our props don't go into feather at shutdown. Centrifugal force retracts the locks. ***see above: you must feather the prop before the locks engage if the engine fails and you want to feather the prop. full explanation with pictures here: http://www.mccauley.textron.com/tech_guide.pdf I haven't flown a multi-engine airplane with a propeller in several years. Jets are much easier to manage when one engine stops working. This thread reminded me that my Rocket isn't a normal single engine airplane- it's a twin without the second engine. Every Rocket owner would benefit from an hour or two of multi-engine training just to get familiar with the operation of a fully-feathering prop. After I get a dozen hours post-overhaul, I will orbit the airport at 10,000 feet and feather the prop using this procedure (open to suggestions if I'm missing something): refresh engine out / glider procedures. Decide on a restart min altitude. If the engine is not operating below that altitude, commit to landing power off. i.e. fly the airplane. coordinate with tower. select a time with minimum traffic. home field is fairly low operation volume, 80' MSL and 7,500' runway. climb to 10,000 slowly reduce power to 20" MP being careful to not exceed max cooldown rate establish a orbit pattern directly over the airport notify tower of start of test record IAS reduce prop to 1700 RPM, then quickly pull to feather mixture cutoff start the timer maintain altitude until IAS = best glide speed for current weight record the time at top of descent record vertical speed when stable at best glide speed record time, IAS, and VSI at 9,000' and every 500 feet until reaching 6,000' at 6,000' begin restart prop full forward mixture rich if prop does not begin turning, engage starter if engine not restarted by 5,000', begin ENGINE FAILURE emergency procedure if engine not restarted by 4,000', commit to engine out landing. FLY THE AIRPLANE enter high key @ 3,000', low key @ 1,500', gear, flaps on final when landing is certain. try to be like Bob Hoover and roll to parking spot with the engine off.
  5. Seth- I'd definitely like to discuss this further offline. Please PM me when you have a minute. What happened to the 1,700 RPM springs / pins that prevent feathering? Regardless of of what the experts say, I'd like to run the experiment & try to feather the prop with power. HS any Rocket owner tried this?
  6. We've kept track of the 'real' hours; i.e. when wrenches are turning on specific removal / reinstall tasks. It's a big number. I've spent even more time than I'm willing to admit cleaning, checking, reading the STC & maintenance manuals, replacing every screw, bolt, nut, & washer I can find. All materials are tracked at actual cost.
  7. definitely in the ballpark for the OH part, NOT including new cylinders. Biggest surprise was 6 AMUs for the engine mount & exhaust overhaul including freight and new Barry mounts. They did come back looking better than new. I'll post details later this week.
  8. Has anyone else noticed how little information is available about the real cost of major maintenance? As I'm winding up my firewall-forward project, I'm considering releasing a line-by-line cost breakdown. Does anyone have any thoughts about why that might not be a good idea? If any non-flying spouses see this post, just tell them I got ripped off and you paid a lot less.. Or maybe we could play 'The Price Is Right' and let everyone guess. Here's an {almost} complete list of work performed: TSIO-520-NB Overhaul & Test Run by Certified Engines http://www.certifiedengines.com/ Magnetos & harness Starter Fuel injection system Oil cooler Intercoolers Turbocharger, controller, PRV, & waste gate Camshaft Crankshaft Prop overhaul by Palm Beach Propeller http://www.pbapi.com/ Prop governor overhaul prop blades overhaul new hub Millennium cylinders (new) Gami nozzles (new) Tempest fine wire spark plugs (new) Hoses (all new) Exhaust (overhaul by Rocket Engineering, replaced five sections, re-welded, polished) Engine Mount (overhaul by Rocket Engineering, replaced two tubes, re-welded, powder coated) Vibration mounts We definitely got in to the "while the engine is off, we might as well..." mode of thinking. That's what happens when you have access to a maintenance hanger and your -IA lets you do a lot of the grunt work. I've learned more about how everything works in the past three months than I did in the past twenty-five years of GA flying.
  9. timely discussion- I just bolted on a freshly overhauled prop governor to a freshly overhauled engine, prop, engine mount, exhaust, etc. I've gotten to know a few guys at Rocket & Palm Beach Propeller throughout the process. If we don't have a consensus answer yet, let me pose the question to the guys who just did the work.
  10. I start my descent near the top of the green. I set my power according to how fast (FPM) I want to come down. Guys, we are doing the industry a disservice when we maintain this notion that anything with a propeller is hard to slow down. If ATC is keeping you up high close to your destination, keep reducing power until you are cruising below gear speed. & I stay on the ground when I can't clear my sinuses. That stuff can kill ya!
  11. Houman, on the descent calculations: A great instructor taught me to never think in miles, only minutes. That way, if you're flying a Cub or a 737, you can't get behind the airplane. Thirty minutes from destination might be 200 miles out or 50 miles out, but a minute always lasts sixty seconds. Start your descent 1x, or 2x your altitude, in minutes, prior to your destination (depending on if you want to descend at 1,000 FPM, or 500 FPM). At 20,000 feet, I begin reducing power 22 minutes out, push the nose over at 20 minutes out, and establish 1,000 FPM. Easy math! (don't forget to account for airport elevation!)
  12. 'Legal' and 'safe' are two different concepts in aviation. Sort of like when my 19 year-old self took off in marginal VFR weather, at night, with two (non-pilot) friends, three hours after passing my private pilot check-ride and headed out to a short runway on an island. Legal? Yes. Do you really want to be wondering about that prop strike every time you take off? Two hundred feet off the ground is a lousy time for a catastrophic engine failure. A prop strike from a gear-up is about as severe as it gets. Engine running, prop instantly stops. Ouch. I've heard of significant internal engine damage from just hitting some thick grass. Try punching the runway with your bare knuckles, then imagine doing that with 60 horsepower pushing your arm (idle power). As for the damage history, it all comes down to the quality of the repairs and the reputation of the repair shop. Structural or cosmetic? Mooney's are tough birds. If the damage history is factored into the price, it's reasonable to assume you will be ok at resale. In my experience, the more time that passes since damage, the less impact the damage has on the price. Now is the perfect time to deal with the problem. If I were buying, I'd negotiate an overhaul into the price.
  13. Hi Bill, Just a few thoughts from a very happy Rocket owner. going over hours on the TBO doesn't concern me. Your engine won't magically disintegrate between 1600 and 2000 hours. I'd be far more concerned with going 21 years without a peek inside the case. How much do you trust every pilot / mechanic / line guy who touched the plane in the past two decades? If you are comfortable flying up high, the turbo bolted on the TSIO-520 is your best piece of deice gear. You can almost always find an ice-free altitude. I've yet to meet a Turbo Mooney owner who uses their TKS more than once or twice a year. I'm sure they are out there but I haven't met them. If you don't want to routinely fly above 10,000, the Rocket isn't the right airplane for you. She is much happier / faster above 15,000. You really can pull the power back and see 252ish numbers (speed v. fuel burn) or you can burn some dead dinosaurs and do 225 KTAS at FL210 VA to Florida is an easy trip. 1000NM is safe in zero wind or tailwind. Plane endurance > most human bladders. Getting up and over the Rockies is a non-event in this plane. The Rocket has a fully feathering prop because the engine used to live on a twin. That means you have a ridiculous 17:1 glide ratio. At FL 180, you can cross 100 miles over water and still glide to land. That makes me a lot more comfortable flying to the islands or over the mountains. I don't think the maintenance costs are much different from a 252. Might be lower because the -520 isn't working very hard in this configuration if you treat it right. But it's an airplane so it will get in your pocket. See my last post. I don't think the overhaul cost is much different. Rocket support is first class. I can't imagine flying this airplane without an instrument rating. Contrary to popular lore, it's pretty easy to slow the plane down and go downhill. You just have to plan ahead. A few minutes before you want to descend, start reducing power. I shoot for 15-20 degrees per minute cooldown rate. I can get 1,000 to 1,500 FPM downhill within a couple of minutes. During the descent I continue to reduce power (watching the cooldown rate). By the time I'm at pattern altitude, I'm below gear speed. I'm smiling if I can hit my approach speed without using speedbrakes, never exceeding 15 degrees per minute cooldown, and never increasing power after I start reducing power from my cruising altitude. Takes planning (and a little ATC help) but it usually works. That approach will hopefully let the engine live a long happy life. Be prepared to burn some gas. On short trips, you spend a large % of the time with the throttle up & full rich. That is 28GPH territory. The Rocket is a perfect fit for my mission: 1-2 people, frequent long trips where the extra 20-40 knots really adds up. That speed makes the difference between getting home and spending an extra night in a hotel. In order to get a meaningful speed increase, I'll have to buy something that burns Jet-A. The Rocket would not be a good choice for fun flying / staying current IMO. There are many cheaper options. The Rocket makes sense for someone trying to minimize travel time, not total cost of ownership. Find a good Mooney shop. Don Maxwell did my prebuy. It wasn't cheap but I knew exactly what I was getting. I like high time airplanes and don't mind damage history if the right shop did the repairs. My plane had an off-airport landing 13 years ago. So instead of a 30 year old airplane, I have some 30 year old components that were disassembled, inspected, and reassembled 13 years ago. I like that better than having an airframe that hasn't been down to its bones in 3 decades. And the price is right! High-time is relative in our airplanes. Most GA airplanes rot, not wear out. I'd rather have a plane that flew 150 hours per year over 30 years. Good luck with your search. This forum has a wealth of knowledge. Be patient and find the right bird for your mission!
  14. Thanks for the comments. I'm getting a new hub and overhauling the blades. The blades are in great shape; 'like new' according to the prop shop. Decided to go with the Millenium cylinders on the advice of several overhaul shops. I fly almost every week so corrosion is less of a concern which negates the benefit of the chrome jugs. Supposedly the millenium's run a little cooler, too. I decided to tear down the engine because I can't be 100% certain about what caused the prop damage. She flew perfectly fine and you couldn't really see any damage until we pulled the spinner. The damage probably happened in Grand Cayman when the engine wasn't running but I don't like the word 'probably' in the context of my rear end strapped into an airplane. I considered the factory reman route and considered getting an engine from Ram. Honestly Ram was my first choice. They had an engine on the shelf and the price was in the ballpark. I have a few hundred hours in Ram powered twin Cessna's & I really liked the product. I was about to place the order when I ran into an old friend who manages several twin Cessna's and has purchased many Ram engines. He nearly threatened to end our friendship if I did business with Ram. He apparently had a horrible customer service experience with them last year. In the end I went with Certified Engines in Opa Locka. My mechanic had worked with them, Allen Weiss has been rebuilding engines for thirty years, and he's known Larry at Palm Beach propeller for a long time. Ironically (or fortunately) my medical, BFR, and annual all expire this month anyway. And we just found out our oldest child (of four!) needs braces. I sure am getting good at writing checks!
  15. After 25 years of mishap-free flying, I finally had to file an insurance claim. Fortunately, no one was hurt. And I wasn't anywhere near the aircraft when it happened... Our (i.e. my mechanic & the prop shop owner who's been at it for 30 years) best guess is that a tug ran into the prop while it was parked somewhere. Scary thing is I just flew 100+ miles over water to Grand Cayman. I'm a fanatic pre-flighter but I never noticed anything until I had the cowl off for an oil change. Something caught our eye so we pulled the spinner. Not a single mark on the blades. No vibration in flight. Obvious hub damage. More details to follow (and pictures!) We are following the letter of the law: prop damage means prop overhaul. Prop overhaul means engine tear-down. My TSIO-520 happens to have ECi cylinders, and the fine print in the AD requires me to throw the jugs in the garbage if they are removed from the engine. Alas, I've decided to go ahead and overhaul the motor. So I've been taking the bus to visit customers all month. I'm probably preaching to the choir but nothing beats a Mooney for cost-effective, fast transportation. Just to help me justify the rather large check I'm going to be writing, I've been keeping careful notes on the travel times on various 757's, 737's and A-320's. Would you believe that my Rocket can get me from Ocala to DENVER (my driveway to customer office) faster than a non-stop commercial flight out of Orlando? GA is a game-changing business tool. A big reason I'm posting this is to tell the Mooney world about the fantastic support I'm getting from Rocket Engineering. Even though they haven't done a piston conversion in 20 years, they still support the product like it was their #1 line of business. They have the original jigs for the engine mount & exhaust and they quoted a very reasonable price to bring those items back to like-new condition. What's even more impressive is the tech support they've offered gratis. When the prop shop asked for engineering drawings for the prop setup, Tim Moore spent an hour digging up exactly what we needed, scanned everything, and emailed it over to me. When the insurance company balked at the estimate for removing and reinstalling the motor, Rocket researched their records to figure out how long it used to take them to do the job. If anyone out there is considering buying a Rocket, rest assured the factory support is outstanding. And they turned a great airplane into the best damned airplane I've ever flown. Yes, these numbers are real: http://www.rocketengineering.com/content/rocket-performance Can't wait to see what she will do at 24,000' with Gamis, Tempest fine-wires, and Millennium cylinders!
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