Leaderboard

Several have said this - don't try to force a Mooney that is gliding in ground effect to land before it is ready - I do the following to remind myself sometimes - I remind myself to flair and then TRY NOT to land. I try to float in that ground effect for as long as possible, and to do that requires slowly pulling back on your yoke, which is what you are supposed to do anyway. Eventually you just sink down to the runway mains first. The whole thing unfolds in just a few seconds anyway but this mindset helps me land nicely.

What's wrong with those Oregon CFI's??? Not that you really needed one. Now the fun begins, in earnest. Great story about your flight. Now add some home base, registration #, and model ID to your signature. Clear skies!

The problems is the same as the problems that early TLS had. The attitude is the POH says I can do 220knots (in case of Bravo), or 240knots (in case of Acclaim) and that's what people expect. The truth is that Bravo is a 200knot airplane and the Acclaim is a 220knot airplane in the flight levels. Must keep cylinders under 380 degrees, as simple as that. How you get there is no as important as getting there. I find LOP operations to be pain in the ass and the speed loss unacceptable so I pump between 16 to 22 gallons per hour thru my engine depending how fast I want to go. But that's because I'm running a pain in the ass engine, a TIO540AF1B. If I was running the Acclaim, I'd get GAMIs and cruise LOP all day long and still see 200knots at 14 an hour or so. The problem is the people trying to get 240 on the book burn of 21. That's how you get a top overhaul every 400 hours.

I'm thinking that you are coming over the fence with a bit too much energy and leveling off too high. Every situation is different, but in normal conditions I would want to be 5-10 knots slower over the fence, say 70 knots. I am full flaps, generally with only idle power, but I will add a touch if density altitude is a factor. I fly the plane down to where I feel the wheels are about 6 inches over the runway. How do I know? I don't know...I basically use the force. Then I wait. Being impatient, or trying to force the plane onto the runway, has been the cause of many a Mooney accident. I wait for the plane to decide that it's ready to land and as it tries to settle on the runway, I hold the nose where it was on the horizon, until the mains have contacted the runway. People make the mistake of arriving in ground effect with too much energy and try to land the plane instead of setting the conditions for the plane to land itself. Hope that helps.

I agree the "C" model is the best bang for the buck. All else being equal, avionics, engine times, overall condishion. The C will cost less to aquire (less than half of a 201), and is cheaper to maintain.

dang this thread is depressing - I am going to sell my J and get a race car. I do agree with what you guys are saying though You are indeed buying a 300K airplane - whose parent company is bankrupt and not producing regular parts.

Ask them to show you in print. To borrow a phrase, "In God we trust, all others bring data."

You might check this out: http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pspages/rta400.php