Leaderboard

I’ve known Monroe McDonald since the 1980’s as a ham operator I used to talk to every day on the way to and from work. I recognized his distinctive voice on the LiveATC recording. I flew in the BD-4 he built way back then and kept at a hangar in Addison in the days when you could afford one there . He was very familiar with the entire area around Addison. Most people may not know he’s the guy who proved with tufting that the airflow in an M20C is OUT of the oil cooler and had built a plexiglass duct to mount on front of the oil cooler intake hole to force the air to flow IN. The last ADS-B datapoint I saw showed a 1000fpm climb rate and a very slow ground speed. The accident occurred near the end of civil twilight IIRC. I’ll let the investigation play out. Rest in peace Monroe, K5DUS SK

Trust me, I've had my civics lesson from the same US Attorney (Central CA) 40 years ago when he tried to charge me with conspiracy for flying the company airplane with the boss aboard to a meeting where an alleged environmental violation occurred at Lake Tahoe. That turned out to be a bust for them because the Grand Jury told him to pound sand in my case. I used to innocently think prosecutors did not waste their time charging innocent people, or charging people with more crimes than they actually did. Equally so I was picked to serve on a state Grand Jury about 20 years ago. The crap that was paraded before us shocked me to the core. There was attempts as in my case to ruin innocent people's lives by shoving them into the system on bogus charges just to get at somebody else. In the past years with the abuse of the FISA court along with an entire hoax ran through the same court, and with my personal experiences I've learned personally and up close to only believe what is proven in front of a jury or admitted by the defendant. I am not defending Trevor Jacob, he did a bad thing but I will not attribute to him, things he did not admit to, or the prosecutor did not prove. If a prosecutor wants to allege more, prove it otherwise they need to STFU. That is the way our founders envisioned it to work. Silly me, I actually believe in the Bill of Rights

I think you may be mixing apples and oranges just a bit here. My apologies up front if I'm pointing out things that are already obvious to you. 1750 TIT and 1650 TIT are redline limits for continuous operation; 1750 from the M20M POH and 1650 from the Lycoming Engine Operating Manual. It appears you are equating these limits with peak TIT, which is most likely not the case at a given power setting and flight condition. For instance on my last flight at 6,000', 30"/2200 RPM my peak TIT was 1665 and I ran at 13.4 GPH and 1615 TIT, 50 degrees LOP. If I chose to run ROP I would be running 100-150 ROP at a maximum TIT of 1565, and more probably closer to 1515, and about 16.5-18.0 GPH. At higher altitudes and/or different power settings the peak TIT would be different. The actual peak TIT, not the redline limit TIT, is the basis for setting your fuel flow to give you the desired TIT delta whether you're running ROP or LOP. The actual peak TIT may be above the redline TIT. In my case I also monitor the individual EGTs to make sure the individual cylinders are LOP by at least 35 degrees for my nominal power settings. If they aren't I've got some adjusting to do. As to the how and why of my engine management, it's derived from the same research you've been doing and applying all that I've learned from it. Attentiveness to mag health and timing, plug wires, fine wire plugs, a GAMI spread under 0.5, and lots of patience refining the power and fuel flow settings to arrive at what works for my engine. I run the same fuel flow references for 75% and 70% power with similar, slightly cooler TIT results. In the mid teens I see TIT 40 LOP right at 1600. My CHTs at 13.2-13.4 GPH sit at 335-350, also in line with your engine. I can run smoothly at 30"/2200 RPM down to less than 11 GPH where power drops lower than is useful. I have GAMIs and they may help with that, but I don't have comparative data from the stock injectors. Cheers, Rick

Okay boys! Check out my latest project for this winter….

You either have insufficient cooling airflow, excessive internal cylinder pressure (mixture,timing, etc) or both. It looks as though that, for the most part, you’ve eliminated fuel delivery as a potential problem. If this we’re a timing issue, the problem would very likely manifest across all cylinders. So an airflow issue seems most likely. In rare cases, exhaust leaks can blast a cht probe and cause false readings. Are all other CHTs in the normal range? Are you able to upload engine monitor data? Have you thoroughly examined the internal cylinder baffles?

So much nonsense and over thinking in my opinion! How do you get any flying done? I've flown my plane, as of today 4,125.38 hours and am on my 3rd engine. As mentioned before, my 1st engine went to 2,295 hours after the Bravo conversion at 1,300 hours. The second engine had 1,600 hours on it and would have made it to TBO were it not for a shop incident. In the interest of saving over $50,000 I decided to replace the engine at that time rather than doing a tear down and still having to replace that engine about 3 years later based on my flying time per year. As mentioned previously, at mid time I needed to overhaul both the turbo and waste gate on both engines. I had exhaust work done on both engines. The exhaust is the weakest part of that engine. Now I lean to TIT of just under 1600 and confirm FF of 17.5 to 18.3 depending of time aloft with 18.3 being the 1st hour and 17.5 thereafter. Even GAMI's George Braly couldn't explain the difference. Be my guest if you want to tax your brain with any deeper thought about how to lean this engine. This is how I've run my engines for the past 31 years that I've owned my plane. BTW I don't run my engine LOP. Even with a GAMi spread of .3 neither I nor my usual passenger likes the occasional roughness or the speed reduction.

You can also check the area around the wing sumps, inboard gear well and the belly pan next to the sumps for blue stains. We had a K model in our shop last month weeping at the inboard rear corner of the tank and the owner was smelling fuel in the cockpit..

I think there will still be some very minor variations based on cruise IAS? For example 115kias at 12,500’ might require a little right rudder while 150kias at 4,500’might require slightly left rudder even though they are about the same cruise TAS. Since we have no trim, the rigging aims for the middle of “cruise”, but that might vary, no?

We just did an annual on my Bravo, 750h on the factory reman, I run 2300/30" in cruise, 110 dF ROP on first EGT to peak, TIT typically 1580 dF, 18-18.5 GPH, power reductions not to exceed 2"/Min, typically 15dF CHT reduction per minute, gamis 0.3 gph spread, cylinders all 75-76, engine appears quite happy, my A&P said keep doing what you are doing, keep fingers crossed!

One sender is in the root; the other is at the outboard end of the tank. Either can cause an odor in the cabin. The one at the root is obviously in the cabin. But there is a path along the leading edge of the wing for the gas to go downhill into the cabin. I’d check outboard first because you don’t have to remove interior panels. Look for blue fuel stains. Skip

As for locking the door, when I first got my Mooney there was all sorts of "stories" about baggage doors popping open in flight. The more I talked to Mooney owners it became clear that people probably just didn't latch the door, it didn't "pop open" on it's own. And as @EricJ pointed out, it's a LOT easier for rescuers to open the baggage door if needed if it's NOT locked. As for the key, I would leave my keys in the baggage door lock while doing the external checks and loading. Then when it was time for me to get in the plane, I'd get my keys and make sure the door was latched (with a little tug to make sure both pins went in).

Unless you're flying a Mooney Mite where you can turn the plane by sticking your arm out one side......

The very first MAPA PPP event I attended, we were instructed to lock the baggage door to ensure it did not open during flight. I have been told (unverified) that there are no recorded instances of the baggage door coming open in flight if it is locked. I do not know if that's true, but I lock the baggage door before every flight...its a checklist item.

I just use seatbelts... pilot side on left side of yoke, passenger on right side. Wondering if there are any cons to doing that now?

The new owner of my plane declined the BatteryMINDer. You may need additional hardware since the connector remains attached to the airplane. Also comes with a box of accessories, as pictured. I kept this connected all the time whenever my plane was in the hangar and never had a problem. Asking $150. Available for local pickup at KSEE or I can meet you in Southern California at a mutually agreed time and location. Shipping included if meeting my asking price.

Excellent! We love success stories.

I think I read that the average US driver goes 30-something miles per day. Back in your garage at the end of day, you plug it in, and it's ready again the following morning. To make it work, you need a charger in your garage on a 30- or 40-amp circuit. Most Tesla drivers don't charge away from home. It's like having a gas station at your house.

Rather than swap the probe position on #4, can you swap the probe to an adjacent cylinder in order to prove that your readings are accurate and not caused by a faulty probe? Second, since the IO-550A is unique to the Missile, I assume that your mechanic took pictures of all the baffling, cabling, hoses, etc before removing/tearing down your engine for the internal inspection. Do you have those pics to compare with your current baffling?

Do you wear a flame resistant suit and helmet when you fly? Do you remove the key from your double-cylinder dead bolts at night, and drop a bar across the door so that it can't be forced? Is your kitchen fire extinguisher sitting on the counter with the pin pulled, so that you only have to point it and pull the trigger? Do you wear a raincoat and rubber booties when using your umbrella on rainy days? We each have to decide how far down the safety chain we wish to go. I'm quite happy leaving the towbar in the front axle while parked in my hangar, and it looks like you are, too.

Glad to hear the corrosion fix is done! The one on my Mooney was installed years ago and looks like it was ~$1500 at the time of the gear up fix (2006). Not sure who has them now besides LASAR. Maybe @Alan Fox might? -Don

Hi Skip!! take a look!!! used the ABS plastic , thanks for your advice

I mistyped, should have been "ailerons and elevator."

@Tim-37419 "MOAs are established to contain nonhazardous, military flight activities including, but not limited to, air combat maneuvers, air intercepts, low altitude tactics, etc." So nonparticipating aircraft would the aircraft that aren't military. VFR and IFR civilian aircraft would be nonparticipating. https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/pham_html/chap25_section_1.html

You missed the point. Mooney's trim with stabilizer, don't need a servo tab to add control power. Cessna's trim with the tab which introduces force for trimmed flight. I've only looked closely at a 1980K. The trailing edge of the elevator is extended about an inch more than a J by an extra piece of sheet metal. I presume to provide additional authority for the power plant installation affect on CG.

Are the seatbelts long enough to reach the rudder pedals?

But @A64Pilot, what counts is not "time remaining" of 8 minutes; you could wait 6 more minutes and show Time Remaining = 2 minutes. What counts is the total time spent charging. From home to Mom's place in the mountains, not always flyable, is 350 miles across Atlanta. I live 40 miles from a charging station. Even gassing up there and driving home first, I can then drive to Mom's and a couple of hours back before spending almost ten minutes putting 17-18 gallons into my Altima, then I can drive home and commute to work several days. With an electric vehicle, charged overnight at home to 100%, stopping to recharge before reaching 20%, not charging above 80%, would add two stops each way, call it an hour, making the drive 7-1/2 hours plus Atlanta traffic delays plus stops for food, etc. No thank you! That's my problem with electric cars--I'm supposed to happily pay more for less capability, less flexibility in where & when I go, and accept less durability, all so the politicians can look good to each other??? Not with my money and time!

Replaced both sides. Don't have SoS - my previous left mag was impulse. Two shop hours to replace the harness.

By "perfectly balanced " you do mean the correct trailing edge heavy weight required- correct? I think to be correct we would need to see what was called for on the Mooney drawings- lead, linotype lead, babbitt lead. etc. Strength is only one of the design requirements that would be called out on the required reference material. There is an FAA webinar on the 20th dealing with the currently approved ways to keep our vintage aircraft supplied with parts. I intend to listen in "Pro Tips for Maintenance Vintage Aircraft Replacement and Modification Article VARMA" Topic: Do you fly or maintain Vintage aircraft? This webinar can help with how you maintain the aircraft along with part substitution. On Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 19:00 Central Standard Time (17:00 PST; 18:00 MST; 20:00 EST; 15:00 HST; 16:00 AKST; 18:00 Arizona; Thursday, December 21, 2023 01:00 GMT)

The GMA345 has a built in USB as well.

PTT ready to go. I'll have that hooked up during annual (after Maxwell's does the swap). Pretty easy to do after I figured out how to route the wires through the PC tubes. After I got everything done, I was able to push the PTT switch into the cavity where the PC switch was. I used a vacuum cap and cut it, put it in the opening, and after the switch was soldered and shrink tubed, was able to push it in after confirming the fit. Fit is real nice and the PTT switch is in very solidly set -- can be removed too if need be. -Don

Ah yes, how could I forget that brilliant business gambit... which worked perfectly, obviously.

Possibly ditch the gma345 for a pma450b which has built in usb c, ditch the additional usb ports and continue to use cheap usb adapter from cigar lighter. Won’t save 25% but it’s something, and pma450 is really good.

It is. And it is the same turbo as the 231.

I dislike DZUS fasteners, in my opinion it’s worth replacing them with SS phillips head Camlocs. Stainless is purdy and doesn’t rust. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/hapages/sb-ss-protruding.php?clickkey=3745281 Phillips head because slotted screwdrivers eventually slip and scratch the panel. Speaking of which a “snoopy tool “ is what you’re supposed to use on Dzus not a screwdriver. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/hapages/dzussnoopytool12-04763.php Snoopy doesn’t have a sharp edge and is less likely to scratch and if you look the slot in a Dzus isn’t flat.

I know it was early. My comment wasn’t a challenge to the post, just a comment about what they’ve done since.

Apologies for not foreseeing the future when I posted this two months ago. Sheesh, tough crowd! But you're right, that's far more transparent than anything Mooney has done since the takeover. A sudden flurry of hype and big promises, a new and typo-ridden website with amateur-written copy, a forum no one uses, a "Mooney of the Month" feature that was awarded once and never spoken of again, and that's about it. The carbon cowl and gross weight increase STCs must be coming any minute, but we've heard nothing more about them for years now.

Embedding the video helps him get more clicks...

No evidentiary or proof issue at this point. A plea agreement like this will limit itself to a one count Information, even if they might charge other offenses. Happens every day. Various strategic and tactical reasons from both the prosecution and defense side Jacob agreed he lied. They’d probably allege more if it were contested. Just using my background to explain the official record. BTDT. Consider it Civics 301.

Baby the exhaust. Having a cylinder lose compression won't be life-threatening. Having the tailpipe separate and breathe fire into the cabin is life-threatening. The previous owner of the third Bravo I owned had run it hot. I looked over the exhaust, but missed this. Glad I caught it soon after purchase. When that separates the exhaust burns through the firewall and into the cabin. There has been loss-of-life over this very issue.

Do all of the Bravos need GAMIs to run power settings on the lean side? This thread interests me. It seems to me that TIT redline is more centered on Turbo longevity, not cylinder longevity. I see that everyone is advocating for using TIT to set power. I understand why. On the rich side of peak, cylinder to cylinder power variation is minimal even with cylinder to cylinder mixture differences as much as 50-150 degrees from peak. However, in a perfect world, would it not be better to be aware of both EGT and TIT? Would it not be better to set power with EGT as long as the setting results in a reasonable TIT number.

Your analysis seems accurate but I don't think I've ever flown an aircraft with controls I preferred better than the Mooney's push pull tubes; particularly when in turbulence. I've never considered the design as a trade off. I've always felt like there was more "slop" or lost motion in a cable / pulley design. I've only flown Pipers and Cessnas though (and that was a long time ago). I do wish the elevator friction at the ball joint was better.

Just to bring my own experience with fuel to the discussion. The first plane I owned, N6085W, was a simple Cherokee 140. A few years after I sold it it was crashed due to fuel exhaustion, killing one and seriously injuring another. Myself, I once landed, at night, with 1.5 gallons usable fuel, thinking I had well over 10 gallons left. The next day I bought a fuel flow computer, and have been using one in every plane I owned religiously. The suggestion to start every flight with 30 gallons is not appealing to me. Even assuming you could know for sure you have exactly 30 gallons, which I doubt, that leaves 20 gallons to use after you take reserve into account. (For me the last 10 gallons are never to be touched.) With climb power burning 18 gph, that is a 1:45 flight at max. I bought this plane to travel long legs in one go, like Madison to Nashville. Why would I make a stop on such a trip?

No, he’s right, a Mooney is heavy on the controls specifically for the reason he states, limited control throws. I keep meaning to measure out of curiosity but I think total aileron throw is only 45 degrees or so for a total of about 90 degrees, about half what it is on some aircraft. Additionally a Mooney isn’t as responsive particularly in roll as many GA aircraft, the illusion of being “sports car like” comes from the very limited control throws not actually pitch and roll rates. However that’s not a bad thing, the mission is cross country flight at decent airspeed and relatively high efficiency, it’s not to go out and fly aggressively dreaming of being top gun, being a little heavy adds in stability and particularly cuts down on pilot induced oscillation. Coming out of a C-210 it’s light on control especially pitch, and coming out of a C-140 it feel like your flying a dump truck, all three are very good airplanes, just different.

He's just kidding. The motor is really for the wheel chair.

@Sabremech hi David, I am monitoring the topic for some time and was wondering if there’s any update. I would really like to reface my E and calm those CHTs. Thanks

Does your wife know you put aircraft parts on her kitchen island?

How close am I to TBO?

I would get one from LP aero, get the grey tinted one, not the green and for sure the thicker one, because the thicker one reduces noise by quite a bit

The cheek panels are mainly for inspection but I’ll also have the option for louvers in that panel for say the turbo charged airplanes for additional air flow. I hope that it’s an optical illusion! It’s also not sitting all the way together and not tight to to firewall flange. Thanks, David

Condensed from the other topic on converting J to Missile: Converted my J to a Missile 20 years ago. It is a 1980 model so it required wing tips per mod. Added one piece belly for speed and convenience. Twin Aspens, 530W/430W stack, WX500, GDL88, Flightstream 210, Century 41. Added Monroy long-range tanks due to thirst. As said by others the Missile is tightly cowled without cowl flaps. On hot Texas or NM summer days, esp. if at large/busy towered airport, have a long taxi or extended hold for IFR release I might experience high oil temp on ground and high cylinder temps on take off. I used to fret about it while holding but there isn't a lot you can do other than aggressive leaning on the ground. I simply expedite TO as much as quickly as possible and once airborne I just lower the nose a bit, gain speed and sometimes reduce power a tad to get oil and cylinder temps under control. In 20 years I have replaced one cylinder due to a valve and one due to compression/oil consumption. The IO550A is simple, rugged and thirsty. I like the Altitude Compensating Fuel Pump (some here don't). As long as temperatures are in line I take off and climb wide open firewall forward Throttle/Prop/Mixture all the way to assigned altitude (KISS -Keep It Simple Stupid "Set and Forget"). At altitude I typically cruise at 2,400 RPM and then lean 75 degrees ROP. The standard Cont. injectors are well balanced w/ temps even. The starter adapter on the IO550 can be a problem but that is a Continental problem (not Missile specific). As I said previously I haven't found the need for speed brakes on the Missile. I can dirty up the Missile quickly, chopping power, pitching up, dropping gear and partial flaps. The gear mechanism is stout and for over 2 decades has always been reliable for the task. The IO550 is just fine if I pull throttle quickly.- Twenty years is a pretty good indicator although i am sure some here will disagree. You will not want to land on grass, gravel or dirt. The prop clearance is a weak point. The 3 blade Hartzell Scimitar is 75 inches vs the stock McCauley at 74 inches. You may think one (1) inch is immaterial but with the added weight of the IO550 and prop hanging farther out on the same 3 Lord Discs you get greater oscillation on rough surfaces or a poor landing. If you are on soft ground the nose gear will sink in due to the additional weight of the 550 and 3 blade prop. I can tell you from experience that one person cannot move the plane if that happens. There are several threads on MS of Missile owners refusing to park on grass or wrecking a prop on dirt/grass-Seth, Aug '19 destroyed prop in mud at OSK, FloridaMan, Apr '19 refused to park in grass at Sun n Fun. The full feathering Hartzell PHC-C3YF-2UF is great but rare. If you need parts, Hartzell may need to manufacture. This year I needed the lower half of the spinner (essentially a glorified aluminum salad bowl with a hole in the middle). It cost $2,000 and I had to wait 6 weeks for it to be manufactured. The full spinner 2 piece cone with brackets is $4,000 (none were available nationwide either at the time). The Rocket Eng exhaust is a weak point. It suffers from corrosion. I know one owner from Houston who lost the tail pipe in flight. My A&P found one shop that can repair/fab the exhaust and the product is better than Rocket. The greater weight and flex can lead to more fuel tank leakage. I fight that issue from time to time.