Ragsf15e

Well 11.1gph is only ~69% power, not 75%. It was about 35lop, so not much different than the 20 i use at 65%. for reference, on the 220 hp (sb) engine when lop: 10.4gph = 65% 11.2gph = 70% 12.0gph = 75%

As a minimum, you need a g5 or gi275 or g3x (or maybe a g500) to act as the brains. With the aspen the op already has, this can get complicated.

So today I was cruising back from the Oregon coast at 13,000’ and tried out 70%lop. It actually settled just below 70%, but it was 31”, 2300rpm and ~11.1gph. That gave me 175ktas. Almost exactly 5kts more than the 65% I had been using and exactly what the poh chart predicted. 70% had slightly warmer chts (highest ~360 with cowl flaps closed) and tit right at 1550. Tit at 65% is usually about 1515. Even lop, you aren’t gaining much by increasing power further. It will take another ~0.8gph to get 5 more knots and probably a pretty warm tit. It decreases your fuel efficiency (gal/nm). It seems my airplane is pretty content at 65-70% lop.

The simplest gfc500 is going to be pitch and bank (no trim or yaw) but you will still need at least a g5 to run it (and a controller). That or the aerocruze are basically your only options.

All true, and it’s not good for ga, I agree. However, if nobody else can enter the market and charge a lower price, then they must be charging the “right” price. We can complain, but what is the solution? Price fixing won’t work either. If it gets high enough, someone will enter unless ga is dead by then.

Possibly, however if another company/person can fill the parts with an stc or pma and make money at a lower price, then they will. Or at least that’s the assumption our markets are based on.

Even 2k doesn’t seem bad for a part to keep a ~80k airplane going another 25 years.

I have had good luck with “electronic warehouses” that stock all kinds of old-new parts. Found a microswitch that had been superseded, but the newer one had a slightly different actuator that wouldn’t work. I would possibly expand out past the distributors if needed…

I have had good luck with “electronic warehouses” that stock all kinds of old-new parts. Found a microswitch that had been superseded, but the newer one had a slightly different actuator that wouldn’t work. I would possibly expand out past the distributors if needed…

I agree with the guys above. Instead of looking for the Mooney part number (unless it’s actually available, which in this case it’s not), pull the original manufacturer and part number off the part. If it’s been superseded, you’ll need that part number. Search by that manufacturer and part. It’s amazing what you’ll find. Make sure your mechanic is ok with using parts that are from the original manufacturer instead of being blessed by Mooney (even though they are the correct part).

There are the limit switches and the relays (which are near the actuator i think). Limit switches are exactly as you described- paddles on the rod.

I’ve used all 3 settings just to be comfortable with them (my electric flaps died in the up position a couple weeks back so I got a “real” nf landing). Personally, I like full flaps as that’s the configuration for the slowest possible touchdown and the shortest landing roll. I agree that the to position feels a little better sometimes, I expect from a combination of the extra few knots and the different view, but you can land just as well with full flaps if you practice. Caveat… i use to flaps on instrument approaches until landing is assured.

These things rock! Got us above the thin smoke layer across Oregon and northern Nevada. Yes it took 17,500’! But she’s real fast up there. Got to see Burning Man too. 6 in the pattern on adsb as we went by - no thanks!

My edm-930 was very accurate with the stock fuel probes. If they are working well, then yes, the new gage will reflect their accuracy much better than the old ones.

I tried the same G5 in my F model. No fuse but i blew the CB before I realized that the G5 can draw up to roughly 12 AMPS. You might need a dedicated circuit with a 15 amp or better circuit breaker. I did not do that, eventually I just bought the double battery for the G5 and ran it off that instead of ships power.

I run lean of peak, but no, unlikely you could run it like that! Mine is very nice at ~30” and 2350rpm and ~10.5gph at 165-180ktas between 10,000’ (165ktas) and 18,000’ (180ktas).

After I got my ppl (about 35 years ago, damn im old!) I thought the same way. Why not top it off? If landing with 1 hour is good, 2 is better for sure? And sheesh, I need to stop anyway. I think that’s a normal (and probably reasonable) way to start out. When I went to USAF pilot training we always started with tanks full, but I quickly learned that to land with an hour of fuel, I’d have to fly a max of about 2 patterns and land. Then, in the Eagle we would commonly land with about 2000lbs of fuel which sounds great, but then you realize that fuel burn on takeoff is in excess of 50,000 pph. At normal settings, it’s 30 minutes or so. Sometimes not comfortable, but if you followed the rules about having an alternate and spoke up when you needed to divert or were minimum (or emergency) fuel, it works. Why did we do it? Because otherwise you can’t get the utility out of the airplane. And Im not suggesting doing this in a Mooney either, but you trade utility (range and load) for fuel. Now, as a corporate pilot, I do this every day. It’s easy with foreflight because the planning profiles are accurate, the winds are accurate, and you can recalculate your plan as often as you like. I commonly depart with half fuel in the Meridian so I can carry 3 or 4 pax instead of 2. I am also happy to tell my boss that I need more fuel if the winds or weather change and I drop a person off the trip to add gas. I don’t get into regulatory minimum requirements with him, but I tell him I want a minimum of 1 hour fuel at landing (or alternate) and I stick to that. Now how about you and your wife in the Mooney? By all means, top it off every flight, but when the kids come, start looking at options. I would fly my M20F 525nm to my folks with my wife, 2 kids and bags. We generally landed with ~15gallons, but I couldn’t start full. I would leave ~2 gallons in one tank and 13 in the other for landing. Once I flew 600nm with them and I did run a tank dry to ensure I had everything in one tank. Landed with ~12 gallons. It’s a non event if you’re ready it barely stumbles. My family was ready and were interested but not scared. Ive also run a tank dry in my K to empty it and check fuel gage accuracy. Now that I know how accurate the CIES gages are, I wont plan on it going completely dry in cruise but I can maximize remaining fuel in one tank and the utility of the airplane by getting within a couple minutes of dry on the low one. And since Ive tested it in cruise, if I do it accidentally (I screw up), I know how it will restart. To do this, you have to be willing and confident in checking your plan as you fly, ensuring that it works, and WILLING to divert if it’s not going to meet your personal mins. Just last winter at Boeing Field in Seattle, I followed a citation down the ILS in a PA46T. It was pretty foggy, but I thought we would see the lights. He went missed, and I was on the approach but much slower than him so I thought I still had a chance. I also went missed, but I did see the lights right as I started to add power. On the missed approach the citation asked to go back around and try it again since he had also seen the lights. I thought there was a reasonable chance that the fog was moving and he would land. Approach asked me what I wanted to do? I said I want to divert to the other side of the mountains and land in Wenatchee, which was VFR. He said do you want to try the approach again? I said no I want to divert immediately. And we went and landed comfortably with an hour of fuel still. You have to be willing to make that call.

Looks awesome! I’m sure it’s discussed earlier, but you weren’t worried about heat from the black top when parked outside? Super good looking choice!

I can’t exactly remember where I got my mechanical fuel pump, but it was overhauled/exchanged. Maybe through Spruce or Aircraft Accessories? It was probably 2020, and it was always ~30-31psi on the ground - measured by an edm-930.

Wow! That thing is thirsty! But I bet it screams!

No, 39”/2600rpm is max. Id guess the cruise settings are slightly higher hp to be 65% of 220hp rather than 210hp, but I doubt it’s much different.

I’m surprised nobody has pointed this out, so maybe there’s something I’m missing, but this has been happening on a lot of Mooneys. I thought we traced it down to a newer style/brand fuel pump that has a tendency to hit right at the max of 30 or just above it, especially on the ground. I know my F was doing that after we replaced the fuel pump. I guess what I’m saying is it’s probably correct, and it is not a problem. The fuel servo can take something like 40 to 60 psi. I think @PT20J has the specs that the engine can actually tolerate.

My 252 is modified to an Encore, so the poh was updated to new power settings that should match the 220hp.

Thanks. Mine didn’t like that 75% setting with the cowl flaps closed but maybe my baffling isn’t perfect? It’s happy LOP for sure.

Yeah it’s definitely true! I had an order in for a 252 intake boot with Top Gun and they (mooney) wouldn’t fill it, but I was able to get lasar to pick it up and it’s supposedly drop shipping now. Price increased.