gsxrpilot

I think this looks fine. The only thing I do on the descent is to trim for 500 ft/min down. I leave the power settings the same. I usually go ROP once reaching pattern altitude.

You'll get BETTER cooling flying LOP at that altitude. I fly my 252 regularly between FL200 and FL260. At those altitude while ROP I have to keep the cowl flaps full open. If I pull back to LOP, the CHT's drop 30° across the board. And I can close the cowl flaps. This shows all the settings. You can see I'm LOP at 9.4 gph.

I assume you're flying a 231? The 231 is different than the other K, the 252. Once cruising at LOP, advancing the throttle just pushes you further away from Peak, or Leaner. In other words, pulling the mixture out or pushing the throttle in, will have the same effect while LOP. You want to be flying at a specific distance, or degrees on the Lean side of Peak for best efficiency. If you increase the throttle, you'll have to increase the Mixture at the same time to maintain the optimal LOP setting. That results in LOP at a higher power setting. It's pretty well accepted that the safe place to run our TSIO360's LOP is at 65% power or below. Running LOP with a wide-open throttle in our turbo engines would be effectively running LOP at 100% power. That will kill the cylinders pretty quickly unless you are very deep LOP like 80° on the lean side of peak. The engine might not run that far lean. The reason the NA guys run LOP at wide open throttle, is that they are already at reduced power because of altitude. WOT in the IO360 at 10,000 ft is probably close to 60% power already. My K at 10,000 is still making 100% power at 10,000 ft. Brian Lloyd flew his 231 around the world at FL210 and these engine settings. 31” 2450 10gph I would expect those to be the optimal settings for a 231.

I used to slip my C all the time. Now that I fly a 252 I use the speed brakes. Maybe when I get to the point I have more Mooney hours than Bob, I'll see if he knows what he's talking about

As someone said, "They just don't make them like they used to."

I drive a 2010 335i M-Sport, JB4, intercooler, charge pipe, coil over's, etc... 425 hp. Fun car.

I guess as an owner I can be happy Mooney isn't building J's or K's anymore. If they were, mine wouldn't be worth nearly as much. As it is, my 252 goes up in value every year.

I wonder how many Cirrus SR22T GTS are sold each year. Because that's the airplane that Mooney is competing with. We know Cirrus sell a hell of a lot of airplanes, but they might be mostly SR20's. And Mooney doesn't have anything to offer in that class. And that to me, is the whole problem. Well that and the Marketing department at Mooney. The M20J Allegro and the M20K Encore are the two best Mooneys ever made. Step one is go back to making those airplanes.

I'm interested in a finding a great deal on an IFD440. Used, refurbished, etc. The budget is really tight :-)

The Tower does NOT close the field to have a buffer before and after the mass arrivals. 9/27 is open and landing aircraft the entire time the mass arrival is using 36 L/R. In addition, airplanes were landing on 36 as the Mooney Caravan rolled out on Final. And if you look at the video from last year you'll see the B-29 landing on 36L while Mooney tail was still rolling out on the same runway. There is no question at all, and verified with Oshkosh Tower, that the mass arrivals reduce the wait time for those on the Fisk.

Just because something is newer doesn't necessarily make it better. We see this all the time with cars and many other items as well. IMO Mooney innovated it's self a bit past the market with the long bodies. If I were going to spend $750K on a new airplane today and my choices were an Acclaim Ultra or a 252 Encore Ultra, I'd choose the Encore. And likewise I believe if many buyers had the choice between a $600K Ovation Ultra or a 201 Allegro Ultra, I think they'd choose the Allegro. I'm not saying Mooney can do this easily, but I think they've continued to double down on the bigger/faster and in doing so blew right past efficient. I believe their core customer going back to the beginning was with them primarily because of Efficiency. And in full agreement with @LANCECASPER, the Sling is probably the closest thing to the J. But it's still not the J.

Not all of today's buyers. I personally wouldn't spend money on a fixed gear airplane. I think they're ugly. If Mooney made a new 252, I'd buy one. But they don't so I'll restore one.

It's not an either/or thing. Obviously finding a plane that has been well taken care of, is sound mechanically, is corrosion and damage free, etc. is a given. But why not get that same plane with a good panel. Upgrading the panel later will cost 3 to 4 times what it would have cost to buy the plane that already has the right panel in it. And flying with a nice panel with modern automation and information is arguably safer and certainly less work/more enjoyable, over long cross countries. Which is what the Mooney excels at.

I have almost 1600 hours on my TSIO-360. I'm planning on using Jewell Aviation http://www.jewellaviation.com/default.htm for the overhaul when my time comes. I would suggest giving them a call and getting their estimate. They publish their prices on the website, but giving them a call might be good.

There really isn't any way to answer this question. It can range from probably $25K for an overhaul from Jewell or your local A&P to $85K for a factory reman after removal, reinstallation, new hoses, etc. There are just so many variables to consider. And much of it depends on what is found when your engine is opened up. For example can the case be reused, or taken on exchange? And even to what state are you paying labor/tax rates. Just budget $100K and you'll be fine :-)

Get Maxwell to rig it when it's there. He's one of the best at getting Mooneys to fly straight and true. It will be faster as well.

I like what @Bravoman said. Get the ticket any way that works for you. Then, with full realization that you now are signed off to go LEARN, go carefully. BTW... I plan to use Gatts to knock out the Commercial this Fall.

I've used every iPad mount conceivable including some I've made myself. I've got a box full of RAM parts I should put up for sale at some point. I've settled on the MYGOFLIGHT mount. It's expensive, but really well done and easy to use. I have the Adhesive Petal Base, Sport Mount Flex Clip, and the Mountable Case.

I opened a MtDew at FL230 on the flight to MSN. I had specifically selected the plastic 1 liter bottle so I could open it VERY SLOWLY. I'm happy to report no MtDew was spilled.

I was told that using a gun cleaner works well. Mine was doing the same thing over the last month or so... I took it to Arapahoe Aero. They took a look and just ordered me a new transducer from JPI. About $300.

I do agree with @Becca that no one should be afraid of the Fisk arrival. Like I said, I've not flown it so can't comment. But if the Caravan wasn't an option for me, I'd be flying the Fisk. Oshkosh is too good to miss. The main reason I like flying with the Caravan is camping with the Caravan. The tent, generators, meals, and the friends, are the reasons I keep coming back.

How about people who have flow Fisk, comment on the Fisk and people who have flown with the Caravan can comment on that. Some of you have flown both and have actual insight here. I've never flown the Fisk, so I won't comment on it. I will say that most of the comments about the Caravan by people who have never flown with the Caravan are factually inaccurate. We also don't charge anything to show up at our tent and have a beer. The BBQ on the other hand, is only for those who have bought a ticket and that includes all Caravan members as well.

On my trip from Denver to Madison on the way to Oshkosh this year, I had some bottles on board. No issues at 23,000 ft. The Yeti soft cooler was blown up like a balloon, but the beer was fine.

And people wonder why I say, never buy a Mooney without an autopilot. Someday we might have choices, upgrades, etc. Today there isn't anything for the short bodies and precious little for the rest. If you happen to own a short body Mooney with a working Stec30/altitude hold, it might be worth more today than it's ever been.

Refill in place. There is a fill port on the right side of the fuselage aft of the baggage door. Any shop and most FBO's can fill it. Removing the bottle requires an A&P log entry and signature.