Bravoman

I have this issue in my Saratoga. The oil turns dark very quickly, and I am also using quite a bit of oil. The engine is about 1700 since overhaul (overhauled in 2001) but it runs great; all of the other parameters are excellent, compressions, temps, egt spread, etc. . What is the solution to this short of a top overhaul (which I wouldn’t do this close to TBO), if any? I am assuming that not all of the cylinders have blow by, so would the answer be to isolate the offending cylinders and re-ring?

I’m not optimistic that we will ever see the production of a new Mooney aircraft ever again. However there is most definitely money to be made making and selling the parts. I can’t imagine a scenario where someone doesn’t pick that part of the business up if the current owner doesn’t do it.

A lot has been written on this topic. Most is beyond dispute. Even going back to the beginning where Churchill knew about the plan to attack Pearl Harbor but did not do anything to warn us because he knew he needed us brought into the war because at the time there was a very strong isolationist movement in the United States as a reaction to World War I. No one seriously disputes that if it were not for lend lease and the material provided to the British before our involvement, and the United States subsequent involvement after the attack on Pearl Harbor, that an Axis victory would have been inevitable. Unlike what was said above, The German Air Force was far from finished after the Battle of Britain; quite the contrary, it did not even suffer a dent. Absent US involvement, the Germans would’ve ultimately succeeded in an invasion of the British Isles, or, at the very least, cutting off the British Isles from sources of supply and thus neutralizing the British. As demonstrated by Dunkirk in particular, the British would have never been able to invade the mainland of Europe in a fashion that would have caused the defeat of Germany. And the British would certainly have never been able to wage a two front war such that the Japanese would have been defeated in the Pacific theater.

And if it wasn’t for us the British would be speaking German. Sorry, it’s Veterans Day and I couldn’t resist!

I have a feeling that if aircraft production stops at Mooney that might be it for good this time.

Call Grant Sutherlin of Airmart at Klex. He is a well established broker up there. He will probably know everybody that’s anybody at that field.

As Alex Stone said above, the turbo is no big deal whatsoever to manage. Plus with the bravo you have a Lycoming , which I am certainly partial to. On the other side of the coin, I know that the bravo engine is not as amenable to running lean of peak which is important to some. Either way, based upon your stated mission and parameters, you probably can’t go wrong.

Just got the renewal quotation for my Mooney. My most competitive quote by far was from USAIG, my previous carrier for several years now. It went up about 70 bucks. I guess I can’t complain too much. My broker is Falcon. Some of the other carriers, such as Star and Old Republic, were hundreds of dollars more.

+1 Cole Aviation.

PP only...but obviously a lot more!

I have gotten enough experience in my bravo after about 700 hours to be comfortable putting it down on 2600 or 2700 feet, which are the short runways(6-24 and 2-20) at Augustine where we frequently go. The wind is usually ripping down those runways when I use them so that helps too.

My M is the only Mooney I have ever flown. Maybe in some strange way it made transitioning to it easier.

Y’all did my first plane for me, a Cherokee 140, back in the late 80s when I lived in Tampa and was based at Vandenberg. Always did great work. Tell Mal hello for me if you still see him around!

Just out of curiosity, I was wondering if you considered Penn Yan or Zephyr? I have a Penn Yan overhaul on my Saratoga that was done for the previous owner back in 2001, and the thing runs like a top after 1700 hrs. I know from when I was looking at potentially overhauling the engine in my bravo ( went with a factory reman for a number of reasons that were unique to my situation) that Penn Yan has a better than most warranty which is three years versus two. I know numerous people that have had excellent experiences with Zephyr, and as I write this I cannot think of any folks that I know that had work done by Zephyr that had a bad experience. I understand they really stand behind their work no matter what.

Unless that was a typo, 1 quart of oil per hour is pretty significant consumption.