Riddle78

Welp, today was kind of a wash. It got very bumpy and it was hard to keep the plane stable and get good readings. Regardless, I deliberately pulled mixture back and saw the EGT rise to 1504 before it started to fall off again. I continued pulling until the engine started feeling rough, then bumped it forward a hair. This had me at 22" MP, 2550 RPM, WOT, 1460 EGT and 365 CHT. Result: 145 KTAS so a slight improvement. What's interesting is that FF told me I was at roughly 10 GPH, so it definitely sounds like a few of you maybe on to something with that measurement being off. CHT is supposed to trend the same as EGT, correct? When I tried going ROP the CHT kept climbing above 380 and I was already above 12 GPH, but at that point I was getting bounced around quite a bit and decided to call it a day. I really appreciate everyone offering their insights. My next task is to check the EDM 700 and wait for a calm weather day to start doing some longer legs.

Bob, I think it's just my crap technique. It just recently went through an annual. The gear doors were flush with the aircraft skin and no problems were noted with the pitot static system. Motor had good compressions. Cowl flaps were closed during cruise on the last flight. I need to get over the thought of blowing up the motor and just calmly/deliberately take it through peak and record all numbers along the way. Chris

Bill, That's how the switch in mine appears in the neutral position from the camera angle. I remember checking them during climb out...that'd be pretty embarrassing if they were down. TAS is displayed in the lower left corner of the ADI just above GS. I'll do some more flying today and refine my data, particularly where I was xx degrees LOP and MP. I'll get there eventually! More to follow.... Chris

Ok everyone, After reading through all of your responses and John Deakin's article I flew roughly an hour today to test the waters again. The conditions weren't super ideal (somewhat bumpy and OAT of 70F at 8,500 ft) but I did get a good initial data point. The plane was pretty empty aside from my pink body and full tanks. WOT with 2550 RPM and, after doing the somewhat unsettling "big mixture pull", got me on average 135 KTAS and 9.4 GPH. I was able to keep the hottest CHT around 365 and an EGT of 1440ish which so far seems to produce the best result. Not the 145-150 KTAS I'm used to but I think I'll keep tweaking in better conditions over the foreseeable future. Regardless, it's pretty cool to see what LOP can deliver. As alway I welcome your feedback, perspective and critiques. Chris

Thanks for the great explanations. For some reason I've been a little gun shy about bringing the temps up to find peak. I'll take her back up this weekend to find those values and let you know what I come back with. Regarding the engine monitor, I'm using an EDM 700 so I'll be able to cycle between EGT and FF pretty quickly. Sounds like I've been letting the cylinders bang away much harder than need be... Chris

Mooney Gurus, First time posting and I've really enjoyed reading the wealth of knowledge and experience on this forum. I'm sure this is covered somewhere in the 12,000 plus posts on this website but I haven't been able to uncover a thread that speaks to this (so I apologize in advance if there is one). I've owned a '77 201 for almost two years now and I'm not sure I'm setting my cruise power effectively. For example, my last cross country took place in the following conditions: altitude 9,500, OAT 11C/53F, hottest CHT 385, hottest EGT 1363, 2500 RPM, throttle firewalled, and consuming just shy of 12 GPH. I consistently stayed between 145 and 150 KTAS...is that what I should expect? I thought I could be squeezing a little more out of it, even at that altitude. I'll be honest I don't quite grasp the whole LOP and ROP discussion, and I hesitate to take the CHTs above 400 if I don't have to. At what point does the temp typically fall back off as I approach LOP? I'm a total amateur in this regard and I hope someone can make me smarter (and help my motor last longer) with any perspective or advice. Thanks very much in advance. Chris