MBDiagMan

Nothing wrong with a carbureted short body. I miss mine. Al’s masterpiece AFAIAC..

Mine gets OAT from the JPI.

Correct. For this function it serves as no more than an E6B. It’s no different than any calculator. Garbage in, garbage out. Of course as a navigator it’s worth much more. In the right circumstance it can seem invaluable. Just curious though. What if the instrumentation has errors when doing the three way method? Just askn’.

You know, even if the numbers we saw yesterday were a little off, if you don’t think our Mooney’s are efficient, compare to a 172 XP with almost exactly the same engine and prop and are even almost 200 pounds lighter weight, with a 130 Knot top speed. My point was that our Mooneys are efficient. If somebody wants to shoot mine down that’s great, but it could be a lot slower and still be more efficient than most GA planes out there.

None! I had a problem with number three running hot, but I think an injector cleared out or something. All four now are running cool and very consistently. That’s why I had not run it lean of peak before.

If you’re hanging around this thread awaiting an approval announcement, make sure you bring a sandwich because you will certainly get hungry.

I have never doubted that is good for the engine. I have only said that it must be done correctly. I have fought a hot cylinder since I go the plane and couldn’t try it. My only contention is that it nmustbe done correctly by someone that knows what they’re doing.

The oil analysis doesn’t surprise me even a little bit. The clean burn that results from LOP should keep the oil cleaner. The lowered CHT’s will also be conducive to clean oil and should not make metal. As I wrote before, although in different words, as long as the process is done correctly, all is good. Under the right circumstances I will be learning how to use the lean find. As I get more confident in the wing leveler I should be able to do this on a cruise in the near future.

Saying that the GPS has it as an output could be misleading. It basically has a TAS calculator that you can use that gets a factor or two directly. Mine gets OAT from the JPI. It does some other things on this screen too. Just don’t get the idea that you fly along and go to that screen and read out TAS. The newer tech navigators might do that though.

When in BUMPY IMC yesterday, there was someone on the radio with partial power loss. I tried to squeeze in a silent prayer for them while I was focused on keeping the shiny side up. They made it down okay.

Don’t know if it makes any difference, but my ASI was certified for IFR flight not long ago. I do indeed understand and agree with what you’re saying. I did a two way speed run with it not long ago, just fooling around, not scientific. It was at low altitude. I will go look up the data to make sure I don’t incorrectly state it here. I went back and looked at my two way unscientific speed run and made a swag on temp and density altitude. It came in within one knot of what the model J performance table indicated for those conditions.

After looking at J performance charts, 59% power and 152 knots doesn’t look far fetched at all. I was below max gross. The J shows one 8000 ft. entry of 55% and 150 knots lightly loaded and 55% and 145 Knots at max gross. That was for a factory J so there were no gap seals tail mods and other tweaks.

You’re repeating much of what my instructor was saying. He said below 65% power LOP would be fine. I also never mentioned that once leaned out and stabilized the CHT’ were ice cube cold at lower temps than I am accustomed to seeing. Now that I no longer have a hot cylinder my CHT’s typically run in the 390’s. When he had this all set up and stabilized they were like 350 and 360. If I had it to do over again I would have asked him to take pictures of the ASI, JPI and 430, if for no other reason beyond analysis at a later time. BTW Paul, thanks for the complements on my flying. Now if this old boondocks pilot could learn to talk on the radio I could be a REAL instrument pilot.

I too am anxious to hear from a savvy J pilot.

No he used the 430 to calculate TAS. He showed me the resulting 152 knots TAS. Refer to Hanks 430 picture to see where TAS is indicated. This is a really savvy guy. I have seen the 430 used as a TAS calculator on the ground. I wish now I would have asked him to take a picture of the 430 screen, the JPI screen and the ASI. I had no idea that on a Mooney forum there would be people skeptical of such efficiency. I’m not sure why this seems impossible from a Mooney with the J mods that make it aerodynamically a J.

OAT on my 430 comes from the JPI. Yes David, if I had been doing the calculation I would have done it with a Whiz Wheel.

I completely believe that you are correct Paul, but I have gotten the impression that the success of LOP is in the hands of the person adjusting the mixture control. Someone like yourself and several other folks I know will have/are having great success with it. It is not a process to be approached casually without attention to detail. I have observed a few planes get cylinders all too often. These planes are flown by great folks, but not someone who understands everything involved and don’t apply adequate care and attention when setting it up. I’ve also heard from several knowledgeable A&P’s that the engine shops can look at a cylinder and piston set and tell you if it’s been running LOP. I expect that what they are seeing are cylinders that were run LOP by someone who did not have a good working knowledge of the process. I am still a rookie pilot, although a very old one. If I EVER get a decent autopilot where I can climb out and then be able to Take the time to carefully and accurately lean it, I believe there will be a time when I can have the same success with it that you do. Until that point I’ll be burning extra gas. IMG_2105.MOV

I’ve seen it done twice Mike, but don’t remember how to do it. It’s not as if there is a button you push for a TAS readout. There is just a screen where it knows some of the factors in the equation and you twist in one or two others. It is in the Flight Planning menu. A fancy calculator. It’s in the manual. I darn sure didn’t pay close attention to the process on this flight. I was flying on instruments the whole trip with nothing but a Britain wing leveler to help. When he did it we were at altitude in smooth air. Most of the trip was bouncing my butt off while keeping the top side up with instruments.

My C turned in better numbers than yours but it had all the speed mods except for a J cowl. I am under the impression that air speed is not headwind or tailwind dependent. Aerodynamically my F is effectively a J.

Was doing some flying today and the instructor in the right seat started playing with engine settings and using the Lean Find feature on the JPI. I’m not a big fan of LOP, but I didn’t mind him doing so since it’s not regular practice and was a fun and enlightening experiment. We were cruising at 8,000 feet. He leaned it out and had it at 59% power and 7.3GPH I think. I know it was seven something and believe it was 7.3. It was cruising straight and level in pretty smooth air. The only time we were in smooth air I think. Once he had that done he used the 430 to determine TAS and it was 152 knots. The engine wasn’t running smooth, but the cylinders were running nice and cool. Now this is some efficiency folks. I won’t be repeating that very much, but it really says something about Al’s work. BTW, this is a ‘67 F with all the J mods to include nose, windshield and the normal gap seal and tail mods. It had pretty full tanks and about 400 pounds of pilot, copilot and baggage.

I put a card compass in my C and then moved it to my J. No issues in either plane. I was prepared to buy the balancing balls both times, but it was unnecessary. This led me to believe it might be something in the cockpit besides the steel cage that causes some folks to have trouble with the card compass.

Yes Steingar. I did not mean to imply that Al gamed the system. He was smart and just learned what it took to make it happen.

Where is Al Mooney when you need him? One of his specialties from his very beginning was knowing how to work the system to get things certified.

Mine is between 12 and 13. I don’t remember what I ran into, but adjusting was NOT simple in my case. I had to correct how the switch was mounted before it was in the correct range, so don’t assume that it will be ten minute job it’s supposed to be. If it turns out to be a problem, search for a thread that I started probably a year and a half or so ago. There are pictures and I posted the solution to what I ran into.

If I could put in a GFC500 with all that equipment including the G5 for $14K installed I would drop it off at the installers hangar tomorrow.