81X

With both vacuum instruments failing at the same time, it’s probably your pump, plumbing, and/or regulator that has failed. In addition, your low vac light or suction probe has probably also failed, does it illuminate when your engine is off and all electronics are on? (It should). Relatively simple system that a good AP can fix in a jiffy.

My hangar mate had a super Viking and I used to fly it with him to stay current while my Mooney was in for upgrades. It was shocking to me how much power you needed on approach. Really neat, fun airplane to fly! So unique for a traveling machine with wooden wings and a rag tube fuselage. The super Viking handled turbulence well, was a dream to fly, and was fast in flight. The speed was important if that meant first to the pumps, because it burnt some serious fuel!

I’ll note that my 231 is terrible at producing cabin heat with the cowl flaps full open, just ok with the cowl flaps in “trail”, and will cook you out of the airplane (excluding your frozen toes) with cowl flaps closed with the heat lever full open. I’ll also open the defroster valve to spread the heat around a little more when it’s really cold out. Cowl flaps are the biggest variable in maximum heat output for me with ROP/LOP and lower power settings (descending) being contributing factors. Ensuring the overhead and “knee” fresh air vents aren’t leaking substantially is also on my pre winter checklist.

My base elevation is about 800 and my HR also increases by 10-20 bpm when I cruise at 9-10k and not on oxygen. Doesn’t seem to go down much even on oxygen at that altitude.

This “somehow” you mention is probably because your avionics master is a “normally closed” relay, and it needs power to open (master on, avionics master off situation). Since electrons flowing are typically faster than a mechanical device opening contacts, the avionics bus will ever so briefly get power while the relay is opening. For devices that have batteries onboard to power them up fully after this, such as a G5, it senses this power and fires up.

Pull alt static when this happens. A small amount of water in the static system can do this and it’s super annoying. Could also be control lube or even Mis-programmed, ask @donkaye about that. to answer the OP’s questions, I was the first mid body with the GFC500 and had a couple of Servos in the impacted range replaced about a year ago after the trim servo acted up a couple times. Failure mode was just that I had to manually trim, it wasn’t runaway trim or anything terrible like that. Zero troubles since and way more trustworthy than my KFC150 it replaced.

I like 2,000 RPM. The main reason being a more complete systems check at a power setting that is closer to what you’re about to ask the engine to do vs 1700rpm or so. It’s not just a mag check, it’s also a fuel systems check of sorts. in a Cherokee 180 I was once in, that higher power setting on run up caught that the left seat person cycled the fuel to “off” and that was just enough to drain the bowl during run up vs on takeoff. just my thoughts, no hard science behind it

In my 231, there are metal clips on the ceiling just before the windscreen and I hang it from there. Presumably the clips were from the factory visors?

LDJ is probably closer to EWR and you can probably avoid more vehicle traffic. won’t be cheap, but probably less expensive than keeping a Mooney at EWR or TEB.

I just replaced my baggage door seal at annual and bought the factory one from Mooney via Lasar. It’s great and fits perfectly. The mechanic commented that he has tried a number of different seals, but for this instance, factory is best for fit, finish and longevity, but not price!

Hello! Are there any MSers heading to Triple Tree at all for their fly in? It started Monday but the weather here (I live about 40NM away) has been mediocre so far this week. However, the weather Thursday through Sunday looks to be what aviation dreams are made of- mid to upper 70's and sunny by day, 50's at night- perfect for camping. This is one of the nicest grass fields you can land on just about anywhere, and if you want to have an extra smooth landing, you have a 7,000x400 runway to grease it on. Pro tip- there are VFR GPS waypoints you can use to help with the arrival procedure- VPWLW for "Wally World" and VPENO for "Enoree" I'm planning to make the long 15 minute flight sometime on Saturday and camp with my little one that evening. Anyone else going? https://tta.aero/aviation-events/triple-tree-fly-in/pricing-check-in/ https://tta.aero/pilot-information/ For those requiring further motivation for Saturday, the dinner and beverage schedule looks wonderful: Saturday – Triple Tree’s World Famous BBQ dinner BBQ pork BBQ Chicken Baked Beans Cole Slaw Bread Cookies Tickets $25 Cash bar open 5:30 to 8:30 courtesy of Rotties 221 Biergarten

I use the cutoff mixture method for hot starts on my TSIO360 and @LeRoy Johnston ‘s question had me perplexed as well, thanks for the explanation as to why/how it works, @jaylw314! I also run the boost pump for 5-7 seconds at cutoff to pressurize the lines (and circulate out vapor?) before attempting to crank. Works great about 100% of the time on hot starts.

You are most welcome, @p51p28, it was great meeting you as well! We are all similar in our enjoyment of aviation, even if the brand doesn’t fit the mission, person or preferences. I have yet to meet a pilot I didn’t like, maybe we are the highest form of life. I’m even friends with a Baron guy and enjoy flying it from time to time, as much as it pains me to admit that!

Hi @p51p28 and welcome! I’m really close by at KAND and I just got my K 231 back from annual so a short hop to AHN for some ops checks before resuming long trips with the family fits my mission for the weekend. I upgraded from a Cherokee 180 to my Mooney a few years ago so you probably have the same questions I had. Send me a DM if you don’t have other arrangements for this weekend, with Sunday being best for me. Also happy to chat on any random questions.

Especially when taking off in IFR conditions, I’ll dial the heading to runway (or assigned/obstacle, etc.), enable heading mode and use the VS mode at +700, reasonable altitude bugged and FD on. That way, if I need/want, it’s just hitting the AP button and then it’s easy to navigate/communicate/etc. I’m not a huge fan of the TOGA function for takeoffs, mostly due to less control.

I use oxygen in my 231 in the exact same manner. Manage to your SPO2 numbers via oxygen flow, using the flow meter as a general reference. That way, you don’t let hypoxia convince you that you’re fine when you’re not.

Great input on the CDT, I realize it is required on the 231 and didn’t think to ask Garmin if they support that- I would think yes but I will ask. While I have an intercooler, it is an older, airflow systems intercooler and doesn’t use differential temperature for power management like the Turboplus, it only uses OAT for power curve adjustment. That said, I would love to see the differential to get a better understanding of the intercooler’s effectiveness in different environments.

Couldn’t agree more- new wiring is a big deal on these aging airframes.

Interesting. Do you find the 900 big enough vs the 930?

I would be gaining something- real estate on the panel by going EIS, but your point is good. In addition, my JPI is the 830, so I’d need to upgrade to a 900/930 which is almost as much as the EIS. As old school as it is, I’d like to have space for a storm scope/strike finder, unless I can find an affordable WX500. I’m not sure I could jam in a G3X, G5, JPI930 and a spherics display into the left panel. Many decent options, good problems to have!!

I fly a M20k 231 and had both the QT halos and Clarity Aloft. I liked both but liked the Clarity Aloft just a little better, mostly because it fit me a little better. I prefer these to ANR headsets especially in the Southeast where it’s hot and humid half the year. I also find myself less fatigued after long flight legs as well, maybe because of the lack of head clamping but it could also be because the audio is much clearer than my over the ear PNR headset. as a bonus, the CA headset also plays music very well through my BT audio panel.

Since they used my K for the mid body certification, I can back that statement up firsthand. They are a top notch organization with some great people and processes. They did not screw around with ensuring everything was up to par before, during and after the certification and were excellent and were super responsive the whole time.

Thanks. For some reason, I thought the G3X might be able to display it all on a single screen. Someone has got to have a turbo with a single 10” and EIS.

Do any turbo drivers here have a single G3X 10” with the Garmin EIS? For me in the 231, it’s critical to see the TIT, all CHTs and fuel flow in numerical format, all the time without toggling screens. In addition, I would really like to simultaneously see EGTs, but that’s not as critical. Anyone know if this is possible on a single 10” and have photos? Context- trying to plan upgrade paths to a JPI 900/930 or G3X for factory gauge replacement.

What is your battery voltage at idle check and at run up/cruise RPM? Sounds like possibly a tired battery that has enough voltage and cranking amps to start the airplane but can’t hold enough voltage. This could be exacerbated by the fact that generators and even some alternators (such as my gear driven one) don’t produce 13.5 or so volts at idle.