CoffeeCan

Bryan, my JPI monitor is an EDM 830.

Bryan, that chart is awesome. Was that made with an intercooled engine? Thanks.

Need some advice here from you more experienced Mooniacs, particularly the turbo drivers. I’m 6 weeks and 47 hours into my new-to-me M20K, and the learning curve isn’t quite so steep now as it was. I’m currently studying engine settings and I’m a tad unsure about where my climb and cruise settings should be. My airplane is a 1985 M20K, recently purchased from Jimmy and David at All American in Spring Branch, TX. The engine had total overhaul 135 hours ago, and is equipped with an intercooler and Merlyn wastegate with GAMIjectors. It has a JPI installed, but lacks fuel flow and oil temperature transducers... my local avionics shop is a JPI dealer and will be installing those in September. My question stems from an article on the MAPA website, I’m unsure of the author... I’m sure y’all are familiar with it. Former Mooney test pilot in the 80’s, when the 231 and252 came out. (Ed ?) Ive been using the POH data card for my cruise and climb power settings to date, but I’ve been bothered by the high oil temps I’m seeing on my panel (analog, noncalibrated) oil temp gauge. POH says cruise at 75% power is 30.7” and 2500RPM for 173 KTAS at 12,000 MSL. I’m getting closer to 178 KTAS with those numbers, which brings me to think I’m running the engine too hot. I have to run ROP-TIT by 125 degrees or more (which means I’m burning 12+ gph) to keep oil temps in the green, and cowl flaps half open unless OATis under 10 C. The MAPA article says that with an intercooler I should be running at 28” and 2500 and mixture at 50 degrees ROP, or I’ll overstress the engine. Makes sense, I guess. But it also says with a wastegate I can run at factory settings, 31” and 2500, and 50 degrees ROP TIT. I’m equipped with both intercooler and Merlyn wastegate, so which recommendation should I be following for best cruise power without burning up my cylinders? Which the brings up the next question... can I and should I be running this engine LOP? I ran my 172 XP’s Continental IO-360 at 25 degrees LOP, and it was a beautiful thing. I am reading contradictory recommendations on LOP for the 231 on the innanet, so want to pick y’all’s brains. Thanks in advance for the opinions.

Sure. David McGee, at All American in Bulverde, TX. He used to be chief test pilot for the factory in Kerrville. Very interesting guy.

This is a timely thread for me. I just completed my first long-distance trip in my 1985 M20K (2260 NM) and was very interested in the fuel gauges and fuel burn en route, as well as before and after fill-ups. The discrepancies I noted during my trip are at least partly explicated by the posts I'm reading on here. FWIW, I met with the avionics man at my home airport this morning and we arranged for him to install a fuel flow transducer on my JPI monitor (as well as an engine oil temp transducer). After that is in, I'm going to work on nailing down the numbers for my useful fuel capacity, fuel flow, and range. jlunseth, thanks for your comment in particular... I like your approach to fuel management.

Wayne, as a recent buyer (a 1985 M201K) I can assure you all the things they say about insurance are true, and then some. I paid about $300 more for insurance than I had anticipated, but almost $1K less than some of the other quotes I got from supposedly pilot-friendly organizations (not naming any names, but a national airplane owners association totally sucked, both in their prices and their communications). I was able to cut my rate significantly by agreeing to 15 hours dual received time. I chose to regard this as a win-win: by taking those hours over 3 days from a former Mooney factory test pilot CFI, I sucked up a vast amount of knowledge about the type and the specific aircraft from a guy who knows Mooneys inside-out, while at the same time lowering my first-year premium. This can only make me a better and safer pilot for the future.

This topic is acutely interesting to me, as the spanking new owner-operator of a 201K!! I flew her home yesterday and had to call in reinforcements to get her into the hangar! I really like the look and ease of operation of the Sidewinder, but their website says to expect a wait time of at least 3 weeks. I’m tempted to buy a used garden tractor and a tow bar in the short term, for now.

Bryan, thanks for starting this thread, and for the follow-up pics and discussion. As a prospective new turbo Mooney buyer, I'm REAL interested in some of the pitfalls one has to be looking out for. It's threads like this that drew me to this discussion board to start with, and I plan on staying for a good while.

Yeah, I've noticed that nice airplanes seem to vanish off the Controller website pretty quickly! That's why I decided to get my oar in the water with Jimmy and David at AAA and get some guidance in the purchase process. I originally thought I'd like a 252, but as you point out it's a good $60K more to get into one of those, and my budget ceiling is firmly below that level. Also, the waiting list for 252's is long and they tend to disappear before they even get onto the open market. Thanks for the reply, I'll keep y'all posted.

Chris, thanks for the offer, I've flown my 172 into Georgetown a couple of times. Nice airport, great town. I'd like to get to know some of you Mooniacs personally as I explore this journey. There is nothing like hands-on airplane observations, and face-to-face discussions. I've talked to a couple of y'all on the phone already and y'all seem a friendly bunch, not to mention knowledgeable. BTW, I decided to do the math as you suggested, and holy schneikies, that's a 103 mile descent from 17,000' to my airport's pattern! FWIW, I've already noticed that speed brakes are already on several 231's I'm looking at. To be honest, after a couple of talks and a long visit with David at AAA, I'm leaning toward selecting from aircraft with the best airframes, engines and turbos/intercoolers as a priority rather than looking at planes with fancy avionics. Just about every plane I've looked at is going to need ADS/B-out installed, so I'm going to have to spend some money on avionics pretty soon on almost any airplane I buy. So a plain steam-gauge panel with a good engine/turbo looks more desirable than a glass cockpit at this point.

Don, thanks for the reply. Yours is one of the brains here I really want to pick, I must say! I'll PM so we can discuss further.

Thanks, Carusoam. Yes, having everything is nice, but not always feasible! I've spent some time talking with Jimmy and David at All American, and recently visited their hangar and spent a few hours with David going over these same questions. The phrase "bewildering array of options" comes to mind!

Hello, James Williams here... I've been lurking on this forum and several other Mooney sites for 2-3 years doing my "research", and I'm getting close to finally purchasing my first Mooney. I've appreciated the discussions here on this forum, y'all have helped a lot in explaining the pros and cons of the various models. I'm looking seriously at the 231's, as these fit my personal mission best. (I think... I'm still a noob, open to suggestion!) I settled on the Mooney line for the same reasons most of the rest of you seem to have done. I've looked closely at th Beech and Piper models, and of course the spendy planes like Cirrus, etc, , thought about a twin, but it always comes back to the 201-231 for me. I fly a 172XP Skyhawk currently. Most of my flying is for business, 250+ NM flights being the norm. I live in south TX (moving back to west TX this summer) so I can rely on VFR conditions much of the time, but I still have to drive to jobs too much so am working on my IFR training now. My business is expanding into OK and NE, however, and the Skyhawk is a suboptimal platform for regular 400+ NM flights. Also, my wife and I have 7 adult kids living in 5 different states... and having the ability to fly our own aircraft for family visits is a very attractive option. One 750 NM flight was sufficient to prove to me the need for an airplane with longer legs than the little Cessna. So, most of my flying is/will be solo XC flight for business; second largest segment of the mission is dual XC flight with my wife (she is just starting her PP training), and a third but small segment of the mission will include flights with family. Most will be flatland flying (TX and the Midwest), but with one daughter's recent move with her husband to Nevada, flying over mountains will be part of the mission profile. A 231 makes more sense to me given these parameters. Looking at the used 231 market, there is a wide range of airplanes available at any given point in time, with a wide range of options offered. I'm curious as to what you experienced Mooney pilots would recommend as must-have features, and what things would be nice to have but not crucial. A good electronic engine monitor like the JPI seems pretty important for the turbo aircraft, I think... but what else? I not looking for ability to fly into known icing conditions, for example, but is a hot prop a prudent thing to have for my mission, etc? Looking forward to your comments. Thanks in advance.

This quoted page displays a different device lower down the page that has a much less bulky finger monitor that links to your smartphone by Bluetooth. I think this might be a viable in- flight option.