Falcon Man

I have 2 different sizes of plates I use to cover my oil cooler. One is 1/2 and the other is 1/4 of the surface of the cooler. These definitely increase the indicated oil temperature on my EDM 900. And work like a charm depending on the season. I consider them a less expensive version of the Mooney weatherization kit made specifically for M20K's SN:1000-and on.

I talked with TCM - sensing bulb is measuring the oil temp before going to cooler, not afterwords.

I believe your SB engine is different because my TCM manual doesn't cover the SB, it stops at MB. Clearly, my sending unit is on the inflow. However, now I will have to call TCM and verify the wording in the manual which says the temp sensing bulb is actually in the case on MB engines. I now am having "over-analysis paralysis".

Rags, The issue of where the oil temperature reading takes place in our TSIO360 engines was discussed between myself, my IA and my engine overhaul shop several years back. I made the same assumption about the temp as you made and I was corrected. To make sure my memory serves me correctly I just now reviewed the oil flow diagram and oil temperature sections in the M20K Service and Maintenance Manual and here is the wording: "The oil temperature gauge is an electric unit receiving its signal from a temperature bulb in the engine case, located between the oil cooler and the case. The probe resistance changes as the oil temperature changes and this varies the readout on the instrument". The diagram verifies the flow of the hottest oil past the temp bulb before it gets to the oil cooler. Further, in these turbocharged engines the case receives oil from the turbocharger and as such it makes sense to measure the oil temperature in the hottest operating area of the engine. Jeff

Hubcap, Nice tail wind! Looks like you might need an oil cooler blocker if your oil temp stays @ 156F (or less than 180 F) during cruise, it isn't hot enough to vaporize moisture.

A close friend of mine landed his J model last year gear up and did not have enough insurance coverage and it was totaled. He had owned this airplane for 30 plus years. I asked him if he considered going around and he said it didn't occur to him. A couple of decades ago I, a pilot friend and our instructor watched a Mooney Rocket make a hot approach to land, bounced a couple of times, heard a prop strike and he went around and came back in to land. As the two pilot occupants pulled up to park neither realized the prop strike had occurred until we pointed out the shortened 3 bladed prop. I second the opinion that conditioning to go around is when there is an unstable approach. Trying to go around in the flare is wrought with casualities and more damage.

Don't go around, save yourself and others you might hurt from an off airport landing.

If I was in the market for an airplane right now I would hire SAAVY to orchestrate the pre-buy inspection. They have a very good data driven approach. I have bought and sold 7 Mooney airplanes over the last 40 years and something is always missed, even by MSC inspections. The advice over the years has been to avoid a hangar queen like this Ovation you are interested in. My current 1986 252 was a hangar queen with 1700 hrs TT and recent IRAN from a prop strike when I bought it 4 years ago and it has had the least amount of airframe or engine issues of any of my other aircraft. There is a lot to be said for low time airframes if they have been hanged and maintained well.

Along with guarding, I have been instructed to use the least amount of finger pressure on the yoke. The whole hand death grip leads to greater overcorrection. Another thing to consider is the rigging of the airplane. In still air with hands and feet off the controls does it fly straight and level? If not it needs to be rigged properly. This seems to be a common problem in older Mooney aircraft.

Andrei, what you reveal is a very common issue that I and my pilot friends deal with. FWIW, here is my experience: I had this problem right after getting my instrument rating. I struggled for years until I had instructors that were from the Fed Ex method - they utilize the TLAR (That Looks About Right) system. The idea is that trying to fly an approach with absolute precision in anything less than still air is not realistic for most pilots when hand flying. More importantly, the FedEx safety analysis revealed that absolute precision was less safe. Gradually I became more successful and confident as I I learned that it is OK to be fairly close to the vertical and heading course. Technique wise I learned to use very minor nudges on the controls and to verbally call out my next step. Like you my actual IFR flying is limited. About 80% of my flying is 3-4 hr cross countries in the mountainous west and I hand fly some type of practice IFR approach on every VFR flight (without hood) when allowed by the controllers. I don't ever hand fly hard IFR in my K model, never to minimums and only through layers. Icing is almost always in the forecast in winter storms across the western US and only my prop is deiced. A couple of times over the years my autopilot (KFC 150) stopped working mid-approach in actual IFR and the hand flying was easier than practice flights under the hood with a safety pilot or instructor in the right seat. Maybe "performance anxiety" makes things harder. Practically speaking all of my instructors and kerosene burning pilot friends say that hard IFR single-engine and solo pilot flying is a fool's errand (esp. in the mountains). I think the safety record supports that concept. Thanks for bringing this subject up. I am sure others will chime in and provide their experiences which may be helpful.

If you are serious enough to have a pre-purchase performed on an airplane, have you considered a 100 hr inspection, which could qualify as an annual? The reason being is that with used airplanes things change since the previous annual. I have had pre-purchase inspections by Mooney service centers over the years and there were always big annuals down the road. Also, it is wise to have the airplane avionics examined in flight because this is rarely done on airplane purchases. Finally, the POH W & B paperwork rarely is accurate. Pay to have the airplane actually weighed on the digital scales. My Mooney mechanic (KNR, INC) says all of the ones he has weighed are heavier than the paperwork. FWIW

Oops - I was wrong on that last question. The cabin control turns off the valve at the regulator. The line is still pressurized to the O2 ports and gauge. If you intend to remove the gauge from the supply line to inspect the source of the leak you can depressurize it by plugging in a regular O2 cannula connector and open up the needle valve. At least that is how the system is hooked up in a K model. Sorry!

Correct

If the Oxygen valve in the cabin is turned off you can remove the gauge after removing the side panels. The leak usually is where the O2 line comes into the gauge. There is no need to disconnect the line in the tail if the leak is in the cabin, unless you suspect the tubing is broken, then you may be able to repair it in the cabin.

They are both 70 amp and different manufacturers as far as I know.