Ethan

I have a 231 with a Merlyn wastegate but no intercooler. I love it. Engine management is no problem. My useful load is 1000 pounds exactly, which is pretty good for any Mooney built after 1979, except for the Encore. Some 252s have far less (hundreds of pounds less) useful load. My full fuel useful load is 568 pounds, that leaves me with room for only 3 (smallish) people and scant luggage. That’s pretty pathetic. Most of the time, my limiting factor is almost always useful load so I am happy to have my 231 rather than a 252.

Well, I never once thought fuel icing would be an issue once cruising along at altitude. I’m glad AME LLC let us know and so many others chimed in. Does anyone have any idea at what temperature this becomes a problem? If so, I will add Heet or IPA anytime I plan to fly when the temperature at my cruising altitude is X or below.

Here I am cruising east and popping out of clouds over the dry land wheat country east of the Columbia river gorge. Picked up some trace ice.

Erik, Just some more follow ups. I was just flying my Mooney to Pendleton the two days after your trip and the weather was . . . iffy. When your engine quit were you in IMC? Were you flying in the cloud tops? Did the ALT AIR light come on before the engine quit? If so how long before it quit did it light up? Did you notice RPM rollback before it quit? If you had to do it over again, what would you have done differently? Thanks for your generosity with this information. I like flying high at times and want to know everything possible. My engine a TSIO-360 is a mini version of yours.

Nice work AME LLC. Putting that airplane down safely in rural Oregon between the Blue Mountains and the Wallowas is ripe for pitfalls. Thanks for letting us know what happened. Wow, the fuel froze in the flow divider, on top of a hot engine. Amazing, I never thought that could be a thing. I hope Continental can make it right. Not to push too much but, were you headed for KLGD (LaGrande) when you broke out and saw that nice straight road? Thanks again for sharing and wow! Excellent work.

A Mooney Acclaim (N40AU) made an emergency landing on a country road from FL210 because of an unspecified mechanical problem. The point of landing was only a handful of miles from the generously paved and well-equipped LaGrande Oregon Airport. After landing and getting some attention from the local sheriff's Department, the airplane flew to LaGrande. The next day - off to Texas. Does anyone know what happened? Oil cap come loose? Cowl screw? Door pop open? Anyone? https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/462556

I have been nicely surprised with the TSIO-360-LB. I have had two of them. The first made it to 2400 hours before overhaul and it could have gone way longer. It was topped at about 1000hours before I flew it. Then in 2018, I put a TCM remanufactured engine in the airplane and now have over 1000 hours on it. The only significant work on the engine was I refurbished the #2 cylinder because of really low compression. I run the airplane at conservative values: 31" x 2450 RPM and no more than 1500 TIT. I will run the airplane LOP if I have time to spare, but usually at 28" x 2500 rpm and I lean it to 1500 TIT - sometimes as high as 1560 - 1580 TIT.

Just had my prop resealed at Western Propeller. One day service. Similar charge. My propeller was losing grease mostly out of one blade and it made a huge mess on the cowl inlet, windscreen, antennas on the top of the plane etc.

My trick to starting the TSIO-360-LB engine cold is to follow the checklist. Most important, when the engine is cold, It is important to prime enough - 4 full seconds with the throttle full open and the mixture rich. After priming, I reduce the throttle so it's now about a quarter of the full travel - more open is good - then I start the engine. It usually fires off after two blades pass. If it still hesitates I thumb the primer while it's sputtering and it become happier.

I think that's a circuit-breaker switch. It could be that there's a short somewhere in the trim system.

Try Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/196439200252?_nkw=mooney+boost+pump+rocker+switch&epid=738013237&itmmeta=01J5VFCCY0RSW5RWPWQNFTM1KE&hash=item2dbcb051fc:g:uQQAAOSwbMBmaHqu&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKmyV%2BziRR6JhU8CBVUVjT45wOZbSc5JcMP%2FQCAiCHZjgqW6jRsg89eBSxsWtjosNaLrQpOa4pi4wnXGIhVV4mSzG%2Bku8FHky5kHcnfG3T7VYomL5I8FYdRDs1yra%2FJLI9lnYLGVZb5tLRMwghXfChm3dJfOiJgKHp8%2B2S%2Bul8F4toi8UZWLO2bPyvaWNLUuJMQLw6ykr%2BsowFKb%2BJkv6rEQ3j0ojjKBu18BZ28tY3AQayJBFzkULOTdOQge3B1nmkGLjxXaoglNJWHBLlrg8Fn1|tkp%3ABk9SR4zPse-uZA

Well, for me it is. Without belaboring the same three points over and over. I live in the west. The MEAs can be really high. I fly a ton of Angel Flights to and from high airports. When the weather is bad, I can climb above it. For example, I have flown twice this year at FL230 to top weather in the mountains. That said, if I lived and flew in say, Minnesota, I would choose a J model.

I agree, a 231 isn't a four people hauler - or any Mooney for that matter. That said, a turbo is indispensable and I wouldn't want an airplane without one. That's why a better four people hauler would be a T182, T206, T210, or Turbo Saratoga.

The Jolly Kone is magical. I also just love the soft serve ice cream.

I pulled out the vacuum system (and an electric backup pump), Installed to G5s, a GFC 500 in the place of the Century 31.