T. Peterson

I can’t explain it either. I can only be grateful for it.

Ouch! Sorry about that! 3.74 at KRFI, 3.99 at KRWV and 3.90 at 4F2. A plethora of gas stops sub 5.00.

Looking at the Foreflight map it does look to me that avgas is trending down. There are even some airports that show less than 4.00 a gallon.

Hi Don, I would be very interested in what Don and Paul Maxwell think about you using Camguard. They are both mechanics and operators and have been for a very long time. They also do all my maintenance and have never mentioned Camguard to me one way or another. I never thought to ask about it, and it may be a moot point as my engine is a Continental? I don’t know. I have been told that the Continental cam sits in the oil and Lycoming does not, so that may be why no one has recommended the additive to me.

Very nice!! Thanks for responding! I could have used anti-ice/de-ice today! Fortunately I was able to climb above it, but that sure would be a nice little feature to have in my back pocket!!

I really like your simple approach. A lot on this thread just makes me dizzy! I very interested in the Ovations and am about to put up my 231 for sale, however I am very curious about the speed/efficiency gains and losses I can expect from such a move. What is your TAS at 13 to 13.5 gph? And at what altitude? One of the reasons I want a normally aspirated engine is because I never fly above 12000 feet, but I do want speed and efficiency (who doesn’t!) I think the IO 550 will give me the best performance compromises, but I assumed that it would cost me 15 to 16 gph to get 175 kts vs the 12.5 to 13.0 I currently spend to achieve 160 kts.

I don’t want to prejudice anyone against the shop, because the fault could very well be in my airplane.

Good point. I will email the shop tomorrow and query them.

Makes sense, but I never had a vacuum failure.

I’m at the mercy of the mechanic. Hopefully they know that, but I will make a point to remind them. I didn’t know about the filters you mention. I will ask if they were replaced. Makes me wonder if dirty air is exactly what has caused three failures in a row!

A wealth of wonderful information from you gentlemen! Thank you all. I have already ordered the rebuilt EDO and Maxwell will install it while I wait. I want to FLY my airplane, not have it sit for weeks on a maintenance ramp! So I really hope this one works well. If not, I’ll then be pretty much forced to go a different route. A great take away from your discussion is that I CAN install certain electric AI’s that will drive my autopilot! If push comes to shove I am leaning strongly toward the Garmin 275. Thanks again fellas for your time and excellent insights!

Thanks to all of you for your input. Hopefully this 3rd AI will be the charm. I am willing to pay for an AI upgrade to electric, but not at the expense of also putting in a whole new autopilot. My Century 41 works perfectly. I think @1980Mooney is correct in his assessment, and if this next one fails I will just eat the cost of sending it to a different overhauler. I knew airplane ownership was going to be costly, but I didn’t know the aggravation factor was going to be this high. Same niggly gripes over and over again. I don’t have the skills to maintain my own airplane and I may not have the personality to own one either!!

Typical -a- post: insightful, well written, informative and interesting. Glad I came across it. Not as many as there used to be.

The AI in my 1979 231 failed and was replaced with an exchange unit in February of this year. It failed again and was again replaced with an exchange unit in October during the annual. Yesterday on our way home from Alabama it failed again. Just does a very slow roll to 20 degrees right bank. Fortunately I have a backup AV-30 which is spot on and we were for the most part vmc. No anomalies with the vacuum system of which I am aware. Just to make sure, I turned on the backup vacuum pump, but nothing changed. I called the overhaul facility in Wichita and they are sending a replacement to my maintainer after the new year. Do you fellas find it conceivable that two units in a row could fail like this, or might there be an issue with my airplane that could cause this? If this happens again I believe I will replace it with an electric AI, but will that be compatible with a Century 41 autopilot? I welcome your comments and advice.

Several have recommended that you call one of the Mooney Centers. Since Don Maxwell is only an hour away I would call him. I believe he will have a workable solution and it won’t include scrapping the plane. But in this case you must call. He has ways of sourcing parts well beyond our capabilities, but can’t help at all if you don’t call. Mooneyspace is a wonderful resource but in this case you need more.

Holy Smokes, Batman!!

Thanks fellas! I very much appreciate your help!!

Hello all, I have been poring through manuals and instructional videos to determine exactly the function of Direct Direct Enter. I know and use regularly the Direct Enter Enter function, but am unable to find a source describing the former. The fact that I even know it exists indicates that somewhere I have previously encountered some reference to it, but I can’t find it today and it’s aggravating me no end. I am sure it is probably due to my own ineptness that I can’t find the requisite information, but per chance one of you folks would pity me and explain the function or at least point me to the correct source! I am thinking that maybe it is a short cut for activating a leg in the flight plan?

We probably all have some inconsistencies in our risk assessments, but I thought it very unkind for you fellas to point out all of mine!!

Then you are between the proverbial rock and a hard place! Actually, your point is well taken. As a relative newbie to GA and small airplanes compared to the vast experience on this forum, I am very interested in this discussion. Many good points have been made and I am taking them all under advisement as I plan my own fuel management strategy. So far, my strategy has been to top off at every stop. My wife and I don’t like to fly more than 3 hour legs so I always land with plenty of fuel. However we would like to at least take some shorter trips with another couple. My UL is 930 lbs so I will launching with no more than 50 gallons or even less. This will make fuel management critical. I totally get the wisdom of having enough fuel in the landing tank to safely cover a go around which implies by default that the cruising tank is going to be sucked down much further than the landing tank. I know many excellent pilots on this forum speak of actually emptying the cruising tank, but that’s a little rich for my blood. As you pointed out if something should go wrong and you are out of gas in one tank and can’t access the other, you will probably say a bad word! I’m thinking that landing with 12 gallons in one tank and 5 in the other is as risky as I want to go. Of course that is not written in stone, and I certainly welcome further insight from the group.

Yessir, it certainly does!! Therefore I am going to try real hard to leave it alone!

Maybe that’s why our oaths are to the Constitution and not to the Government?

That was very educational. Thank you!!

Are the long bodies more susceptible to a prop strike? If they are, is it because they are more prone to the infamous porpoise?

just got my beauty and want to fly her instead of just admire her in pieces in the hangar. Absolutely!!! Have a wonderful time!