dkkim73

Funny I have a lean ish idle mixture after recent engine work which is great up here but the engine died with even modest ground leaning in the swampy lowlands (1250 MSL, Wenatchee, Rags's stomping grounds ) Had quitting on roll out before the fuel work but some of that was attributed to low unmetered idle fuel pressure by some knowledgeable Mooney mechanics. Probably unrelated here (sounds too rich in Rags's case as Don explained better). On the descent leaning issue... I've been doing incremental MP changes and tried to follow with mixture according to TIT, and finally going to the rich side on the initial segment (or entering the pattern), targeting some reference such as 1450TIT. I do feel like the descent leaning guidance is a bit diffuse compared to other guidance.

Nice looking plane! Excited for your adventures. Welcome aboard!

Interim PIREP on the Wellue pulse oximeter ring (I can't find the original thread but someone asked me to report back once I had some time with it): I have used this on several flights, so far only up to 17,000MSL, and many nights of sleep. Cross-checked intermittently with a clip-on Walgreen's pulse oximeter. I have *not* yet "borrowed" an actual hospital unit to cross-check... I am a bit unclear on why there would be an accuracy difference, as IIUC the sat value is based on differential absorption at two difference wavelengths (oxy and deoxy hemoglobin). However, I've seen differences in units. So far, it seems pretty concordant, +/- 2-3%. The pick-up seems very reliable. It is responsive to the button and to the (Android) app, not glitchy from a software standpoint at all. The rubber ring part seems flimsy but hasn't given any problems yet. Battery life is at least two nights without re-charge so far. It will turn off when it drains all the way (for me after 2+ nights with no charge), so if you sleep with it I would charge in the AM or at least before flight to be safe. A major selling point is the easily-programmable vibrating alert. E.g. flying above 12K with my daughter, I set a haptic alert at 91% SaO2 (resting is 96% at my home altitude). Easy to change the alert from a mobile device. In general, I've noticed I under-breath at moderate altitude, which is expected (lower hypercarbic drive). This is very helpful to remind me to breath deep, regularly, and pressure-breath (pursed lips) if I'm de-satting or need to catch up and be more on top of things. Insights on sleep and apnea/desats are also valuable. It seems a very well-built product and a quite reasonable purchase for the money (in aviation especially!) David

It is worth reflecting on how wonderful an experience flying yourself actually is... I'd had nice memories from the 2000's but am happy it is still largely true. It was a gamble to jump back in, but the FIKI turbo Mooney has paid off in spades. I'm delaying a commute back due to some convection over the north right now but still thinking it's great I can choose to leave early in the morning and see the sun over the mountains and be home for the 4th (and likely a rodeo nearby!). I hope @NewMoon's Ovation search goes well. Happy 4th to all! David

Sadly, I fear you are right. Things are probably stratifying up and down as you say. I've even heard folks here on MS talk about the pros and cons of buying fractional time.

Pressurized or un-pressurized? At least that's the joke I make. Seriously, management doesn't know much except squeezing more marginal profit blood out of the dry turnip. 'cause all those geniuses studied is... Wait for it... Management. I have toyed with the idea of starting an airline that has airplanes that don't require complex systems to enable junior flight crews (max 8), have some room, nice meals, magazines, "stewardesses"and stewards, grey haired pilots named Steve (inside joke), and treat customers less like ballast. Figuring out the demand and routing is the challenge.

Brilliant phrase.

So the sheep-vegetables can be better attuned to their mobile devices.

I got a laugh out of this, comparing Don's video to pr0n. I will say, there are certain YouTube videos that keep you clicking... Aviation-related are the ones I'm dusting here, to be clear, and many of those are landing-related, so you might be on to something... And I suppose some landing videos are too terrible to watch.

Yikes. That's terrifying. The GFC 700 is still scheming to kill me (favorite ways are mode confusion, FD set too early in HDG mode, and power mgmt on level off). But nothing quite as Gothic as what you describe.

Anyone know exactly where the AP breaker is in the Acclaim? I *think* it's the rocker switch because there is nothing on the panel. Those choices look good. I am glad @Pineconeposted because I was going to soon...

Much respect! For me, home built helicopter is right after home built ejection seat and home built cardio pulmonary bypass machine... Although, to be honest, as a teenager I was looking at plans for a home built gyro copter. Think the Mad Max movies.

I wonder if the solution might not be a FADEC retrofit and possible some fancy modern (materials) approach to the valve seats.

Quite well, I think! It was his first GA flight (not counting a turbine seaplane ride some years ago). He'd flown the C172 in a simulator some years ago and knew some of the basic ideas. We were VFR in a mostly uncrowded area most of the time, so he hand-flew a big segment (pretty good altitude management). Also great eyes and situational awareness so he took to traffic-spotting and planning on the way in. He's in college now but I've encouraged him to take some basic ground school and at least the pre-solo part of primary training. There was a little C152 orbiting north of town doing "data collection". It turns out he was reading residential meters with a VFR suitcase rig! I suppose when check-hauling goes away, other things replace it.

Flying out of Wenatchee (KEAT) while on a family gathering trip, first flight with my son. We flew out over the Grand Coulee Dam, Banks and Roosevelt Lakes, and the airport out there (3W7). Props to @Ragsf15e for the local brief and suggestions!

Very timely thread resurrection. I have been having a devil of a time with hot starts. Following POH recs and basic info, the only luck I'd had early on was converting hot starts to flooded starts, then using that procedure. I then came across the discussion about recirculating fuel in the upstream lines (that would vaporize) by running the boost pump at idle cut-off (ICO) and throttle closed. I even read a column by John Deakin saying to run the pump for a full minute. None of that really helped. I observed that the fuel flow was definitely above 0 during these attempts. Wondering if something was wrong, I posed the problem to Savvy. A senior A&P who knows Mooneys well said that TCM changed the fuel pump design since my plane was built (2009 ish), and that I must have the new design, which lets fuel into the engine during this notionally-dry-and-sterile process (I think this might explain a difference of understandings early in this thread, though the discussion involved multiple things). So... the recommendation was to run for a modest time, 10-15 sec, knowing that there would both be cooling and filling of the lines, and some priming/flooding, then starting with Mix FWD and throttle starting at closed but advanced to hunt for the right mix (akin to what Mike Elliot discusses above). I've had one good start that way, though it was about 40 min later, so not hot-hot. Still working on it but wanted to share some info that might help move us towards a Grand Unified Hot-Start Theory.

Decathlon is a great plane. Great feel. Always thought huskies looked fun. A very odd plane is the Leza-Lockwood air cam which always looked like it offered an up close experience, open, down low... With the two engines you can fly over dicier places (swamps etc). Looks like pure pleasure flying...

Doesn't it cross-fill the DBs in the PFD when the time comes? I've never had to manually update the PFD. In the aux page under databases (I think) it will show the cross-fill status.

Jim, There is always some distribution of both absolute EGT peak values and locations of peaks. As I understand, this is due to injector variations, cylinder and port/flow variations, and other factors. From what I've heard, people use who EGT to lean will use the first or last to peak, depending on what direction you're adjusting the mixture. Ie, to avoid some cylinders being in the danger zone. Eg running LOP make sure you're past the last to peak by 50F etc. Some have said absolute EGT values don't matter, may depend on probe placement etc. POH says to use TIT as a guide though I've seen good arguments for individual EGT based adjustment as above. TIT looking values would still apply in those cases. OTOH have you noticed a recent *change* in EGT values? That could indicate something eg if one went suddenly high you could have a non firing plug. HTH, David The above reads like a list, so I think I should follow tradition and add "PP thoughts only, not a wizened engine guru".

Very helpful. Not confirmed but sounds like this is a possibility. Out of curiosity did you buy a new one or get it repaired? Unclear from the web what the availability is.

Will look again when I get a chance. It occurred to me that this is the same switch that provides the "safety" against retraction of landing gear on the ground. So if it has actually been in "flight mode" (failing the other way, explaining the super-hot vane most of the times I've checked) that could be an issue, too.

Thank you all. Update: After reading and researching a bit, I went back to search for the pressure switch and also to re-verify everything. The plane was cool inside the hangar. When I turned on the pitot heat switch, the vane heated up very quickly, within seconds, too hot to touch as I am used to... So I guess on the positive side the heating element is probably not burned out (?would expect all or none). Perhaps the airspeed switch is sticking as Fritz suggested. Mooney manual warns against pressure-related damage (static only), so I talked to the avionics shop that did the static cert. recently and they said it is standard to keep up pressure on the pitot side. Also it had worked since then. Another thought I had is that, given it's so hot in my experience, I wonder if the switch is in "flight mode" on the ground. Ie. without the dropping resistor. There are probably some voltage references I could check if I got to the wires. Looking on my back, there are a bunch of tightly-zipped bundles under the panel on the pilot's side, near where I would expect it. It might also be under the side fascia panel(?). @Fritz1 is it behind a side panel, or just buried in wire behind the main panel? The manual says "near the pilot's left knee". I lay on the floor but didn't pull seats or cut zip-ties or look more than a layer deep for a few minutes, as I was just coming by for 30min before close. I'm trying to figure out what I might do to have caused this spuriously yesterday but can't think of anything. The pitot tube was definitely hot yesterday when the vane wasn't. Usually I can barely touch the vane for a moment and yesterday I could hold it. David PS. Also wonder if something related to outside temp. Not that it should act that way, just thinking of thermal effects on the parts (airspeed switch).

Good idea. It is supposed to be "near the pilot's left knee". Getting access to the harness might be the tricky part unless there are connectors to back-probe.

I found this this afternoon in the PDF manuals: Also I realize I had an IFR cert and altimeter calibration done last month. However, the vane had been heating up in the interval. It sounds like a good next step is to check voltage, which I was just told is via an access panel on the wing. Anyone done this recently and have any tips?

I do not recall the amber annunciator coming on, which I think in the FIKI plane it should if the pitot heat has failed (I don't recall the POH saying it lights with either). Come to think of it, I did *not* however check pitot heat in the air at speed. Looked for a schematic covering this part and did not find it. Please LMK if any one has it. Also heard back via Savvy, apparently Maxwell can repair these if need be. How straightforward is it to remove the unit? Can it just be pulled out forward by removing the visible screws? (any backing pieces that fall in, LOL, requiring rear access somehow?) I've always heard the positioning is crucial, can it just be put back in by empiric visual reference to the position within the screwholes, distances from edges etc. all marked down of course... Thank you guys for the quick thoughts! D