Hank

Halos are worth waiting on. Yes, Phil is a PhD audiologist and owner of Quiet Technologies. He flies an M20-B, and based on my phone conversations and meeting him at SNF, he's a great guy. You will soon have loaner headset for passengers . . . I recently wore my wife's DC set and was very uncomfortable.

I've flown up to 6.5 hours with my Halos. Love them! I use the silicone inserts, just like the ones I used to wear at work. CAUTION: You will try to get out of the plane without removing the Halos. This does not work!

I'm just wondering how Zane finds "four notches" of flaps in his Mooney. Mine has a toggle switch to push that moves the flaps as long as I hold it in the Up or Down direction. The Flap Indicator has three markings: Up, Takeoff and Down. An F that I have flown has a slider with detents at the same three labeled spots.

You are so right--LOP has nothing to do with speed. When Mike B. wants speed, he flies ROP, but goes 100 instead of 50 rich to avoid the dreaded Red Box. Even though my C won't run smooth LOP, I lose 8mph Indicated by going from 50ROP to Peak. 100 Rich should be faster, while any LOP will be slower. Sometimes it really is about speed and time enroute.

You can get an impressive descent rate at moderate airspeed. I think my C was > 1500fpm, below normal cruise IAS.

Search this site. George Perry had a thread a couple of years ago with a pretty comprehensive list of concerns. It is not a full PPI, just things that should be discussed, thought about and looked for before committing to one. Buy one in good condition, you will love it!

This is what the lower cowl closure looks like. It should be visible behind my Mooney Ambassador prop tags.

I used to make a high-speed run down the interstate after washing the car. Now I don't live between two on-ramps that are 1½ miles apart. Usually the only bath the Mooney gets is from a spray bottle of Wash-Wax All, red for the belly, blue for the rest of it. Takes longer but leaves her looking really nice.

Speed mods, speed mods . . . I have two speed mods: 201 windshield, lower guppy mouth closure. I have two non-speed mods: 201 wingtips, one-piece belly [NOT Bill Wheat's carbon fiber one!] I have one unspeed mod: 3-bladed airbrake out front. Fuel burn is very regular at 9 gph when traveling. The trip above was 2:50 outbound to a 40' msl grass strip, then 0:30 low-level beneath the layer [~1500-1700 msl] for fuel, and I took on less than 30 gallons. Now I need to look for that blasted receipt! But I'm happy to achieve and sometimes beat book speed. From engine start to 7500', power set, leaned out and settled into cruise is still under 15 minutes; 9000' is right on 15 minutes if temps aren't too hot. The joys of non-towered fields and good airplanes! DAN-- I wonder if it makes a difference: throttle back then lean [me], or lean first then throttle back [you]? I've read about doing this in several places, but don't recall right now if any particular order was specified or not.

I collected data on a trip South at the end of July; too bad I didn't think to record CHT & Oil Temp. Note that while I do have the "optional Carb Temp gauge" that I do not have fuel flow, either. Here's what I did headed down: 9000 msl, 57ºF, 30.11 setting 21"/2500, 50ºF ROP 137 mph Indicated => 161.7 mph True This was the trip back north: 10,000 msl, 53ºF, 30.11 setting 20"-/2500 at Peak EGT, 53ºF OAT: 130-133 mph Indicated => 156-159.6 mph True [call it 158] at 50ºF ROP, 56ºF OAT: 135-140 mph Indicated => 162-168 mph True [call it 165] In all cases, I reduce throttle from WOT enough to make the MP needle move slightly, hoping that I am inducing turbulence for improved fuel atomization and a more homogenous fuel/air mixture. I did experiment leaning all the way to rough with varying amounts of Carb Heat, watching the Carb Temp gauge; maximum carb temp rise was about 20ºC, with no noticable smoothing. I did this going both directions. Both legs were loaded the same [me, wife, luggage, 50 gals], putting us ~200 lb. under gross. Book numbers are: 7500 msl, 32ºF 21"/2500, 72.1%, 158 mph gross, 162 mph at 375 lb. under 10,000 msl, 23ºF 20.2"/2500, 53.7%, 161 mph gross, 164 at 375 lb. under 20"/2500, 53.0%, 160 mph gross, 163 at 375 lb. under I ran 30 minutes at peak followed by 33 minutes Rich, but forgot to stick the tank when I landed . . . What does all this mean, other than that my O-360 won't run LOP and I seem to be achieving book speed despite the 3-blade prop out front?

I'll head down either Friday evening or Saturday morning, back north on Sunday. Ought to be a good trip.

That does sound like fun. If the weather is decent, I'll come see what a long grass field is like. 'Bring Your Own Tent' I suppose. Dad lives nearby, he'll drive over.

I like my quadrant, too, but it has problems of its own. It's not bitten me around the pattern, but in cruise things have changes on their own. The friction lock is on the right side, where it's oh-so-easy to remember to check [by feel, there are no markings even if you lean way over to look for it]. Mine has once or twice been loose enough to allow throttle & prop to drift during cruise. Yes, I pull my throttle back enough to move the needle, hoping to achieve better fuel atomization going through the carburetor by inducing a little turbulence. So every now and again I check it and often snug it up a tiny bit. But not too tight or all three levers become difficult to move.

What, don't they smile in Florida anymore???

"Gee, Gomer, I ain't never heerd of nothin lack tha-yat." The last motorcycle I rode much had a separate oil tank that I just kept full; it would mix it with fuel all by itself [obviously 2-stroke]. That's not how I run my car or my Mooney. I always check the oil in my car [every one I've ever owned] by fully seating the dipstick; the same for every airplane I've ever flown. While sitting on as level of a surface as I can find, which means not my driveway at home. Counter-challenge: can you provide any documentation from any airframe or aircraft engine manufacturer recommending not seating the dipstick when checking oil level? Or is it just the one motorcycle manual? In general, I would expect exceptions to general practice to be documented, which sounds like the one motorcycle did, but that does not mean that the rest of the engine world will suddenly start documenting what is standard practice. Especially for our planes, many of which probably predate that particular bike.

I have an Excel spreadsheet that Google helped me find. Then I modified it with my own empty weight & CG. Works well. I made a whole page of various loading schemes and saved it for quick reference [including some that are overweight and/or out of CG just so I would know that it's possible]; anything close to gross or CG limits gets quickly re-figured.

Both wingtips hit me in the same place when I walk around the plane. Must be level, right? Most often, it's still parked in the hangar.

Yep.

Jeff, I change my oil every 50 hours, and consumption increases as I go along. I get 12-15 hours before needing the first quart, decreasing to 5-6 or so on the last one. I refill with 7 quarts, just above 6 on the dipstick, and try to not let it reach 5. Any more and it auto-corrects down to 6/6-1/2 pretty quickly (like one flight). KLEX isn't too far from here. Isn't there a good restaurant near the field? I may need to come eat . . . P.S.--my A&P here looks after several Mooneys, from my C to a J.

Per my Owners Manual: Flaps--TAKEOFF or as desired. My desire fluctuates with runway surface, condition, obstacles, load and winds; DA is not often a concern where I fly. See the Flap Retraction poll for my philosophy on Takeoff Flaps, I saw that one first. Either way, The Book says to rotate at 65-75 mph, so I usually compromise on 70 mph.

I use TO flaps at short fields for my weight on that departure. Home is 3000' long, normally no flaps unless near gross. A nearby grass strip is 2000', I always use flaps and don't go in or out anywhere near gross--2 people and half tanks is my limit. Positive rate, gear up; clear of obstacles, flaps up is in my Owners Manual. Both are judged looking out the window, with a glance at the IVSI if I'm near gross, hot, windy, worried about DA, etc. Clear of obstacles usually means the trees have gone behind the leading edge and I'm happy with the vertical space betwixt me and them. Positive rate, flaps up could hurt you . . . Not good if you're heavy, high DA or gusty winds . . .

All of it but the wheels . . . Hope they changed that part and added some suspension!

I did make some notes that I left in the plane. I would like to compare with other C owners to see if there really is an effect from my 3-blade and 201-windshield & wingtips. E/F/J owners can read them and laugh, we're all a little slower. Something to do with them having 20 extra ponies under the cowling. But I do always back the throttle off; cocking the throttle body may not actually improve fuel atomization, but it might, too.

I've been twice, first time a month after finishing my insurance dual with a goal of "learning the right way to fly my Mooney." My assigned instructor was Jerry Johnson, who also has a C with about 20 years' time in it compared to my 2 months. He accommodated my ability, showed me what I was not doing right and how it should be done. We skipped the IFR parts for additional VFR work. Really boosted my ability and my confidence. Went back to Niagara last fall. It was a nice escape with my wife. Seems that I haven't picked up too many bad habits--all that time with a CFII getting my Instrument Rating must still be paying off. The weather rearranged the ground school / flight time schedules and I ended up missing some of the maintenance discussions, but it was still time and money well spent. All day Friday, class work [8 hours]. Expect two 2-hour flight sessions on Saturday and Sunday, along with twelve hours in the classroom. Topics range from Weight & Balance to Weather Interpretation to Owner Maintenance to many other things. You will leave with a notebook or two full of good reference material, much of which has been covered with you. You will have logbook signoffs for Flight Review, FAA Wings and IPC [if appropriate]. You will have flown your plane in attitudes you may not have experienced lately [MCA, stall horn buzzing, for several minutes, with turns in both directions; accelerated departure-type stalls; I even had a tower-requested "immediate right turn and hold over the college" when controller(s) cleared two Mooneys to land on intersecting runways . . . I can only suppose that few controllers are used to handling six or eight Mooneys at the same time.]. Even my simulated engine out landing on a 2400 x 40 strip of pavement went well, even though it was my first one in a couple of years. [Oops! Need to practice those more often.] Good times, good instruction, a good banquet on Saturday to chat with the other pilots/spouses. I recommend going at least once every few years. The much-vaunted Training Certificate did get me almost 20% rate reduction at renewal last month, too.

Woo-hooo!! Common sense is breaking out. I'm fed up with the "social politics" abounding in this country, where the tail wags the dog by yelling the loudest. Seems we have a rational consensus here. Sorry, Mike--you just can't not offend everyone.