carusoam

Roughly speaking… max FF is about 2X cruise FF… if your io360 is cruising using 10gph, it’s full rich max FF will be near 20gph… same for the io550… 15 and 30 gph anyone with a Missile using 2700 rpm… can easily benefit from moving the FF towards a higher number. the ovation uses 2500 rpm and 25 gph (?) the Standing O uses 2700 rpm and enjoys 30 gph… the excess FF goes directly to cooling EGTs and CHTs excess FF to a cylinder can affect the A/F ratio too much.. causing misses and washing the oil of the cylinder walls…. we are supposed to follow official documentation for setting FF. But, sometimes the documentation is in error, or not updated… check with your mechanic on how to handle increasing FF… PP thoughts only, not a mechanic…

When we want to know why one cylinder is running hotter than the others… if we have a FF gauge, we can run a Gami spread test… if we don’t have a FF instrument.. we can run the test, but may not get enough detail… if air is leaking into a cylinder, or an injector is clogged… the Gami spread will usually point it out… lean slowly while approaching peak… if things misbehave early on… there is something wrong feeding that cylinder… probably not a cylinder issue. For that we have small cameras… pics of valves and cylinder walls are cool! PP thoughts only, not a mechanic… best regards, -a-

This is where it helps to pull out a wiring diagram for the KX165… BK used to be really good at having their manuals on line… expect the 165 to be able to do everything the 155 can… just make sure the wiring pins on the back are in the same place… the 165 can also show a VOR type display on its face. In the event you lose connection with its display… a crude display of light segments moving roughly… my 165 drives the HSI with GS… my 155 only drives a VOR display… there may be additional details of what is in the box… with the extra numbers and letters it has on its label… really fuzzy pilot memories not an electronics tech… Best regards, -a-

Cool! electro mechanical actuators… if your dishwasher is leaking. It has a solenoid valve that is supposed to be NC when the washer is off… (valve closed) similar with the clothes washer… one for hot, one for cold… but, I digress… the Mooney Parts Catalog calls them Relays… shorter, easy to spell, takes a low current signal to quickly switch a high current source… it sort of relays the pilot’s intention… The pilot activates a nice labeled switch on the panel, that activates a big switch close to the device. many pilots don’t know what the panel switch is actually doing… great tech conversation… best regards, -a-

Also… add to your checklist… walking away from the plane… always look back to see the red flashing strobe isn’t operating… could be a memory issue, or a worn relay… Best regards, -a-

Things to remember… Solenoids and relays are names for the same device an electro magnetic switch… the word solenoid is headed for the dustbin of magic words… they last for decades before failing… each time they operate, a tiny spark occurs, releasing a few atoms into the air inside the case… they are slowly wearing from the first day… they have key details in the part name… normally open and normally closed…. NO NC. they are wired in an interesting way with the avionics relay… this provides the avionics to work in the event the avionics relay fails…. It will fail closed. take a look at how your strobes are wired… if your relays are original… you may have three that are very similar… carry a spare of each the NO and NC… Start, master, avionics, battery selector… plus a few more… PP thoughts only, not a mechanic… Best regards, -a-

KX165 has glide slope… KX155 does not… fancy panel from 1994 has both… let’s invite @Alan Fox to this conversation… Alan is my preferred supply of pre-flown avionics… Keep in mind… the newer BK avionics are rebranded devices built by somebody else… it may be interesting to find out what a KX200 really is… that may explain why it isn’t a slide in replacement… Best regards, -a-

Fantastic report for Our Prop Guy! @Cody Stallings thanks for sharing… Best regards, -a-

Fun times… I bumped into SnowBird via YT… and briefly discussed two vs. three blade props and composite vs. metal… Best regards, -a-

Hey Bonal! long time no see. Best regards, -a-

Only 17 years? feels like I just got here! I’m looking forward to following @Hank’s success! best regards, -a-

My favorite question… 1) get a MooneySpace membership… 2) read often… 3) make friends by claiming your Mooney is faster than Marauder’s… 4) attend a few Mooney fly ins to see who fell for your bold claims about your ship’s speed… 5) search for things you already know the answer to… and find the stuff you thought you knew better… 6) post pics of your part of the Mooney world… 7) get a copy of your ship’s maintenance and the parts manual… 8) get trained…. Mooney specific training… consider the PPP. (Find your Mooney CFI at the MooneyFlyer) Phil, add your website here) 9) remember… new pilots tend to… - fly VFR into IMC - run out of gas experienced pilots - fly into thunderstorms - fly into icing conditions these experiences should be actively avoided, no matter what your experience level is. 10) new ownership of old machines comes with plenty of surprises… use the Ronald Reagan theory of working with something that can kill you… Trust, but verify everything… 11) update your W&B… PP thoughts only, not a CFI… or mechanic. Best regards, -a-

A tremendous amount of information over there… including the few ADSB data points… ending at 300’ msl(?) pilot/owner confirmed to be the deceased…. https://www.wcvb.com/article/plane-crash-beverly-airport-death/65141025 serves as a nice reminder to review the engine out procedures. best regards, -a-

A tremendous amount of information over there… including the few ADSB data points… ending at 300’ msl(?) pilot/owner confirmed to be the deceased…. https://www.wcvb.com/article/plane-crash-beverly-airport-death/65141025 serves as a nice reminder to review the engine out procedures. best regards, -a-

https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberResult?NNumberTxt=9573M Keoni the AARF fireman’s video (Keoni is a YouTuber out in HI) @mike_elliott (lost airman OR passenger) Prayers for both… best regards, -a-

If HE is WISE… if unable to choose a pair of colors… Choose the Mooney Anomaly! my plane is white on top… easy to spot, without going optic orange. cool in the summer, no AC. PP thoughts only… I was never able to match a shirt to a pair of pants… age hasn’t made it any easier. I’m not a stylist. note: the second scheme above includes an interesting attribute that only a few Mooney’s have ever received… the Eagle’s Beak! it’s kind of subtle, but now you know.

Great reference for Frank Crawford too! Best regards, -a-

Each of the screens in the fuel system serve a specific purpose… they help identify something old that is falling apart… Sooo…. As a new owner of a machine, it is a great idea to verify that each screen is free of debris… fuel pick-up screen… often catches stuff that got into the tank when fueling, or catches sealant that is flaking off… and, each fuel cap has two o-rings in them that are happy to age, oxidize and leave bits floating around… Fuel separator/selector screen… catches rust particles that flake off the older fuel necks that were originally made out of steel… (pre J) Fuel pump screen… some pump impellers were made of inferior materials… they can be found on the screen. Some fuel pumps have been left running for extended periods of time… oops. there are some rubber parts in the fuel servo including a multi layer-rubber hose in some planes… looks good on the outside, falling apart on the inside… these supply a small speck of rubber to test your ability to recognize a semi-blocked fuel injector… These things happen to only a few planes of the entire fleet… each year. not very common, but best to check when able… Gives a good reason to have an engine monitor if you want an update. PP thoughts only, not mechanically inclined… Best regards, -a-

The other thing… look out the window, you will know that they are fully deployed, or fully put away… after couple thousand airframe hours of operation… one of the clutches will fail. leaving you with asymmetrical brake deployment/stowage… not terribly hazardous, but something that is better to be known, than unknown… Part of my pre-flight checklists… these things get tested way more than they get actual use. PP thoughts only, not a mechanic… best regards, -a-

Long body ownership… lasting into retirement! Welcome to the second half!!! Best regards, -a-

hey dkk! That’s pretty funny..! the longer the threads… the more fun the summary became. for about a decade and a half, I was able to read every post ever written… welcoming each member, as they came aboard… it was a fun way to learn, or check old memories… to see what I forgot, or didn’t quite learn the right way… the best parts… meeting thousands of MSers on line… then running into them in real life, at various fly ins… helping so many people find an answer to a challenge they were having… or a service they were looking for… I happened upon MS… in the early days. I had just sold my M20C, and was starting the search for the next Mooney… in some places… I left cryptic markers. To help remember people… and find them again… if you can’t remember Cody as the person to answer questions about Mooney propellers… do a search on prop guy… and see how often he shows up… Or search welcome aboard and your screen name… see if you can find your own first post! keep in mind… MS had a weak search function at first. Finding a three letter word like ‘guy’ was a bit challenging… running a google search from outside MS has always worked better… hmmmmm… imagine being replaced by AI. my post count grew by thousands every year… We would celebrate the post count at each 10K milestone… hoping to make that post a memorable one… I always look forward to the next post… some posts are more fun than others… inviting various people to a thread… using the important @ symbol in front of their screen name… it’s been about 18 years or so since this all began… next stop… post number 50k. it’s been a fun flight! Best regards, -a-

Hey Everybody! Why TnGs can be taboo… memory limitations, distraction, cognitive overload… allows the pilot more opportunity to make a GU mistake… insurance costs spread across the Mooney community always gets a response (true or not). Solutions… always use a checklist, Gumps. More than once. or do the full stop landing. landing reviews… final judgement comes with… how briefly the stall horn peeps just prior to the mains touching. how close to the centerline the nose wheel actually touches down… the time that elapsed between the nose and main gear touching… more than a microsecond is good… Solution for improvement… landing by the numbers. See @donkaye, MCFI’s final approach speed chart for ideas… go around practice is important for Mooneys… because basic training in low power trainers can be really bad for a go around in any Mooney… the Why… Full flaps and low power, moves the center of lift really far back… trim gets set very nose up to compensate… during the go around… using the power should come with a fair amount of experience… more than one pilot has met their demise using full power and full up trim during a go around… the nose wants to point skywards, using a lot of arm strength to avoid a stall… and it is slow to get the trim reduced… manual and electric. Non-towered fields… it helps to know your partners in the traffic pattern… Students and low time pilots have difficulty with situational awareness… they don’t always know where they are, and knowing where a plane on a straight in is going to show up…. Can be asking too much for their skills… they may answer that they are capable on the radio, to find out, they made a simple mis-judgement… one other taboo related to landing… are stalls in Mooneys… Solution… keeping the ball centered is everything. a mis-rigged Mooney can try to be surprising in a stall… flying X-country probably won’t give natural practice in stalls, slow flight, or go arounds… but, they are fun to practice… PP thoughts only, not a cfi… Best regards, -a-

A note on flame tubes inside the muffler… they work as flow distributors… they keep the hot parts of the exhaust stream from impinging on the outer wall… when the hot gasses get misdirected… they start to cut their way through the heater muff… this is how heater muffs start allowing CO into the cabin… it takes a lot of things to go wrong… before CO becomes a problem… but, once things start going wrong… 100LL flame temperature is much higher than the softening point of stainless steel… keep your exhaust flow organized…! Best regards, -a-

@PeytonM expect the wear on the hot parts of the exhaust system to be related to how hot the parts get… a fancy way to start the LOP vs ROP discussion… ROP will be sending flames past the exhaust valves… LOP most of the fuel burn is completed before it exits the cylinder… Roughly speaking… a visual inspection of the exhaust tube leaving the cylinder… may give a hint to how hot it has been getting… the tubes start life as smooth surfaced tubes… once heated and cooled a few thousand flights… the surfaces take on a more rough and grainy (?) appearance… hard to describe… but, when measuring thickness… you can probably find that some metal has been moving with the cycles… These parts CAN get red hot… which is about where they lose a lot of their typical strength. by comparison… a TC’d exhaust system takes a thermal beating compared to an LOP’d NA exhaust system… you might just get lucky! PP thoughts only, not a mechanic… best regards, -a-

Late to the party… I do have O360 gov experience… ours are all very similar, unless you fly a Rocket engineered machine… where the failure mode goes full coarse pitch… for best glide distance… our govs are a few sub systems in one… 1) they have their own gear pump to supply pressure to adjust the pitch…. No way to measure the actual oil pressure within the prop during flight… 2) control valve… the thing that actually controls the oil pressure in the prop… 3) fly weights… the spinning device that activates (opens more and closes more) the control valve based on the speed of rotation of the fly weights… 4) the control knob that sets the fly weights… 1600 hours is not a lot of time to wear out this system… a certain amount of oil pressure needs to be supplied to the gov to allow it to work… gear pumps are pretty robust and can handle a lot of air bubbles if necessary… my old challenge… the O360 has a hollow shaft with a plug at the cabin end… if this seal fails, the gov is unable to build the necessary pressure to adjust the prop… the fifty cent seal only costs a few amus to replace… prop comes off, faulty seal gets pulled out, new seal pressed in place… prop goes back on… lots of sludge collects in the prop… the oil slowly circulates, but not enough to flush the system… lots of mechanical moving parts inside, fly weights are on a greased path… control valve too, so any dirt inside can keep them from moving correctly… consider what is happening based on the data… fly weights sticking, control valve sticking, or oil pressures fluctuating… PP thoughts only, not a mechanic… best regards, -a-