Nemesis

Andy, I saw that you posted some pictures today of filter media, etc. I am guessing (hoping) that those were from the day that you lost your oil and engine and not from some more recent incident? Dave

Andy, I have a K model so I do not have any direct knowledge of your J model. I am posting here to try and get the ball rolling for you. From the TCDS: Textron-Lycoming IO-360-A1B6D or IO-360-A3B6D or IO-360-A3B6. Propeller, McCauley, B2D34C212 hub, 78CDA-4 blades Propeller, McCauley, B2D34C214 hub, 90DHB-16E blades or -16EP blades Propeller, Hartzell HC-C2YK-1BF hub, F7666A-3Q blades Propeller governor, McCauley, C290D5F/T17 I only see the 3 engine sub-models, the 2 McCauley props, 1 Hartzell prop, and only a single prop governor. So, from the standpoint of the Type Certificate, I can see only 1 choice for prop governor on any variant of the engine. There are many others on this forum that might better know what is possible given an upgrade here and modification there with regards to a J model. When you get all of this sorted out and you are back to having a SAFE and reliable machine, don't forget to go back and evaluate 8 months, fault, clearances, etc., and proceed accordingly with regards to future mechanics. I'm just sayin'... Dave

The downside to the 6800 hours is in perception when trying to re-sell. If there is a downside in reality, ie worn out parts, then a good pre-buy, done by one of the skilled Mooney specific mechanics / shops (that are listed in these pages many times), will find the problem areas. The closest to AR are probably Don Maxwell in TX and Cole Aviation in Rome GA. A 3 blade prop will give better climb performance. Perhaps that is why it is on this plane if it flew regularly from a grass field. It will degrade cruise speed by between 3 and 8 knots depending on who you talk to. Many say that a 3 blade on a 4 cylinder engine can generate a lot of vibration. I have a 2 blade on a 6 cylinder so I don't have any direct info about that. If doing a pre-buy, I would pay special attention to the undercarriage and fuel tanks given that it was flown from a grass field. No way to know the condition of that field unless you see it in person. I don't have an opinion about the price, other C owners might be able to help. Count me as another that would like to know the date of OH, not just the hours since. Except for the modest autopilot and lack of engine monitor, there are a lot of good features on this one.

1980 M20K 231 Useful: 940 lbs Fuel: 72 Useable 432 lbs FF Payload: 508 NR Range: 957 NM My normal flight planning is for 174 KTAS at 17500 and 13 gal/hr ROP at just under 75% power. My limiting factor for LOP is a very high TIT so I can not even approach 70% when LOP. While testing LOP, I can run at about 60% and 9.2 gal/hr and maybe 163 KTAS, Given those numbers, I might get a theoretical 1271 NM and 7.8 hours. The most that I have done in one flight was 805 NM and 5.3 hours. Jackson TN to Front Range Denver. Had a bit of a headwind and dialed back the power a bit. Landed with about 12 gals remaining. Useable range with reserves is really 800 NM to 1100 NM depending on power settings.

nickmatic et all, I have only been slam dunked by ATC a couple of times but reducing to 25" and nosing over for a high rate of decent has never resulted in excessive speed in my K model. I will be at the top of the green for sure. If there were some bumps involved then I would have to coordinate a more appropriate rate with ATC. For me, a slam dunk has never been the norm but it is something that has to be dealt with from time to time. I have been to Advance Pilot and believe the shock cooling thing is bunk, OWT, etc, but I also will not subject my engine to large rapid power changes beginning the decent. ie. 30" reducing to 15" is not a good idea and not my practice. Under normal circumstances in relatively calm conditions, I have a different take on the whole thing. Part of my decent planning depends on an accurate measure of time remaining on the flight plan. In other words, a GPS is required. Installed or hand held does not make any difference. My preferred decent rate is 500 fpm. That is slow enough for passengers and for regaining some of the waste of fuel from the climb and also normally fast enough for ATC. Cowl flaps are always closed. My home field is at sea level so my target altitude for the decent is 1000 msl. I want to be at 1000 msl as I close in on the field (nothing new here). If I am cruising at 17000, then I want to descend 16000 feet. At 500 fpm it will take 32 mins to get down to pattern altitude. I will add 8 to 10 mins to that figure so that with about 40 mins remaining on my flight plan, I begin a 500 fpm decent. I reduce MP by 2" only and as the MP rises back to 30" (cruise power setting) in the decent, reduce by 2" again. In other words, I make a relatively full cruise power decent. I have an LB engine with Merlin so my MP is not well regulated while climbing or descending. I am not sure, but I think your MB engine handles the MP better during climbs and descents. The 8 to 10 mins that I added to decent time is so that I have time to slow down, decide on entering the pattern or a straight in approach, and to configure for the approach and landing. Also, descending at a high power setting means that I am again pretty high in the green arc for IAS so I am covering more ground. It is not unusual to see 170 to 175 kias during decent so also remember best practices if there is some turbulence. At about 1500 msl (or agl) I begin to round out the bottom of the decent and reduce to 25". Consistently that is about 8 or 10 NM from the field (even though my decent was based on time). Slow down a bit, make a radio call, check on my now very slow decent rate and altitude, and I can reduce to 20". By this time I am at 1200 agl and 5 NM. I can drop the gear and begin a 5 mile final or continue onward into the pattern. Reduce power to 18" and with the gear down and approach flaps, that gives me a nice 90 to 95 kias on long final (20" if in the clag and close to 105 kias). Add full flaps the last 2 miles and that produces a comfortable 80 kias for short final. In terms of power management, heat in the engine, loading of the rings, etc., going from 30" directly to 25" does not bother me at all. Going from 25" to 18" happens over the course of about 2 to 3 minutes, so for me that is plenty gradual and not abrupt. I am never below 18" until I reduce power on very short final so that I can be at 75 kias over the fence and to flare and touch down. I do not have speed brakes and have never really needed them. They would however be a nice tool to have in the case of an ATC slam dunk. After writing all of that out it seems like a lot of steps to take but it really is not. The key is choosing the correct number of minutes remaining on the flight plan. Add more time in addition to decent minutes for long descents, add less time for more shallow descents. It is the same as programing a vertical decent profile in a GPS I just prefer to do it in my head. As the many posts have shown, there are just as many methods as there are pilots. The best advice from all of these posts is to get with that Mooney specific instructor until such time as you know what your machine can do all the while keeping all of the instruments in the green. By that time you will likely have your own best practices and methods for accomplishing a given task.

One guy that I gave a ride to speaks of nothing else but finishing up his college and going straight into some sort of ATP program. His dad is behind it and I am sure he will do well. Certainly add my name to the list. Dave, M20K, KCXL Calexico, CA, between Yuma and San Diego. d.a.martinelli@comcast.net Maybe this needs to be a sticky topic with a compiled list of responders. Dave

Thanks for all of the responses guys. How good is this forum? There was only one response from someone with an engine other than a Lyc 360. Since I started this, I will add... I drain my K model (TCM 360) right after a flight. I also loosen the oil filter at the same time because there is bunch of oil that comes out of the spin-on adapter - maybe an extra 1/4 quart or so (in addition to the oil in the filter). The filter is mounted vertically so the filter is still full when I return later to finish up the job. I take the filter off and turn upside down inside a funnel to drain into the bucket - and later cut open. I remember hearing somewhere in the last several years about adding oil to the filter before installation but that was before I owned an airplane. I recalled that comment the other day and decided to post this poll. I have never added oil to the filter before putting it on and given the info above, I probably won't going forward.

Another way to look at this question is... After an oil change, do you worry about those first few moments during engine start that the mechanical oil pump has to fill the filter?

Kerry McIntyre, KNR Inc., Evanston, WY, KEVW, maybe 70 or 80 miles NE of Salt Lake. 307-789-6866 Dave

Tim, I know that MN is not IA but of course is right next door. Try Jason Doscher at Jed Aire Aviation (320-843-4461) in Benson, MN, KBBB. He will not disappoint. He was the service manager at Wilmar before he wanted his own shop. He has many years of Mooney experience. There is also the afore mentioned Wilmar Air Service in Wilmar, MN. They are an MSC, but I have direct knowledge of, and would first recommend, Jason. Dave

Quote: FBCK Nemesis, I have a 231 with Mrylyn Wastgate and its intercooled and I have the same issue if I try to turn the mixture down, the TIT will just pop up to 1650 and the alarms go off. I just do the big pull now and the situation is much better and govern my activity by adding more fuel to increase and decrease power with an eye on the TIT and cylinders. I use some numbers that Parker posted back a while ago and they worked amazing well. I used to fly at 28 inches, but now I push it to 31 inches and a fuel flow of 11.5 to 12gph and everything stays cool (10000-17000 feet). As I come down again I find I have to either lean again and go rich or the TIT become an issue again, the MP also will increase as I decend. I have to whach my cylinders in climb, number 2 will hit 380 even when its cool oAT.

While working with my A&P, I noticed him sit on the leading edge close to the door, then pull himself up and in with his hands close to the wing walk material. Much easier and faster than walking all the way around the wing just to open the cowl flaps or push/pull a knob or switch while working. I have done this myself and the leading edge just behind the open door is very solid. Somebody with a new paint job may disagree, but I don't think there is any possibility of damage unless somebody pushes on the already open door - with the added benefit of very shiny paint just in front of the wing walk. I am not sure if you can make it up that high to get your rear end over the leading edge close to the wing root, but that would eliminate any risk to the flaps. That is not my normal method of entry, but it works.

Do you have an intercooler? I think that might help you a bit. The 231s sometimes do run hotter, so I'm not terribly surprised. Also, is yours a GB or LB engine? Also, at what altitudes are you seeing these high TITs? How do your TITs compare to your EGTs at those altitudes? What engine monitoring system do you have? You never know - you may just have a bad probe. I know my factory TIT probe has started to be a bit sketchy on the low end. However, once I start leaning, it indicates like it always has. I typically sit around 1570 - 1620 dF when LOP when burning 12 GPH. The highest I've taken my plane so far is FL190 and it has never wanted to exceed 1650 dF when leaning. Parker ------------------------------------ I am sure that Parker will not mind that I also posted above his private response to me. My temperature device is a JPI-830. I also have seen my factory guages fluctuate at times, but for the most part, they agree with each other - ie. if I see a rise measured in degrees on the JPI, then I also see a rise on the factory guage although can only guess at the real temp on the factory guage. The engine is LB and it does not run hot at all; in fact it is quite cool compared to other 231 temps that I have read about here and elsewhere. At 75-78% ROP, my hottest cylinder is about 355dF and my oil temp is 180-185dF. The hottest temps that I have ever seen on this engine during climb and over a 117dF desert were 368dF cyl and 192dF oil. I also have been to APS and undertand and agree with the theory and practice. I kind of doubt that an intercooler will have much to do with EGT and TIT beyond a handfull of degrees. If the intake air is cooled 100dF or so but then combustion takes the hot gasses as read on the EGT a few split seconds after combustion up to 1450dF, I am pretty sure that the difference between intercooled air and non-intercooled will be very small. I am not really counting lack of an intercooler as an issue. All of my testing thus far has been at 17,500. I did a little testing at 65% all the way from 150 ROP to more than 100 LOP right over the top of peak. Lately, I just leave the MP at 30" or so and do a BMP to a fuel flow of about 8 GPH and well more than 100dF LOP and then I enrich from there searching for first to peak from the lean side (I also tried up to 32" as suggested by Braly and Atkinson as a pseudo WOT position for a turbo engine). As I approach 9 GPH from the lean side, the TIT is up near the 1650dF mark and I have to stop. That leaves me in the low 60s as percent HP. I have not really compared EGT and TIT while trying to run LOP. I know when I am 125 ROP EGT (leanest), I am 95 or 100 ROP on the TIT. While LOP I have only watched for prohibitive temps. In other words, I am only looking for anything that redlines as I try to find the richest cylinder, and of course I always find the TIT going through the roof. Then I notice that I am at such a low power state, I try to evaluate for a bit, and then I return to ROP so that I can get to where I am going. As far as probes go, the placement of the JPI and factory probes for TIT are as close as humanly possible on near opposite sides of the exhaust. However, I also have to add that when the JPI reads 1650, the factory guage is well below that, maybe 50 or 75 degrees. I have more faith in the JPI and use that as my limiting factor. I have done a LOP mag check and the ignition system feels strong with little change from 2 mags except EGT rise as normal. The plugs are Champion massives and are about 16 months old and a bit less than 200 hours and cleaned and gapped about 40 hours ago. I can do some resistance checking when I next have the cowl off. While climbing the CDT reads a little above mid scale and then lower when I reduce power. I have never seen the CDT anywhere close to redline but I have also never been above FL190.

Machine. 1980 231, LB engine with 1275 SMOH, Merlyn wategate, no intercooler, ROP always good CHTs <360dF and oil temp <185dF, overall an excellent running engine. This thread is definately not to restart the debate. I finally was able to have GAMIs installed a couple of months ago. Even with the initial installation the engine is pretty smooth LOP. I may still adjust one injector but I want even more data before I talk with the people at GAMI. The problem that I have is that I seem severely limited by TIT. When LOP and as I go above 60% power at around 9 GPH, I reach 1650 dF on the TIT. Trying to get any more power than that only results in even higher TIT and it makes no sense to me to run the turbo at 1650 for any length of time. I know it is certified to 1650 but certified and good practice are rarely the same thing. Heck, at 60% I can run at peak egt and low MP but 60% is not where I want to run. What have other turbo operators found, and in particular 231 owners? Are other turbo operators able to get 70% or 75% LOP?

Seth beat me to the punch. I am in Colorado and Southern California. Those locations will give an idea about how far I think necessary travel is when dealing with pre-purchase and maintenance. I also purchased from Tim, pre-buy from Jason, and transition training from Bruce. Jason was Bruce's shop manager at Willmar for something like 8 years before he decided to strike out on his own even before Bruce decided to sell the Willmar business. I am/was in southern California when time came for my annual this year and I did not hesitate (will never hesitate) to make a trip to Benson MN to see Jason at Jed-Aire for an annual or major maintenance. I hate to be the lone dissenting voice but at the same time how can I sit by and not say anything with everything that people in MN have been telling me? I will not give specifics, lets just say that I highly recommend Jason Doscher but with equal passion do not recommend Willmar. I know that goes against their prior stellar reputation but I have my reasons for saying so... and no, it is not only because I prefer Jason, there is more to it than that. Get the pre-buy from Jason, do some flight training with Bruce, and you will have a good early ownership experience. Use my name as well if you like when you talk to Jason.

There are only but a few real milestones in aviation. First solo, a freshly minted PPL or new instrument rating, descending that first time into the muck on an approach - without an instructor on board, searching for and ultimately buying a first airplane, the first time that a primary instrument goes haywire or you loose vacuum - hopefully in VFR conditions, who can remember those first 500 mile trips - manageing the airplane, navigating, landing at a strange airport, etc. After more than a year of ownership, the places that I normally go, the peculiarities of this airplane, my weather go/no go decisions, basically my familiarity, many things have started to become routine or commonplace. I am always fighting to be sure that they do not manifest as complacency. One new thing recently was the annual inspection after my first full year of ownership. The machine: 1980 M20K 231, TSIO-360-LB I know that many or most on these lists or forums have lots of experience with inspections but I have very little. Hey, that experience is why I lurk on the email lists and forums. I did not fear my inspection. I know the condition of my machine and if there were any doubt in my mind I sure as hell would not climb into it. But then there is always the unexpected. So, for those without all of the experience in the world and perhaps even a tip or two for those guru types, I offer the following. (Crap, two paragraphs just as introduction?) I set off a week ago last Monday to see Jason in MN and renew our friendship. My goals were - annual inspection, Merlyn wastegate, the upgraded alternate intake air system for a 231 (who knows why the original owner did not get the free or discounted kit when offered but they didn't), new battery, change a tire that was flat spotted before I owned the plane, and balanced fuel injectors. In the last couple of months I had acquired all of the parts that I needed. I planned on swapping two injectors but if that did not work I ordered GAMIs anyway. Jason had a new Concorde RG-35AXC for me and tire and tube. He also ordered the Merlyn WG kit and a new exhaust elbow in case my old one would not work or come apart. I called a bunch of salvage places to find the alt air box. Finally Wentworth called me back and sent one over and for only $145 too, nice. With my parts package complete, I only had to wait for the appointment. As soon as I landed in Benson, we backed the airplane into the hanger and removed the cowl. While Jason checked compressions on the warm engine, I commenced removal of the inspection panels that he wanted off and then started to clean up the belly. How could it be that dirty after only two months? Well, I did a lot of flying during the holidays and since. Cleaning the belly is a ton easier with a decent creeper and a good floor. As it turned out, the air box that Wentworth sent was not the right one even though the part number they wrote on it was correct. They probably just copied the number from my email. Compared to the parts manual it sure looked good to me. Fortunately, a 10 minute phone call later and the correct part was on it's way for Tuesday delivery. After lunch, I continued cleaning and he got down to the nitty gritty of the inspection and lubrication. I was getting tired from the traveling and working by about 4pm and Jason has a van available for customer use. I grabbed the van and went to the hotel. That was enough for me on Monday. When I showed up from the hotel on Tuesday morning at about 9am, Jason had already put most of the inspection panels back on. He must have kept working well past 5pm the night before. Somewhere around noon he was putting the belly panels back together and for the most part the inspection was finished. The new tire was on the right main as well. All told and in addition to lubrication, Jason had cleaned up a sticky micro-switch on the stall warning, tightened a couple of things on the nose gear, replaced the brake linings, and made note of the correctly installed filler plate in the tail. That was it. All of the things that we were careful to inspect and repair at pre-purchase / 1st annual paid off and as I expected most everything was tip top. If I were there only for the inspection, I would have been home on Tuesday afternoon. It was getting to be about 1pm on Tuesday and normally UPS shows up about noon. Jason called Wentworth to be sure they had sent out the air box. What! They didn't? The guy said that the Mooney application calls for slightly different part numbers and he was not sure what he had. Thanks that he did not even bother to call. After reconfirming what we wanted he promised that it would be in UPS for Wednesday delivery. Ok. Change out the battery. Simple, and there would be part of the afternoon for the Merlyn wastegate. Jason even fit in changing out a prop on an F model for a fly-in customer from Flying Cloud. The exhaust came apart easy enough, even the bypass elbow where the WG goes. My original has course threads and the new WG has fine threads. Good thing that we ordered the new elbow. The first trial fitting of the elbow / exhaust pipe / turbo flange shows giant gaps as the three parts don't fit together at all. After some more trying, twisting, pushing, and pulling, we are getting nowhere. That elbow just does not fit worth a crap. It won't slip over the pipe on top, and it won't slip into the pipe on the bottom. Everything is nice and clean and the original fits perfectly. After a couple of phone calls to Merlyn and sending pictures, an engineer at Merlyn says that the new elbow that they sent does appear to be of poor quality. But the only solution that we could get out of him was to send in both the new and old elbows and he would send back one that would work. For some reason he would not send out another new one of better quality. Very disappointing for a $3000 kit. The wastegate controller itself seems to be very good, but the poor customer service together with the admittedly substandard elbow leaves a bitter taste regarding that company. Jason's experience tells him that we should just modify what we have rather than wait a week or more for Merlyn to come through. So, we nip the very end off of part of the elbow and also off of one pipe on the exhaust. That gets it much closer but not perfect. I spent two hours in the hotel that night with emery cloth making each of the parts fit perfectly dry. There was no need to pay Jason to sit there hand fitting those parts when I could do it myself. I got up earlier on Wednesday because I had all the parts that we needed at the hotel. 15 minutes after I got there and with a little anti-seize compound, and the exhaust is back together with a perfect fit; but it took 5 or 6 hours of hand fitting to get that bypass elbow to work. By noon the MP lines were in and the #2 and #5 injectors were swapped - my most rich and most lean. We slapped the cowl back on for a quick test flight to see if swapping the injectors would help balance them any better. Plus, the air box should show up any time. It looks like even if the GAMIs have to be installed as well as the air box, I should have no problem going home on Thursday. I started to do a run up per the Merlyn instructions and noticed that the charge amps were flickering between zero and about mid scale positive charge. Jason jumped in and adjusted the voltage regulator a bit, maybe something with the new battery I guess. The new WG worked perfectly by the Merlyn instructions so the test flight was on. Swapping the injectors did absolutely nothing. It was as if nothing was changed at all. My CHTs were identical to before and the lean test gave exactly the same results, #5 lean and #2 rich, and a rough running engine anywhere close to LOP. Now it is 1pm and no UPS. Another call to Wentworth confirms that they screwed us over again. This time the guy says that he looked up the old invoice from when they sent the part to me a couple of months back and it had the identical part number so he did not send out anything. Thanks once again for not calling. Does this guy not understand english? The part we have is wrong, the picture of the part that you sent is correct, send the damn thing. Another promise to send, time wasted, together with a few choice and colorful words that I will not repeat here. It is a shame that for salvage parts, there is really only one player that has a good inventory. Wentworth is not high on my list of companies to deal with. So, lunch then disassemble the air intake in preparation for the ever elusive alt air box, install the GAMI injectors, and that pretty much kills the day. We didn't plan on testing the new injectors. Either they will work as advertised or maybe I will have to change out one or two in the future after some cruise testing. Either way I am not going to be making any more injector changes this trip. Thursday morning and I go and have a good breakfast at this little diner where all of the farmers hang out. Every 'farmer' diner that I have been in always has good breakfast, much better than the ' continental' at the hotel. When I show up at 8:30, Jason is driving up at the same time. He always takes his kids to school at around 8am. Inside the shop the new alternate air system is almost fully installed. It turns out that he had another airplane in a different hanger that he scavenged the box from. He had enough confidence that he would eventually get the one from Wentworth so he took the one from the other airplane. We both left at the same time the night before so he must have been at work at 5am to get all of that work done and then return home to take his kids to school. About the only thing left to do was complete the wiring to a micro-switch on the new box. It took a little while to do that, then he was off working to complete the paperwork. I loaded up the airplane for the trip home. Jason started up the airplane to taxi to the fuel pump while I finished putting the paperwork together in my books. After lunch I would launch for Denver. While he was running up and taxing the airplane, the amp meter was flickering again. We ate at the diner and talked over the strange charging condition. After lunch the weather was turning very cold but still VFR, just a very cold air mass moving into the area with very little cloudiness associated. While I handled the controls, Jason was on his back trying once again to adjust the voltage regulator. When the voltage was turned down to 13 or 13.1 volts, the flickering stopped. As soon as the voltage was adjusted higher, the VR would go into cutoff again. I guess the new battery was too much for the old VR. Luckily he had another available. 10 minutes later with the new VR the same condition existed. The voltage could be adjusted a bit higher, maybe 13.3 or 13.4, but any higher and it would cut out again. Something was just not right. Several calls were put in to different companies including Concorde. Concorde was the first to call back. The guy on the phone sounded a bit older and he identified himself as a company engineer. I did not get his name. After the condition was explained, aircraft type, VR, new Concorde RG battery, he immediately went into a story of how many times he has come across the very same problem. He said that after many years and many such cases, he does not know the exact reason, and the reasons may vary by airplane, age, connection corrosion, alternator, and other installations, but the old style mechanical VRs (with points) do not behave well with the sealed batteries. He said get a Zeftronics (solid state) and that would solve the problem. The charging voltage could have been left at that low setting and I could have probably gone to Denver and had the new VR installed later, but with all of these type decisions in aviation, I decided that the best thing to do was to stay put for one more night if a VR could be sent overnight. Then I would have a definitive solution before leaving. UPS does their sorting for the area in Morris MN about 20 miles NW. Jason offered to go to Morris early on Friday morning and pick up the new Zeftronics regulator at the UPS office rather than wait for the truck at noon. I flew the airplane over to Morris and he put in the VR there on the ramp. 5 minutes to install, a short run up, the flickering on the amp meter was gone, and the voltage and charging current were both perfect. There are no adjustments on the Zeftronics. I shook Jason's hand with many thanks, I was on my way back to Denver. I remember seeing many threads about charging problems over the last couple of years and how much time and money was spent on those problems. I was almost in the same trap. We could have changed alternators, cleaned every connection on the high amp lines and regulator lines, changed breakers, and maybe even gone as far as ordering more batteries or changing the alternator drive coupling, and all would have been worthless and expensive. That 5 minute conversation with the guy at Concorde saved days of time and countless dollars. Certainly all of those other things have value, clean connections, alternator in good condition, that crappy drive coupling on the TSIO-360-LB model engines, good battery, but high on my list of advice for the group is to get rid of the old style voltage regulators especially when combined with a newer style sealed battery. What I found on the trip back to Denver was that throttle response with the new automatic wastegate is more crisp. There are also less throttle adjustments necessary to keep the MP at the value I set. I wish that I had a turbo RPM gauge to see what the difference really is. My CDT is about mid-scale while in climb but I have never seen it much hotter than that anyway. As far as the GAMI injectors go, I can run LOP right now down to about 8 GPH with the engine still pretty smooth. That is down in the 50% power range. Of course, that power level is not why I have a Mooney. I was able to get to about 65% or 68% LOP but after that, my TIT goes over the 1650dF mark. So, TIT is going to be my limiting factor. I would sure like to find a way to get back to about 75% and still be perhaps 40dF LOP or some comfortable margin. I will keep experimenting as well as make some inquiries about how I might be able to do that. The high TIT occurred with about 32" or 33" MP, 2500 RPM, about 10.5 GPH and at 16,500 ft. I also did a couple of GAMI spread tests at 65% power. One showed a spread of about 1.0 GPH and another showed about 0.6 GPH. I do not know which is correct and do not consider these results truly valid. I need to do several more tests and see if I can get some repeatable results. All I know for sure is that the engine is pretty smooth LOP. Perhaps it can be even better. As I said above, #5 has always been my leanest as well as hottest cylinder. Normally ROP at 75% to 78% power, it runs about 365dF to 368dF consistently. Even though it was the leanest cylinder, it partly did not make sense that it was hot because it is also in the front and gets the first blast of cooling air. What does make sense is that it is my cylinder with the lowest compression since it is the warmest. Together with the voltage regulator business, the most significant outcome from this whole process is that the combination of the Merlyn wastegate and GAMI injectors have made my cylinder temperatures drop and more consistent. Before, my temps were out of place for where the cylinders are in the cooling chain. In other words, the front pair with the most direct cooling air were not the coolest, the middle pair were not necessarily slightly warmer, and the rear pair were not necessarily warmer than the middle. Again at the 75% to 78% range ROP, my front cylinders are now running about 305dF and within 5dF of each other; that is a drop of 60dF for #5. My middle pair of cylinders are at 315dF and within 5dF of each other, and my rear pair of cylinders are about 335dF and within 10dF of each other. How consistent is that? With #5 now running much cooler on this 1300 hour engine, maybe these changes are just what was needed to get this engine to TBO or beyond. If that is the case, this investment will pay out big in the next few years. There is one other thing that qualifies as significant outcome. Jason Doscher, Jed-Aire Aviation, Benson MN, is a fine mechanic and everything that he did last week only confirms for me that he is more than fair and will keep my ass safe in the air. I don't know why I like writing these diatribes. I don't really contribute very often to the lists and forums but I hope these writings have some info that will help other owners/operators/lurkers. Dave 1980 M20K 231 N231NF KFTG and KCXL

Craig, I have read in other threads where somebody somehow gets logged into Mooneyspace under a different username. I had never experienced it until today, just a few minutes ago relative to the time that this message posts - if you have the ability to track logins and logouts. Circumstances - I was reading on Mapalist and clicked on a link provided to a thread on Mooneyspace. I had not been on Mooneyspace the entire day. In fact, I had probably not logged into Mooneyspace for maybe a week or so. When I clicked the link (to thread 3504), I was logged in as Bnicolette. I logged out and once again followed the link on Mapalist but was not able to reproduce the error. Then I logged in as myself and wrote out this message. Good luck finding the error or solution.

Thanks Randy. I did call Rocket. One of the guys there said that I was on the right track trying to find a box, but that all of the serviceable parts that they removed way back when were snatched up pretty quickly. In the end however, I did find two. One guy sent me pictures and is now sending me the alt air box for a very fair price. I did not ask for pictures from the second guy whose price for the box alone is $1300.

Perhaps my 231 is one of the few out there, where, when Mooney offered the redesigned Alternate Induction Air system, that the person who owned it at that time did not take advantage of the free kit. Does anybody know of a source for the parts so that something resembling a complete kit might be put together? A mechanic friend asked Mooney earlier in the year and they did not have any parts for them at that time. I know that he made several other calls as well but I do not know to whom. Maybe Don Maxwell, Lasar, or Top Gun - if any of you are monitoring this week... Or, if anybody has any leftover parts so that I can begin piecing it together... The system is shown in the part catalog at 71-60-00 for the M20K. The part number for the box itself is 600382-9503. If I at least had a complete box assy then I am sure that the rest could be put together. Thanks, Dave 1980 M20K 231 - KFTG

I need to take my niece to Childrens Hospital in Phoenix. It is located in East Phoenix at Thomas and the 51 Fwy. I want to go to an airport that has crew cars available for a couple of hours but also has rental cars in case the crew cars are gone. Of course, Sky Harbor would be easiest to drive from but I do not know how GA friendly they are and how much time might be wasted trying to get in and out. So, what about services and fuel at Chandler, Mesa, Dove Valley, Scottsdale, Glendale?? What say those with experience in the Phoenix area? Thanks

Quote: jlunseth You will also see the quantity (qts.) look like it took a dive on the first trip after you pick the plane up. You might see 7 qts. on the dipstick before starting the engine and about 5 when you get home. The oil is still in the engine, the other quart or two are now in the filter and distributed around in the channels in the block, crankshaft, etc. Leaving Saturday morning from Willmar and before start, there were 6 quarts in the sump. While Jason was working on the gear door, 1 more quart was added. When I checked the oil on Sunday there were 7 quarts. So, I did not loose any oil during the trip. Perhaps 7 quarts will be what this engine likes. The concensus from email and mechanics all appear to be that all is normal with what I saw during those 4 hours. I will see how the oil temps react wthout the block for the oil cooler. Thanks to all for the responses and experience.

So, I went to Minnesota this past Wednesday, to participate in the final repairs/changes to N231NF, and then to finally bring it home to Denver. Well, participate is maybe not the right word. Watch and learn is more like it. Jason Doscher is formerly of Willmar and now (and for the last 8 years) has his own shop in Benson, MN about 30 miles to the west. It did not take long to discover that he is a fine mechanic with tons of Mooney experience, but he is also helpful and knowledgeable with any question that I had. Will I see Jason again? Absolutely. It was Jason's responsibility to put everything right and back in order with my new to me machine. Everything from the fuel pump at the front of the engine, to the tail strobe at the back has been examined and either repaired or simply passed as airworthy. Also included was the installation of a JPI 830 to properly monitor everything that is happening to that all important producer at the front. Thursday and part of Friday I "helped" everything go together. Well, maybe it would have gone faster had I not been there but then I would know much less than I do. Friday afternoon and it was time for a couple of more hours of review and flight training with Bruce Jaeger. All was well with the exception of one landing at Brainerd and of course the reason for going to Brainerd in the first place; a smoked radio, literally. Not a good smell a few thousand feet over central Minnesota. Welcome to aircraft ownership. There was also a bumping noise while the landing gear were going down. Could not find the problem on the ground. Saturday morning, and with Bruce's signature, I am on my own. I left Willmar to go back to Benson at 7am to check on this bumping noise. I flew the 30 miles with the gear down just in case. Turns out there was a small piece on the right gear door that was worn a bit and with air loads was able to go edge to edge with part of the wheel well. Jason ground down the offending piece of metal and riveted an extension so that the door was once again it's original size. All is well and about 10:30am I am off to Denver. Well, the 3 hour flight turned into a 4 hour flight thanks to the 20+ knot headwind at 8000'. All of the radios, GPS, autopilot, JPI, worked flawlessly. The air was like glass for the whole trip until I was in NE Colorado closer to the mountains. All CHTs were 333dF or less. I was at about 70% power or maybe a notch or two higher. Maybe it is the cooler OATs, but so far this engine is not difficult to manage. With a little more experience, I will push the power a bit more and migrate to LOP. There was a steady drop in oil pressure during the trip. The lowest that I saw was about 45 psi - down from the 57 psi in early cruise, well above the redline for the Continental, but still concerning. Looking back, maybe I should have made a precautionary landing to be sure that I was not losing oil. In the end, I did not lose a drop. There are still 7 quarts in the engine when checked today. Concerning the oil, I saw a steady rise in temp from about 175dF to 187dF over the 4 hours. Also, there was a steady rise in OAT from -4dC to +10dC. Perhaps the change in temperature can account for the rise in oil temp as well as the drop in pressure. Perhaps I can get some comments on this one. The oil in question is Exxon 20W-50 in a standard TSIO-360LB in a 231 with a fixed wastegate. The only other thing with regards to the oil is that up in the frozen north, it is common to block part of the oil cooler in the winter months. The foam pad to block half of the cooler was still in place during this flight. When I landed in Denver it was 68dF. I took out the foam pad today. Because I did not have any O2 with me, and because of the winds, I planned for 8000' for the entire trip. Also, the weather in Denver was showing the possibility of rain a couple of hours after my planned landing. Before I left, I sent in an IFR flight plan with fltplan.com. I departed VFR and wanted to get settled with the new machine and have a better understanding of it's equipment without an instructor on board. ie play with it a bit before I needed more precise navigation under IFR. I figured that once I got settled, I would ask for a clearance in case Denver had some weather and all of my info would be in the system for reference. However, I wanted flight following so I called Minneapolis Center as I was climbing. I never called for a clearance on the ground. Upon initial contact, the controller started to read back a clearance, complete with a limit to KFTG as filed and transponder code. I never even asked for anything. My call was simply "Minneapolis Center, Mooney 231NF off Benson." My only experience from an uncontrolled field has been to call on the phone for a clearance and then try to run up and complete checklists and get in the air before the void time rolls around. Is this a normal procedure or did I just get lucky with a cool controller that noticed my flight plan on her desk for that sector? Anyway, I think all is well if I can get this oil pressure business explained. I am home, and for the first time, so is my airplane. Maybe one of these days I will write to ask/answer a question rather than write a book. Also, thanks for all of the well wishes under the other posts that I made.

I did find some pictures of N231NF that I purchased last week. They are in my gallery.