FoxMike

Takeoff power needs to be reduced. In the cold you will reach 100% power at less manifold pressure than the power chart shows.

The KAA-15 in my airplane is located in the tail behind the baggage area.

I have an MT 4 blade on my Bravo. Even using the standard Mooney tow bar you have to be careful not to hit the blades. You need to keep the tow bar close to horizontal to have reasonable clearance. I use a Power Tow tug at the hangar which provides clearance to the propeller. You are smart to question interference potential with a sidewinder. I have never used a sidewinder but it only takes a slight bump on the trailing edge of the prop blade to take a chunk of fiberglass.

Small point but Restaurant at Greeley is open intermittently but is rumored to sell the first of the year.

I live in Denver and if I were doing your trip I would not fly the great circle route. The great circle takes you over the highest, roughest part of the Rockies. In good weather it can e done 13/14K (O2 needed). In IFR you need 16/17K and if turbulent it would be a memorable trip. You really need a turboed airplane for this trip. KABQ will be a much better choice.

I would suggest you locate a CFI to go along with you and help out with the flying duties. That way the airplane is being flown regularly.

My recollection is the same as yours but I have no reference. The 1750df redline was reduced to 1650df and notice may have been through Mooney many years ago. I cruise with the TIT at 1600df. Not having to repair the cracks in exhaust system is worth the extra fuel burned.

Noise and vibration became a big problem for me as I have gotten older. I could only manage 3 hour legs without a break. I replaced the McCauley with a four blade MT. Cabin is quieter so that I can empty the fuel tanks without a stop. Used to wear Bose ANRs but now use a Halo. Very happy with the MT.

I checked the price of a TIO 540 AF1B from Air Power. A new one is $175,000 and the rebuilt/overhaul are over $100K. Not too long ago a new engine was around $100K. I guess the reason for the lack of available engines is that Textron is giving purchasers a little time to save up. I wonder how full Textron order book is given the pricing. The overhaul shops are likely jumping for joy.

I am not going to be much help but years ago I flew a 206 into Banff and camped for several days. For a 206 the strip was ok but I do not remember it being kept in condition for your type of operation. I understand your desire to get close to Banff but unless you get some more current information I would search for another airport.

I used to own a T210. The M model allowed 10d of flaps below 140Kts.

Years ago one of Mooney's top salesman told me an unpublished number for deploying 10d flaps was 137Kts indicated. At the time I was on a demo flight in a TN. I do not use 137 in my Bravo but 120/125 seems to e OK. I find dropping the gear slows the airplane adequately. Somewhere around 100/110 I feel the need for the 10d of flaps. Personal choice in my opinion.

I was thinking a small amount of jet fuel or low octane gasoline.

One other thought I had is the possibility of contaminated fuel. You might want to take a fuel sample and have it tested. Talk to some other pilots and see if they have had any problems.

1800TIT on takeoff or in any other phase of flight indicates a problem. Detonation a possibility or just too lean a mixture. My TIT on Takeoff is not over 1400. First thing is to think back and make sure you taxied into position for takeoff with a full rich mixture. When I am taxiing I lean the mixture and before moving onto the runwayI lean some more. The idea is if I apply power without going full rich the engine will quit before I do damage. At full rich and takeoff power your TIT needs to e in the 1300-1400 range.

The rings in your cylinders constantly move around. Once in a great while, the ring end gaps line up and your compression goes way down. The only way to tell if that is the problem is to fly the airplane for 4 or5 hours. You might try this before you pull the cylinder.

Several years ago I had the same problem. I talked to both Mooney and PS Engineering and did not get a lot of satisfaction from either. Mooney had paid PS to create these verbal alarms but never carried through with all the wiring hookup. What trips off the voice chip is unknown to me. I had it happen to me once and shutting the radio master off after I got on the ground silenced the alarm. I could not shut the radio master off in the air as I needed to talk to the tower. This only happened once but I was concerned it might happen again. I was planning to buy a PS 450 later in the year so I bought it sooner rather than later. You might have a shop that is knowledgable remove the chip or maybe PS would do it. Good luck, I know what a annoyance that is.

You might try swapping your CHT probes around to prove they are reasonably accurate. Number 3 cylinder normally has two probes bayonet and gasket. Which are you relying on in flight? It takes some time and effort to swap the bayonet on #1 with another but the high temp might move. Proving the accuracy of the sensors is what I would try next.

I would suggest you lean to the TIT. I lean the engine to 1600dF and doing so have not had an exhaust crack. The picture shows your are 1378dF. If you leaned using TIT 1600dF I am sure the fuel flow will drop to a more acceptable level. I am an old guy so I am not in a big rush so I cruise around 2250/27 and FF is around 16Gal/hour. Gas mileage is around 10 NM/gal. I have tried different power settings and settled on this because engine temps seem reasonable. Oil temp always seems high which I think results from Mooney adding the wet head without replacing the oil cooler with a larger one. The wet head is a good thing as it picks up lots of heat and adds measurably to the oil temp.

I would suggest you look at the exhaust gaskets. You maybe be seeing oil coming out the exhaust because the exhaust gasket does not fit correctly. Do not over torque the nuts on the studs trying to stop the leak.

Have flown out of Leadville midday in summer in an E model. Technique is important. Leaning the engine to peak is tricky but necessary. Making small tweaks to mixture on the takeoff run is usually necessary. Low tire pressure is not something you think about much but make sure you do not have low tires. Wait for the airplane to get flying speed before you try to pull it off. If I remember correctly runway 16 slopes down hill slightly. If you need to reject the takeoff the runway is long enough to stop. The airplane will climb slowly so stay in the valley headed south till you get up to 12K MSL. Hypoxia can be a problem so having O2 on board is a good idea. Need to be on your A game. Don't forget to get your certificate from the FBO saying you landed at Leadville.

I had a couple of thoughts you might find useful. When you start operating 14-18K altitudes you may notice your oil pressure getting down near the yellow. A turn two on the oil pressure regulator should solve that problem. The other thought is where you will get O2. The FBO at RLG may have some but a friend who used to hangar up there brought his from his shop. Running over to EGE would be a fun flight but the O2 cost would likely be enormous. From what you said about your flight profile you will be using a fair amount. I have been hearing some horror stories about cost of O2. You might consider making up an O2 adapter so you can do it yourself.

I assume if you are basing at RGL and your concern is the occasional IFR departure. I have had my Bravo into RGL a number of times but never have had to depart IFR. If the weather is nice tomorrow you should fly up for an airport familiarization. It is tight around the immediate vicinity but after a good look around I think you will get comfortable with the terrain. A few years ago I did an IFR departure out of Rifle. Engine gets hot especially with above standard conditions. I normally climb at 120Kts. If your cylinders get above 400F things will only be that way for only a few minutes. I operate my engine very conservatively so unless the clouds force me to do a departure procedure I climb out VFR and call for my clearance enroute. Hot engines wear out faster but they run Ok while in service. Something to keep in mind Mooney, when they certified the Bravo only had to provide cooling for standard temp. plus 40F. Often in this part of the country we are operating at plus 50F. One genuine advantage of the Bravo is the wet head. It does provide quite a bit relief to the exhaust valve. Good luck in operating out RGL. The Bravo is one of only a few single engine airplanes that operates well in the Rockies.

Thinking about OSH 2024 at this late date? Bring a tent or try for a dorm room. If you want a motel room within 100 miles plan for 2025.

I have had a problem like this and found replacing the TIT probe solved the problem. The TIT probe works harder then the EGT probes so wears out faster.