RJBrown

Like this welcome to Perth sign under the approach to Sydney? made the weekly Flightaware squawks.

Did I tell you about the time I outran a Baron? Him at 10, me at 10.5. I was normal cruise 72% 200 k tas. I passed him without giving him a second thought, he was just “traffic” On the ground at Santa Fe he approached me after I got back from lunch to find out why he could not stay ahead no matter how hard he pushed. Had to be after lunch because he was just landing as we took the shuttle into town. That was a 600 hp “Bonanza” no aerodynamically challenged 300hp Beech will ever keep up with a 300hp Mooney. Too phat. Only way to go faster on that same power is to fly experimental plastic. But you are right that Bonanza is a nice plane. Probably my second choice, I have no need for a 3rd row. Even a Malibu won’t keep up till they add kerosene.

Most “chromed” spinners are polished aluminum with a protective clear coat.

Lived in Denver, now in Phoenix on an Airpark. bought a 231 in 93 converted to Rocket when engine needed work. I flew all around the country and put 1000 hours on her. Loved that plane. I consider the Rocket the ultimate Mooney. I sold it to finance work related real estate. Later bought a J as my “forever” in retirement plane. I was based at Centennial and had MEAs of 16,600 10 miles west of my house. Every time I flew the J all I could think of is what it couldn’t do. sold it Flying throughout the inter mountain West you really need a turbo. Altitude and rate of climb are your friends. Never missed a flight because I didn’t have TKS in the Rocket. I also never flew in the North east. Missed flights in the J because of weather that would not have been an issue in the Rocket. Pilot X said everyone wants a Bravo. That’s true but only because there aren’t enough Rockets or Acclaims to go around. Yes, what everyone wants is a Big Block Turbo, the ability to get high and go fast. Even if something else fits them better….. At Centennial parked next to me in the shelters was a Bonanza. I always ask him why he spent so much to go so slow.

Old time soldering iron. put it in the fire to get hot then solder stuff together. Tin/sheetmetal like home made furnace ducting.

The stop is an over center one. You pull the knob to open the cowl it opens fully then back a few degrees. To close you are pushing against the airflow at first. The stop position is adjustable. If it is adjusted too far it really gets hard to close. Not far enough it won’t stay open. The piece that did this on my plane was made out of sheet metal and the adjustment was by bending. It was easy to get out of adjustment. I considered making a stronger piece out of a block of aluminum on a Bridgeport but never did. Unapproved parts and all. Stopped on the ground it is easy to open and close. At speed you are pushing against airflow. Fully against airflow to open. Very difficult to move from closed to open at speed. Impossible to open above 200kts. Much easier to close at 100tks. Once closed I felt it was closed for the trip. Once closed a cruise climb, or a zoom climb is fine with the flap in trail but a maximum performance climb with trailing cowl flaps would cause unwanted heating. (Opinion) This is actually an advantage of 231 based Rocket over a 252 based one. 252 uses a small electric motor to open the cowl flap that is not really up to the job. They are quite expensive and, at one time, impossible to find. in either version I would only open them on the ground. To open them against the air flow pressure felt to me like I way trying to break something. If the already small and fragile 252 motor was used to open the cowl in flight regularly I fear it would not last. my 252 opinions are not based on any specific 252 knowledge just extrapolating 231 knowledge. Those with 252/encore Rockets feel free to enlighten me.

Epoxy sticks to the surface only. It does not bond chemically to the ABS. Epoxy eventually hardens becomes brittle and lets go. Great Planes sell 1/2 oz fiberglass cloth. That is 1/2 ounce per square yard. Very light material. I used acetone to melt the fiberglass cloth into the ABS panel. Lay the cloth where you want it dry. Using a soft paint brush apply acetone sparingly. Repeat. Cracks around screw heads can be filled with powdered ABS and solvent. Remember when we were kids we could get real model airplane cement. The stuff some people sniffed to get high. It chemically melted the plastic material the kits were made out of. The pieces were chemically welded together. Then we graduated to flying models and used tightbond glue. It soaked into the wood and glued it together like Elmers glue but better. Wood glues didn’t work on plastic models. That’s the kind of joint you get with epoxy. Purely a surface adhesion joint. Epoxy is a BAD idea for ABS. There is a reason plumbers use a glue that chemically melts into the plastic to make a pressure proof joint. If a plumber glued your sprinkler system together with epoxy it would pop apart. Use the right “tool” for the job. A very thin, slow setting, ABS plumbing glue would be my choice to try going forward. Clear, not black and not the fast setting types or wet types.

Interesting stuff but, I feel it’s wholly inappropriate for Memorial Day. Memorial Day is an American Holiday to honor those that gave their lives protecting America.

What I learned getting my IFR, A turn coordinator is a lifesaver in unusual attitudes. It is a no thought react only indication. If you find yourself upside down and sideways you stomp the ball and pull level slowly. An AI might not save your life. Too much thinking. Especially if tumbled. Early one morning (in the dark)at 12-14,000 over the plains heading east. I must have bumped the auto pilot disconnect. Didn’t feel it going over. All of a sudden I was in an “unusual attitude” Training kicked in. Pull power Stomp the ball to level wings Pull, not hard enough to pull the wings off, but pull smoothly to level. reset the auto pilot and slow the heartbeat.

Epoxy gets hard and brittle and will eventually lose its grip with plastic. When ABS flexes old brittle epoxy let’s go. I would not use it. I would use the methods listed above. I used Acetone and fiberglass to fix the interior pictured back in the early 90s but ABS glue sounds better. I used the lightweight fiberglass cloth that is used in the R/C hobby industry. I brushed the fiberglass cloth into the backside of the plastic with the plastic solvent. I used powdered ABS mixed into the acetone to make filler putty for big holes/cracks. Acetone is very thin and watery and can be hard to work with. I’ve not used it but ABS plumbers glue has more body and might work better. I did use SEM paints. They come from auto detail supply stores. SEM has a whole line of products to repair and repaint the interiors of cars.

Wing gauges are all I ever trusted. And my fuel totalizer, accurate to .2 gallons over the use of 50. As shown above if you need another opinion. If needed I would drain one completely. Once it stumbles switch the valve. Then you know there is no fuel there and all remaining is in the other. This allows you to use most of what Mooney calls “unusable” Did it in a 231 and same plane later as a Rocket. once as a 231 I tried to get the prop to stop and could not. The wind kept it turning even at stall speeds. I did it before there was an internet telling me I couldn’t. once in the Rocket I went Brownsville to Centennial 900.5 kts direct non stop just to find Centennial closed. Used all I had in one tank just to know for sure I could land with over 10 in the other.

While my 231 was becoming a Rocket I rented a turbo arrow many times. Big step down but renters can’t be too choosie. Worst flight was one from Denver APA to Phoenix FFZ. I did not have the range because of head winds. Same engine same fuel, way slower. Could not get 495 nautical out of that pig. Landed short in Show Low spent the night on couches in the FBO outer office. Bad night. My 231 went non stop from KAPA to KCRQ many times. And it is 715 nautical miles. yes the t-arrow is a big step up from a trainer but the 231 just gets way more out of the same idea. Still air range of the 231 on the same fuel is 250 miles further. That’s why you train on Piper Hershey bar wings but you travel on Mooney wings.

Yes, I was the Rocket owner. The lock plates were not bent over when engine was assembled by Continental. It failed at 80 hours. Continental paid Rocket to R&R the engine so they could fix it. The gear came loose and destroyed the alternator sending FOD into the engine. I was IFR above a solid cloud deck just out of Jackson Hole for Spokane.

No there isn’t a model specific place to go. no need. Re title a thread and you’ll get a lot of K opinions. Turbo musing. I fell in love with Mooneys shortly after getting my private in 1992. I seriously fell in love with a near new MSE/J that I rented a lot. When that J was pulled off the rental line I started looking for one in earnest. There was one in the shelters at Centennial, had a for sale sign and everything. Probably would have bought it if I had been able to get a response out of the owner. His loss, my gain. Then purely by accident I Found a 231 on the Erie airport, 145 Piper Drive. Didn’t really know how different a K was from a J. They looked pretty much the same. Flew it with the seller up to Arapahoe Aero and bought it. 13 years old and about 1100 hours. Bought it. Flew it. Loved it. About 100 hours later the engine pumped out 5 quarts of oil in less than an hour. I was coming home from Spokane, put 6 quarts in at Orofino Idaho Got it back to Spokane, long story it’s now a Rocket. Put over 1000 hours on it but sold it to make a real estate deal. promised myself a retirement plane, took 3 more years. Bought a 1990 MSE. Thought I could love it like the one from 1993. But, can’t go back after owning a turbo. The flexibility to get over or around weather. Every flight in that MSE was just a reminder of what it couldn’t do. Sold it to a Texas flat lander. Now I need a turbo. You will love that 231. I had mine up to FL22 over Pueblo coming home from Texas. The ground under me was all flat but that turbo kept me in the clear and over the ice. Took the Rocket to 26 more than once. Amazing. In Denver you’ve got MEAs at 16600 just a few miles west of town. Yes you’ll want that turbo. Best piece of safety equipment you can have in a Mooney.

My mistake that was a before accident picture. this is an after picture from the above U Tube video. That video shows during and after.

Repaired, repainted, Restored. in England.

When I sold the Rocket I flew with the buyer from Stockton to Las Vegas to deliver it. He insisted on flying left seat. The landing in Vegas had a pretty strong cross wind component. He was doing a pretty good job landing but panicked about 200’ up and said “your plane” I got it and landed safely but was not quite straight on touchdown. He had owned a Grumman American with a castering nose wheel and was used to steering with brakes. He totally smoked the right main. Thump thump thump as we taxied. He was unaware he had done anything. When I pointed it out as we walked away he accused me of doing it. I was quite thankful Mooney had chosen to not install co pilot brakes. Brand new to junk in one landing. Lots of good advice above about foot placement and shoes. If a landing “needs” that heavy of braking you already made multiple mistakes.

Your critical thinking is lacking. Re read my post. one button deploys both brakes. if both brakes don’t deploy when that one button is pushed “something is wrong with them”

Speed brakes are not deployed separately. One control for both. If they come out asymmetricaly something is wrong with them. slips induce drag speed brakes induce drag. they both slow a plane down but they are very different. before I had speed brakes installed in my 231 based Rocket I used a slip to increase my descent rate. after the speed brakes were installed I used them.

Charlie weights are part of the balance adjustment when Rocket finishes the conversion. Without them the aircraft IS NOT airworthy. I can’t imagine anyone with any aviation knowledge removing them. With 2 standard people and nothing else in the plane it should be just inside the forward limit. That is how they left Spokane. Everything else added to the plane moves the CG rearward. You are smart to not fly as is. Someone was ignorantly trying to kill themselves.

It is the unusual that gets em every time. Two days ago a friend took off in his Piper door popped open. He decided to land and secure the door. Wind noise masked the gear horn. gear up. there but for the grace..... when things get weird, slow down

Climb to 26,000@ 1500 fpm. 20gph 238 knots @ 24,000 pull power back to 231 levels and get almost same mileage. Still climbed higher, then slowed down and went further. Or ? Take your pick. it’s called flexibility. At 11420 you are still below the MEA 15 miles west of my old house. The usefull goes up with Rocket conversion. It can carry more, higher, further and faster. What do you buy a airplane for? To go slower? But a M20K is the best plane ever, Rocket is just its peak.

The Doctor is attesting to the specific questions ask on the form. If he has invented another set of questions he is not doing what you paid for. The only paperwork was the pages printed off the website that Thomas referred to.

Once again a rude reply that quoted me twice but totally ignores my premise. In reality the Cirrus is not a better, safer aircraft. It is an aircraft that is well marketed. Yes, Cirrus business model works. As in all sales situations what gets sold is PERCIEVED value. Real value is often ignored. Actual statistical data is not as important to sales as feelings. ‘Just as in the case of the Scion XB vs the Kia Soul. The best product lost to the best marketing plan. Oscar Meyer may not have the best product in the segment but you all can sing their song. American consumers buy what their told to. Even when spending a million dollars on a toy. And no, the pilot of N416DJ was not a real pilot. He was an example of Cirrus training and marketing. The training just can’t seem to overcome the marketing. Damned if you do damned if you don’t.

I learned how to fly in Denver at 6880’msl in the summer. The DA was announced on the atis. I never gave DA a second thought. Learning in those conditions Everything seemed normal. It was that first flight to Palomar California that felt strange as can be. That 182 seemed to never want to quit flying. Going from Denver to the California coast was a learning experience but going the other way, sea level to high altitudes could be dangerous without training. I was the last person to survive a flight in Mooney N3768N an F model when I flew from Spokane to Denver back in 1996. Early the next morning 2 freshly minted, Florida trained, CFIs took it into the mountains without proper training and failed to return. https://planecrashmap.com/plane/co/N3768N/ After owning a Rocket I bought a 1990 MSE, the J behind me in my avatar picture. It’s inability to get to and sustain altitude is why I sold it. I’ve lost friends who couldn’t outclimb the trees near Aspen. https://www.accidents.app/summaries/accident/20001212X21427 Just never felt safe in the J like I did in the K/Rocket. Get training, fly early, be careful. It’s a different world up high. He was flying and his wife took this picture of me just a month before. Breaks my heart to think about them still today. Fly smart, Be safe out there. Somebody out there loves you.