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Sounds like a Bravo mission. The Acclaim is faster but you pay a lot of extra money for only about 20 knots more speed. The G1000 is nice but if that and 20 knots cost $200k extra it's obviously not the best bang for the buck. TKS does cost you about 5 knots or so, maybe 7 if the installers didn't do a superb job. I'd rather have it than not. A/C is nice but TKS can save your life. You will need Monroy tanks if you want to see 1000nm range. First hour fuel burn on a Bravo is high because they are thirsty while climbing. The Acclaim definitely climbs better, averaging 1000fpm climb to FL250 and uses less fuel doing so. It's also easier to run the Acclaim lean of peak, which can get your fuel burns down in to the 16-17gph range even at high power settings. The TSIO-540 uses more fuel, plain and simple. I understand that lots of Acclaims with TSIO-550 are having cylinders replaced at an rate that's worth taking note of. My suspicion is that the cause is people running the book 50ROP best power setting at high altitude. The book power setting numbers in the high teens and low 20s will result in sustained CHTs over 400F. That is way too hot. You can run 50LOP or 150ROP (about 1600 TIT) and have cylinder head temps below 350F, which is much more reasonable. I can assure you that you won't be disappointed with any turbo Mooney which you choose. They are amazing airplanes.

Quote: DaV8or

Call Brian Kendrick.

Call the Diamond service centers at ADS or FXE, or even MT themselves. Since MT won't put out any data that shows the cracking is cosmetic only and not structural, savvy IAs are failing them at annual. To be fair, MT has been providing new blades under warranty. On earlier versions there were also problems with bubbling and delaminating. The Kevlar props seems to have fixed this problem. I wouldn't put a lot of weight in the Diamond website since they're not even building airplanes right now. Their largest dealer in the world hasn't taken an XLS with an MT prop in 2 years.

Any idea what kind of atmospheric conditions would require leaning in a turbo airplane at full throttle? FWIW, the older Acclaim software didn't have it, either. That's why I thought it was a mistake that it ended up in the newer software. Weird. I quit trying to figure this stuff out, I just fly it like the book says to fly it.

I prefer to lean slowly in an Ovation because depending on the temperature, altitude, etc, peak EGT is going to be different every time you fly. In a turbo airplane peak is always going to be the same at a given power setting so you can do the BIG PULL every time and get it right. You won't hurt anything if you spend 30 seconds peaking it out. If you look in the Ovation 3 STC paperwork there is nothing prohibiting continuous operations at 2700 RPM. Besides, with a 1000fpm climb rate you're not using 2700 very long, anyway.

Quote: knute Good stuff from the Vans people- thanks! I posted a review about a year ago (earlier in this thread), and I should have been more specific in listing the part number for the prop; I have the MTV-12-B/180-59b. A year later, I'm still very happy with the prop. The only issue has been some very fine hairline cracks in the paint about a third of the way in from the tip (spanwise) on each blade, apparently due to an early design that had a transition in the stiffness of the materials. (The inner part of the blade was wrapped with kevlar and the outer with carbon fiber, or vice versa) Because of the difference in stiffness, the flex tended to occur more at one spot. The current iteration of the prop blades solves this problem by using the same material throughout, and MT is picking up the tab to replace the blades under warranty. (Nice! This also includes a reseal, which basically zero times the clock for the recommended 72 month TBO) The cracks were primarily just a cosmetic issue, not visible unless looking VERY closely, only affected the outer paint, and were deemed by MT (and the AP/IA folks at two annuals) to not be an airworthiness issue. All else being equal, I'm impressed that MT is taking care of it. The blades are in the process of being shipped to my local MT-certified prop shop, so they should be installed and spinning in front of my airplane in a few weeks. I was out at Tracy (KTCY) airport here in Northern California a couple of weeks ago, and since Tracy has had some of the cheapest fuel in the area (until their last fuel delivery) they attract a lot of different aircraft. On this particular occasion, there were a pair of Sukhois, both running an MT prop. (see: http://www.sukhoiaerobatics.com/SukhoiWest/DemoTeam.html ) They were intrigued that I had one on the front of a Mooney, and asked if I'd had any trouble with erosion from rain, which seems to be a prevalent concern that makes the rounds, but I can honestly say that there really isn't any paint erosion on my blades, and they didn't seem to have the issue either. Is this a myth? The leading edge is stainless steel, and it's held up pretty well over the last 250-odd hours I've put on it. This last summer I splurged and at annual upgraded my M20E to a 201-style windshield (I went with the SWTA version), and this has added another 5-6 knots to my speeds. On a good day, at 7500 near standard temperature, full throttle, 125F ROP I can see 162 kts in sustained level flight. I wish I had better direct back to back performance numbers for the change from the original standard 2-blade Hartzell, but looking at average speeds before and after (under a range of different altitudes, temperatures, etc.) my conclusion is that the MT definitely improved the climb, I'm pretty sure it improved the ground roll, and it's pretty similar in cruise; I don't think it generated a cruise speed improvement, but I don't think it lost much either (a knot, maybe?). Hope that helps! -Knute

I use full throttle/2700 to climb, leaning to keep the EGT in the white band on the G1000 EGT gauge. Upon reaching my cruise altitude, 6-10k usually, I will bring the prop back to 2400 and back the MP off of full throttle 1" on the MP indicator. I then use the analyzer, usually with lean assist, to find peak and either go 150ROP or 50LOP. 150ROP will usually yield around 180kts in an OV3 at 2400 or 2500. The speed picks up with 2700 but I don't like the vibration or noise. Fuel flow is also much higher at 2700. At 50LOP you will be in the low 170s or so. Usually the difference between 150ROP and 50LOP at a given power setting and altitude is 5-7 knots. Fuel burn should decrease about 5gph. I flight plan an Ovation at 175kts/13gph and am happy when it does better than that. Aircraft without air or TKS will be a bit faster and I plan 180 instead of 175.

Quote: Daniel Scott, very cool. Thanks. Frank Crawford at Mooney is very helpful. I asked him, and he talked to the test pilots. They say that since they don't publish hp charts since (starting with?) the Bravo M20M. As for the emergency procedure reference to 75% power, Frank said that is a mistake that will be removed in the next revision. (Wonder if I get a ball cap for noticing an error?)

My name is Grant and I am a certifiable Mooniac. I used to work for the dealer network but got laid off last June. Fortunately, I've been able to keep my hand in aviation enough to not have to leave it totally. Most people start in an older airplane and work their way up, but my first Mooney experience was in Acclaim serial number 0004 and I've worked my way from the latest and greatest backwards to the Bravo, J, and C models. All of them are great. The old ones fly just like the new ones (albeit slower and not as nice inside). Though it's not the reason I joined this forum, I do offer proficiency and initial operating training to Mooney owners. My specialty is long bodies but I fly anything that is safe and well-maintained. I think that about covers it. Looking forward to enjoying this forum.

Quote: jlunseth I am just taking a stab in the dark here, but doesn't the aircraft have a glass cockpit? And if so, isn't there a display for the engine gauges (temps, etc.)? And if so, is it possible there is a function to display percent horsepower? There is in the JPI higher end displays.