Jsavage3

I have the ram-air system on my '86 J model and I like it. I usually use it above 3'K in winter and above 5'K in summer (fewer bugs up there) and, of course, only in VMC. I see 1/2-inch of extra MP when I open it up... Log me as a +1 for the ram-air system...

I had my prop balance done at Aircraft Specialists at KJVY, which is about 10 nm north of Louisville, KY. The cost was $375. It's an outside job, so plan accordingly. I have a McCauley prop and they mounted the weights to the inside of the spinner mounting assembly (this assembly stays put when the spinner is removed). You cannot see the weights once the spinner is removed. All you can see are the rounded screw heads on the outside and they are located about where the cowling closes down around the shaft between the engine and the prop. Yes, we ran my Mooney 5 or 6 times and each time the spinner had to be removed in order to add or remove weights (washers). They told me that 0.2 ips or less was a good goal. The whole process took about 3 hours and I did all of the engine runs myself. They had me run it at 2200 RPM as well. Yes, the improvement felt & seen when going from 1.2 ips to 0.1 ips is drastic! $$$ well spent!!!

I was told recently, by an A&P who flew my Mooney, that I would be very pleased with the results if I were to have my Mooney's prop dynamically balanced. I knew that my mag compass always shook alot, but I had always just picked an RPM that seemed to minimize the vibration. Well, I had my prop dynamically balanced and the results are very impressive. I could feel and see a difference as soon as he added the first weights. After 5 or 6 "vibration" runs, he had it down to 0.1 ips where it had previously been at 1.2 ips...intervals per second, I think is what he was calling IPS. Bottomline, this is a drastic improvement -- my comfort, will save my avionics, engine mount, airframe, etc and now I can actually read the heading from my mag compass! It cost me $375 and I feel this was some of the best money I've spent in a long time! If your bird hasn't been balanced, I'd like to put in a good word for having this done -- I trust you will be pleased with the results. Keep those Mooney's flying fast!

I have the UBG-16 w/ FF on the left side...directly above the storm scope and below the gear handle...it seems to suite me so far, but I like your ideas!

Any personal preferences between Foreflight and Garmin Pilot that anyone would care to share? Your preference and why, please -- thanks!

Upon further review (and learning!), I'm leaning heavily towards Garmin Pilot for my charts rather than Foreflight. 30-days for free while you 'check it out' is a great sales tool...

The ADF will go away at some point, but I elected to hang onto it for now. I deliberately setup the right-half of my panel (Aera-560, ADF & transponder) in such a manner as to make it convenient for future upgrades...remote transponder via the 750 for sure and a 796 perhaps? I don't want to "go crazy" with panel upgrades, but it sure is fun seeing the improvements and then sitting back and enjoying the fruits of your labor! At 160 KTAS and 10 GPH I might add!!! Here's my chance to say "I love my Mooney" again!

Well, my bird is back (finally) and I am quite pleased with the outcome. Other than taking substantially longer than anticipated, the quality of the installation is solid, the price was 2nd to none and the warranty is essentially "forever" on the shop's work. I am thankful I went with the 750, especially after having used it a couple of times so far! The 750 is just magic. The 60PSS is good, although not as 'crisp' in vertical navigation as I would have liked...perhaps my getting more time with it will help any operator error type of sloppiness. It does work great in cruise though! The Icarus GPSS is magic too, although it has far more "possible capabilities" than I would have liked. I wanted a GPSS system that was a one-button push (GPSS on or GPSS off) and this GPSS system does do just that....I just mute the system so I don't have to listen to it offer everything else it claims it can do. Maybe when I get real bored, I'll start playing with it a bit... Now I'm trying to decide which subscriptions I need versus want. The price tag for these different services are higher than I was anticipating. I'm considering the nav data for the 750 and Foreflight for charts. $1060/year is what Garmin quoted me for the pilot pack... Thanks for everyone's feedback in helping my through this upgrade process! Here's a picture of my new panel.

Based on your feedback and my understanding of what I think I need/want, I will likely go with the nav data subscription for the 750 and Foreflight for the charts. Although it is capable, I don't think I will need the charts up on the 750. I will likely update either the 750 or the 560 once a year or so for the terrain/obstacles/safe taxi/etc. Any techniques out there for using the SD chips to upload the new nav data base each time a new one comes along? Two chips and one is always left in the plane while the spare goes home for the update when it shows up? Does the chip need to stay in the 750 for it to work?

Turbos are great, especially if you live in the mountains, but don't forget that you'll be sucking on O2 if you go up where a turbo wants to be. I weighed this option seriously (201 to a 252) several months ago and decided that for the kind of flying I do in the Mooney, the J is the best bang for the buck for me. I like to keep my legs limited to 3 hours or so in an effort to keep Mama & kids "happy" and actually desiring to go flying with me again. Previously, with no O2, hypoxic headaches limited us to getting one good 3-hour leg in per day -- but now, with a 4-place portable O2 setup, I cruise at 10-12k (higher if the tailwinds are strong) for 3 hours (sipping O2 as needed to keep our blood-oxygen levels happy...we call it 'taking a hit of O2'), stop for lunch/stretch the legs/fuel if needed/etc, then off we go for another 3-hour leg with my family smiling! The O2 has essentially doubled my effective range for a particular day...800-1000nm in a day is now easily attainable and my whole family stays happy doing it. The Lycoming 360 is bulletproof and very easy to operate. I always see 157-159 KTAS, running 60-65% power, 9.3-to-9.6 GPH at peak EGT (first to peak), 940# useful, etc... I live in Ohio, but if I lived in/near the Rockies, then I'd have a turbo...

I now have a GTN750 and the Aera-560 in my bird. I just got a quote from Garmin for the pilot pack of $1060 for a year's subscription. Wow! I guess I was thinking about the $75 annual subscription for Foreflight. Given my two gps's, is there a better plan that I should consider? To avoid carrying sectional charts, what do I need to have subscription-wise for VFR-only flights? Foreflight only? For IFR ops, then I need the full up pilot pack, right? Do I need the instrument appr plates (paper or electronic) in hand in addition to this pilot pack? In other words, pilot pack plus Foreflight or paper copies? If I have the updated plates and nav data in the 750, do I still need plates in my lap to be legal? Another way to skin this cat, wouldn't a current nav data base in the 750 and an I-pad (with a current subscription to Foreflight) in my lap also make me legal for IFR ops....to include LPV style RNAV approaches? This paragraph is a real headache to read...sorry.

Here's what I've found to work well for me... First of all, I live in Ohio and I fly all winter long. When I drive to the airport with the family for a trip, I do not like sitting around waiting for an hour while the Tanis engine heater heats things up. Now what? Simple, cost effective & minimal hassle is required...so... I use a single 100W lightbulb (Bayco 150-Watt Incandescent Portable Work Light and Item #: 203213 | Model #: FL-300NPDQ12 at Lowe's for $7.95) with a 50-foot extension cord and a ThermoCube TC-3 (electric ON at 35 degrees F and OFF at or above 45 degrees). I run the bulb up the left cowl flap and secure it with the clamp such that the bulb itself doesn't touch anything. After that, I use a rolled up towel to plug both cowl flaps...oil door closed...cowling inlet plugs in place as well. After that, just plug it in. My entire engine compartment never gets below 35 degrees...on a frosty morning, EVERYTHING inside the cowl feels warm-n-cozy to my cold hand... So, when I arrive on that cold morning, I first turn on my heater (Lasko Utility Ceramic Compact Personal Electric Space Heater Item #: 5445 | Model #: 675919 at Lowe's for $50) with 20-ft long, 6-inch diameter flexible & heat-resistant duct (hose) and run that into the baggage compartment door to heat the cabin. While that's preheating the cabin, I usually pre-flight the bird (which includes unplug the cowl flap openings, turn off the engine compartment bulb and remove it) while my family sits in the warm car and watches... Arrive-to-airport to taxiing is usually 15 min tops (does depend on how many bags I have to load) with minimal hassle, family stays warm (and HAPPY which translates to they want to go flying with me again sometime), we climb into the bird without coats on and crank up without cold issues. If at the destination I'm going to be sitting out somewhere in the cold all day, I take a 100-ft extension cord, my clamp-lamp (spare bulb doesn't weigh much either) and a couple of rolled towels with me... I've always used 32 degrees as a cut-off for whether to preheat or not, but you would never be wrong for preheating at a warmer temperature.

If you have a set of aircraft covers that you don't use or need, I would be interested in buying them from you. I would need them to fit my 86' Mooney 201. The attached photos are examples of what I'm interested in. Thanks

JRWilson, are these covers still for-sale? Thanks

A dumb question here, but would someone care to expound on the details of the Red Box ....specifically, for 65%, is 100ºF-ROP-to-Peak the area to avoid or is this the recommended area to operate? Red Box = No Fly Zone  At and below about 60% power, there is no red box. Put the mixture wherever you want it.  At about 65% power or so, 100ºF ROP to Peak.  At about 70%, 125ºF ROP to 25ºF LOP.  At about 75%, 180ºF ROP to 40ºF LOP. At about 80%, 200ºF ROP to 60ºF LOP.

Wouldn't this "3-4 knots" depend on how much LOP a person chose to run though? 10 LOP vs 50 LOP can make quite a difference...right?

I believe you will do great! God's speed!

The title to this thread causes me to lean towards advising you to start this process by getting a good night's rest tonight...

I've been watching Mike Busch's "All About Oil" webinar. From what I'm understanding, non-synthetic (better for cleaning) & mono-grade (better for sticking to the cam) is the way to go, unless you're anticipating a cold start...then use non-synthetic multi-grade Phillips X/C 20W50. He states that the major portions of engine wear occur in the first 20-30 seconds following the start after the engine has sat for awhile and the oil has returned to the pan. He also states that engines don't "wear out" they corrode from the inside out...cam lobes, lifter faces, etc. So, W100 for the warmer months and Phillips X/C 20W50 for the colder months, right? Well, here's my question... I want cold start protection (the way I see it the engine has sat for a few weeks in warm or cold weather OR cold weather unheated starts) and corrosion protection, right? I believe the "runny liquid" Phillips X/C 20W50 is going to re-lube my engine's innards quicker after the engine start than the thick W100 will, which IMHO is going to decrease engine wear due to engine starts. And, I'm always going to to use Camguard to help fight corrosion. So, why wouldn't I want to run with Phillips X/C 20W50 + Camguard year-round --- better protection for engine start wear, cleaner running engine (non-synthetic) and corrosion protection from the Camguard? It just seems to me that the W100 is better at corrosion protection because it's heavy & sticky, but once the engine has dripped dry on the inside, it seems to me that it would not be the best choice at protecting one from engine start wear...again, assuming the engine has sat for awhile like mine generally does... Thoughts / ideas / Opinions?

Having used exclusively Aeroshell 15W50 + Camguard, will there be any noticeable differences after I switch to Phillips X/C 20W50...i.e. engine temperatures, oil consumption, etc?? Any personal observations from those who have made this particular switch would be most appreciated!

I agree that Camguard is magic, based on what I've heard, seen & read. My engine was OH'd at 1500-hrs (30 hrs after I bought the Mooney) due to corrosion. Upon teardown, we found the faces on the tappets for the camshaft were badly corroded...I mean very pitted! Four of the six camshaft lobes were badly rounded. Ever since then, as an owner who doesn't get to fly my Mooney as often as I'd like, I'm a firm believer in Camguard! Any feedback on AvBlend?

I have 130 Hrs SMOH and, after using mineral oil for break-in, I've been running Aeroshell 15W50 with Camguard. After much listening and researching, I am considering the idea of changing from the Aeroshell 15W50 with Camguard to Phillips X/C 20W50 and Camguard for the winter months and W100 SAE 50 with Camguard for summer. I am seeking opinions, considerations or personal experience for my proposed changing of the oil type used. Are there any negatives for going from brand X multi-grade to straight weight and then to brand Y multi-grade?

I'll back up Hank by putting in a good word for Barnwell, SC (BNL) -- cheap fuel, courtesy car, nearby restaurants & hotels and great service!

Ok, in the hopes of helping a fellow pilot more easily learn what a Mooney will do, I'll bite... I have an 86' Mooney 201 with ram air, GAMI injectors, K&N airfilter, power-flow exhaust and an engine with about 130 SMOH... At 9000', I typically see 21" MP at wide-open throttle (WOT), ram air open, 2500 RPM, peak EGT (on the first to peak), CHTs 320-340 (depending on OAT -- summer versus winter basically), 9.3-to-9.5 GPH and 157 KTAS. I have the UBG-16 engine monitor. Useful load is 950# and usable fuel is 64 gallons. I love my Mooney! Regarding 4-seaters, it is the best combination of speed and efficiency that exists, IMHO. I hope this info helps.

Earl, I would like to apologize to you and the rest of my MooneySpace brothers/sisters for how I've handled myself regarding this particulat topic. It was un-called for on my part and a bit over the top, unprofressional even, regarding my verbiage. I would like to say that since my Mooney does not have speed brakes, I really should not have anything to say about whether or not I would/should use them if I did have them. My world at work needs to stay at work. I should not and will not in the future allow my techniques for work creep into my comments on MooneySpace. Yes, the rumble from my speed brakes at work scare my passengers to death and hence we don't use them unless absolutely forced too...no, I don't fly for an airline and when CEO xxx or actor xxx complains, everybody in my circles listen very carefully. Speed brakes shouldn't and wouldn't affect my family in the Mooney because they would know what I was up to and would anticipate them. Over the last day or so, since my jumping into this with both feet regretably, I have surmissed that there would be several times in a Mooney where I could definitely argue that boards would be helpful -- descending in turbulence, descending quickly thru a layer of icing (but like someone pointed out, watch out for them icing up and not retracting on you), ATC requests, etc. Are they a tool? Absolutely. Would I pay to have them installed on my Mooney? Probably not, but if they were already installed I'd probably "exercise them" from time to time. Again, my apologies and please know that this MooneySpace forum is absolute gold -- best seen to date by far and it always reminds me of how lucky & proud I am to actually have Mooney keys in my pocket...very lucky indeed am I... I humbly request that we soldier on.