Swingin

To the OP: This sounds 'caveman', but it's how I lean for takeoff from high DA airports regularly - DAs approaching 10K. Taxi very lean, then go full rich as I'm taking the active, then slowly advance the throttle to full. Pull (not twist) the mixture back from the firewall slowly. You'll feel a surge of power as you get it leaned enough. You'll have about another 1/2" of mixture travel behind that, with which the power will stay high like that, before you feel it fall off again. I suspect you're operating back there. Just pull slowly until you feel the power rise, that should be on the ROP side of max power. This is my technique even though I have fuel-flow, and full digital CHT and EGT for each cyliner. Works like a champ. If I see CHTs or EGTs higher than I like on climbout, and I'm at 120MIAS, I enrich with a couple twists.

Quote: galt1074

I have an old (but functional) JPI scanner that will show me EGT or CHT for any of the cylinders - but only one at a time and you have to toggle over to which value you want displayed. In my '67E, the #3 peaks last, and I set it around 1390 or 1400 in cruise (which is almost always above 10K here in Utah if I want to go anywhere other than west). I also have a fuel-flow display on an antiquated totalizer that has proven to be quite accurate. I usually set the fuel flow to 8.9GPH and cross-check it with the EGT. For takeoff, almost always at high-DA, I start the roll full-rich (after a lean taxi of course) and then lean by feel until I feel the power top out - usually about 1/2" or so. I try to climb rich enough to keep EGTs below 1300 until I'm ready to level off. Clear as mud?

Only have about 25hrs in a Mooney (M20E, Johnson bar) - but substantially more time in other much-more-high-performance singles. Bottom line for me is that speed=altitude=life. Having the gear down any longer than necessary is counter to that. The 'impossible turn' argument is better kept in another thread, but altitude and/or speed buys you options. And when we're to that point, I'm not worried about the damage that a gear-up landing will have caused. Gear up, Vx until I'm comfortable with my options, then cruise-climb.