aviatoreb

Quote: RJBrown Cooling was never an issue with the 1980 231/Rocket I flew for 1000 hours. Yes the cowl flaps are impossible to move at speed. Full open before you start the roll. Climb fast like a turbine and close them as you level off and before you accelerate. Set up properly the flaps never fully close. They are "in trail" when closed. I have climbed directly to 26,000 still over 1500 FPM with no heating issues. The change from the 231 to the Rocket was amazing. The 231 never cooled well, the Rocket never ran hot. The metal angles at the cable attach is bent sheet metal. It is too light for the job. It can bend so far you will go way over center on the mechanism when you open the flaps and you will be unable to close them at all. Wide open they really cost you speed. I got used to checking the shape of those parts regularly. To stay open with the wind they need to be just a touch over center. As you push they open a bit before they close. Too far over center and they are hard to close, way too far over center and they won't close. Trying to open and close at speed bends these parts. This is something that you as the pilot need to understand and adjust. I thought of machining a block of aluminum to replace the piece that bends but never did. With the flaps in trail you can cruise climb without over heating. If center gives a climb of 2000 ft you can just trade speed for altitude and zoom climb. Before you get too slow or raise the temps you are 2000 ft higher.

Quote: Mazerbase The cooling, and the cowl flaps, are more important above 16,000 ft. My high altitude climbs usually include a reduced climb above 16,000, say 600 ft/min from there on, and an occasional respite at that altitude for a few miles and then resumption of the climb. Also, my ambient temperature in FL is probably higher than yours. Do you have a picture of your cowl flap actuator?

Quote: robert14 I found my max altitude one evening during a practice IFR flight, at night, at 10,000 ft. After an hour of hooded flight, I began having trouble maintaining my altitude and heading. My instructor began nagging me. His nagging did not help. I struggled for about 10 minutes trying to maintain heading and altitude while blaming it on the weather. It only got worse. Then, my fingers starting starting tingling. I realized at that moment that I was experiencing hypoxia. I alerted my instructor who took over and immediately requested ATC permission for a quick descent to MEA, 6000 ft at the time. My symptoms continued to grow worse during the descent with general weakness, sweating, tingling fingers, and nausea. As we approached 6000 ft, the symptoms quickly went away and I resumed the flight as POC. I was lucky I had an instructor with me. My doctor claims that your max altitude and time at altitude are a function of your health and age. I am healthy and 64. I now use the O2D2 requlator and an O2 bottle strapped to the back of my seat whenever I fly above 6000 ft.

Quote: Mazerbase Well, here is a picture of the new manual cowl flap control. Works great on the ground. Unfortunately, not so good in the air. The manuals mention the need to close the flap as you arrive at altitude as the air flow tends to pull the flap open and the manual is right because I can't seem to pull this closed in flight. I tried slowing down to about 120 kts but that didn't help either. The installer is aware of the problem but doesn't have a ready answer yet. If anyone knows any easy answers, I'd appreciate it.

Quote: JimR Speaking of "Dick" - I read last year I think, that Richard Collins who no longer flies as much IFR as he used to now feels he needs to practice in order to stay current. He states that in order to feel current he must do his 6 approaches, etc at least once a month, and also across several airports to practice the whole system, and enroute phase etc. I think he is quite right that the every 6 months system of the FAA currency is just that, legal mins and not a good idea to get that low. Since I read Collin's advice, I have taken his advice to heart and I try to keep up with one training flight per month in which I tour around with a safety pilot doing 6 approaches, holds, enroute and all to keep extra current. Since I fly very little actual IMC, maybe once every two months at most, then that doesn't figure into my own self assessment as to if I don't need to do the Collin's method.

That's BEAUTIFUL!

Quote: jezzie What is involved? Do you take the gear off entirely and send it to a powder coat shop?

Quote: DaV8or None that I know of. I believe it's done all the time.

Quote: meddesign It is funny, on the other Mooney site there was not one comment.

Quote: Jeff_S One of the most respected news orginazations in the world, not here though.

Quote: meddesign LOL

Quote: jetdriven Wake up RJ, US jobs have been going overseas for decades, since the GOP mantra of lowering corporate taxes, liability, and breaking the back of labor is working so well. Do you have a source for this "Dreamliner jobs to China" garbage? You DO know that Boeing bought Vought, based in SC, and promptly busted the union, cut the wage in half to get them to agree to a second assembly shift for the 787. Then they went to the IAM in Seattle and demanded a 50% wage cut. How do I know all this? I watch more than Fox news and I have a friend who flies the Dreamliner. Google it. This is my industry. I suppose everyone making 5$ an hour, and no unions, can finally please the super wealthy. Who are catered to (and financed by) Republicans like the Koch brothers. When we are tearing down teacher's unions to finance 122 million in tax breaks for Wisconsin, we have a problem. Basic Keynesian economics says the government must spend to stimulate the "sick" economy and get it out of the ditch. Anyone who has taken Ecnonmics 101 would know this. "Free market" is what happened when Wall Street blew up the entire world financial system because they ran amok. GOP lawmakers dismantled the Glass-Stegal act piece by piece to allow it to happen. How many hours did you block last year? 3 years ago? 6$ AVGAS getting you down? Must be "Obamanomics". Blame him. Somebody lock this thread. I have said my part. It is meaningless.

Quote: RJBrown Sure lets talk politics! It is a big part of the environment we fly in. After 11 posts that were on point someone got their panties in a twist. It is obvious that the pers on taking offence is for Obama. He is a "liberal" I have seen that liberals are the first to try and curb "free speech" when it disagrees with the hallowed liberal view. If a liberal can't argue a point they attack the other person. Don't be such a hypocrite. Lets talk airplanes Boeing Dreamliners to be exact. Some liberal progressive union pigeon in the Obama administration is trying to send jobs to China instead of North Carolina. That's Obamanomics!! The IDIOT is trying to kill America and you are to stupid to see it. Have I offended you yet? Good get off your high horse and quit being such a whiner. I try to keep my opinions neutral in an attempt to be polite. But vasco pulling his smug hypocritical left wing Bull, or should I say Donkey, $#1^ is too much. The comment about Obamanomics was just a way to frame the factors affecting the environment we fly in. I've owned a small business 30 years as of yesterday June first and I understand the reference. Do you understand the absurdity of borrowing you way out of debt? Spending your way to solvency? Obama acts as if he doesn't.

Quote: FlyFstr "DO we really want to discuss politics here?" No. But we should not try to control and intimidate those that express thier views. "If I knew this would have been a discussion about politics I would have passed." Then why did you post 2 big paragraphs expressing your political views? Maybe you should have passed. "I vote for no politics." Again, then why did you post your own political statement? Don't talk out of both sides of your mouth. IMHO - Lets talk airplane speak, but lets not suppress and try to control that speak. We can ignore what we don't want to debate and bring the subject back to Mooneys which is REALLY what I think vasco and aviatoreb are suggesting.

Quote: FlyFstr ...This was not an offensive remark whatsoever. I’m tired of this political correctness and the need to give “kid glove treatment” to certain ultra sensitive people that don’t want to hear others views on things that happen in this world. When we sit around the hanger with our flying buddies we discuss all kinds of opinions and in part, it’s what keeps us interesting.

Quote: jax88 I plan on getting my IFR this summer/fall for two reasons: I don't want to be grounded when the ceiling is a relatively benign and calm low overcast like we often get here in Texas winters, and because my flight review is due in November and I figured I may as well get an instructor to help me improve my skills leading up to the flight review. So, except for punching through low overcast, I have no need for an IFR rating.

I have 3 ratings. VFR for when the weather is very nice. IFR for when the weather is less nice but not sooo bad. And CAR for when it is very bad.

Quote: Parker_Woodruff CAV Aerospace certifies the plane, not the system for FIKI. So it is important that the aircraft have no airframe/engine mods that aren't on the FIKI STC sheet (Rocket has a different cowl and engine) in order to be certified as FIKI. I have the PDF that shows the parts requirements, if only I could upload that here...

Quote: kortopates There aren't very many 252's though in comparison to the much larger 231 fleet and even fewer Encores that provide the increased max gross load with the SB engine - but what a great time to be a buyer!...

Quote: donshapansky To keep the engine CHT's below 390F ROP running 29" @ 2450 would take 22 gph after the cylinders were OH so it's 5.5 - 6.5 gph! and much cooler CHT's. The exhaust tip has changed from white to colorless no carbon deposit, I hope the internals are the same. The oil stays golden color right to 30 hrs when it's changed.

Quote: donshapansky TAS at 6,500 on a close to standard day was 187 KTAS, today at 9,000 way above STD (I think it was 17C) true was 185 KTS. The EDM today calculated power was 70% at 32.5" and 2450 RPM and 15.5 gph. TIT was 1565F today. Prior to my cylinder overhaul my TIT would shoot to 1700 quickly, now I never see over 1650 F for a brief period, much less stressfull, I don't do the big pull. I just slowly roll it leaner and watch each cylinder EGT peak and fall to at least 50 LOP that way I can see a direct correlation to effect DA has on where the engine peaks on each flight, you also get the max speed as you can work the mixture to keep the power up as much as possible, I find a gallon per hour difference between a close to standard day and typical Texas summer day. GAMI's prediction of fuel flows of 16.5 gph were accurate for a standard, day my engine guru has the same engine in his C210, his prediction was bang on of 15.5 gph on a typical OK summer day.

Quote: donshapansky If you can stay within .5 gph and get all cylinders to peak there is no need to do anything. Download the GAMI spreadsheet and do the numbers at cruise then circle each peak and look at the gph chnage from the first to the last. Try to step in .2 gph increments.

Quote: donshapansky GAMI says many rockets will run LOP without much change due the good airflow designed into the intercoolers, compared to the Cessna twins that use this engine the intercooler causes serious airflow disruptions from one side of the engine to the other. What I have found now that I flown over 30 hrs LOP is that the density altitude directly relates to where the TIT and EGT's will peak. The flight to MN was the closest to STD I have seen and the fuel flow ended up at 16.5 gph to get all cylinders 50 LOP head temps were all in the 350 - 360 F range excpet NO 2 which the hottest always at 370 F. Today at 9000 the OAT was 18C RPM 2450 MAP 32.5", fuel flow was 15.5 gph with No 2 50 LOP and CHT 365 hottest. My EDM 930 said we were getting 13.5 NMPG @ 215 KT GRD Speed.

Quote: danb35 Don't spend money on GAMIs if you don't need them--if you've got a nice tight GAMI spread without them (say, less than 0.5 gph), save your money. If it's more than that, they may help. But if your engine runs smoothly LOP (and far enough LOP), it's perfectly safe to do that without GAMIs or any other special equipment.

Quote: donshapansky I don't have the 360 engine anymore, it's a TSIO520NB from a Cessna 414, 340, P210, Baron 58P 58TC etc. with feathering prop. rated at 305 hp in my application.