Shadrach

Given that he’s an IA based just south of the accident location and is likely plugged into the local GA mx community, it’s likely that he has additional info that is not included in the preliminary report. For instance, he seems to know that the plane had an in flight power failure days before accident. Also, I’m pretty sure that @philiplane is a fan of Surefly products though perhaps not in the dual configuration.

Kevin is a great resource. I would definitely call him. He will be able to diagnose your problem and get things back in order for a reasonable price.

It is unlikely a hardline problem. Could be Servos, could be the head unit, could be hoses behind the panel. First thing I would do is some low speed taxi tests. Find a place where you can make tight turns. The yoke should bank in the opposite direction of the ground turn on either direction. If it does not, something is wrong. Next remove the soft vacuum hoses from the hard lines (red and green) at their couplings which are mounted to the left sidewall under the instrument panel. Verify both right and left side will hold vacuum. Next check the condition of the hoses behind the panel, they will likely be deteriorated if >5 years old. Not much left after that, but the instruments. The pilot valve simply shuts the system on and off. It pretty much acts like a vacuum operated relay. It is actuated by yoke mounted thumb switch or a panel mounted switch which when activated dumps vacuum at the pilot valve taking the system off line.

Maybe put vacuum to the system before tearing into servos. It could be the head unit, which is likely serviceable by https://www.porterstrait.com @Kevin Westbrook

I don't plan for it as it's not a good practice. Nevertheless, I am sure it can be done.

I've never had a reason to do it, but I've little doubt that I could. next time you fly, trim for 90kias , flaps up and gear down. I think you'll find that the pitch attitude for level flight will be sufficiently greater than level pitch thus making a mains first touch down entirely possible, even if not a good idea...

Why would being close to sea level matter if you’re making 100%?

Could it be as simple as the sweep angle relative to the roll axis generates higher parasitic drag and higher AOA for a given pitch attitude? It’s pretty clear that at high AOAs a swept wing has more wing area (especially near the tips) at a higher AOA than a straight wing that’s perpendicular to the roll axis.

I think you meant under 100kts. And while it may not be as effective as with a swept wing, I am not sure that “little effect” is the correct term.

I come in at 1.2Vx but as I get closer to the threshold I’m closer to 1.1 descending with the wing unloaded, power off. If I’ve done it just right (rare), I use up the bulk of my energy arresting the descent and can feel ground effect cushion touch down as I run out of elevator. Almost no float. If I’ve done it less than just right, I float for 100’ or so.

To my knowledge, I have never scraped the tail on my F model but the tie down ring suggests that someone has. I have done many short field landings with the yoke hitting the aft limit right at touchdown. Is it possible that it has scraped without being audible/noticeable in the cockpit?

Sorry...Captain Literal misunderstood the transmission...

It's not quite that simple. Level attitude at what speed, weight, flap setting and CG? Even with the flaps fully deployed and the change in effective wing chord (straight line from trailing edge to leading edge), at reasonable approach speeds the level flight (not level pitch) attitude will still be positive enough to touch down mains first (but not by a lot while in ground effect). With the flaps up, nose up attitude will be even greater. Go do some level, slow flight with the gear down at 80kias or less and note the plane's pitch attitude. It will be significantly higher than level pitch attitude. Adding flaps will lower the pitch attitude at a given speed due to both increased lift, shift in center of pressure (aft) and effective chord change which changes the effective angle of incidence. There is a lot more going on in flight compared to simply observing the airplane on jacks. Bottom line - use the appropriate speed for the weight and configuration. It is indeed possible to fly the mains on well above stall in all configurations, but the slower the better. Nevertheless, while it is possible to fly the mains on with adequate energy to lift off again it is not best practice under most situations with the exception of formation landings were it is SOP.

That looks like a useful setup. Years ago I removed the factory curtains from my bird, thinking that they looked dated. I reinstalled them on the rear windows a few years ago and now view them as a luxury for passengers.

Mooney owners are a diverse group with very different views about what an airplane is used for and what is an acceptable amount of money to devote to aviation. You have folks on the same forum that spent in excess of $750k on their aircraft and folks that spent less than 10% of that. Same with operating costs. A simple, vintage mooney can be operated for less than a C172 in terms of $$ per mile. It costs a lot more to go marginally faster. There’s bound to be some large differences in opinion regarding what constitutes a significant expense. PE firms do what PE firms do…which squeeze out every drop of juice that they can.

@Carl Everitt It's the same diagram. The horn, indicators, throttle switch, boost switch and boost light are tied to the gear warning switch.

Perhaps but I don't see a noticeable delta in rpm rise between seasons and my home drome can have a DA spread as much as 5500 feet when comparing a single digit day in February to a nearly triple digit, high humidity day in August.

I see perhaps 50rpm increase. I can’t say for sure what’s normal for a Bravo but a 250rpm increase seems like it’s idling very rich. This reads like your idle mixture is FUBAR. It should be field adjustable. BTW, nice Avatar!

Actual runtime? I’ve had Dukes pumps that I don’t think lasted 20 hours of actual operation. The Aeromotors updated dukes are as good or better than the Weldons which are supposed to be pretty good. Not sure what your SOP is but your Weldon likely started leaking because of age not use. Reads like you got a lemon. With all of the positive Pireps on MS about Aeromotors, is there a reason why you elected not to use them?

I’m the somebody…

Hi David, I Could not tell you the elevator/pitch position. I use back pressure on the yoke which initially is neutral but transitions to something like 5lbs aft pressure as I approach flying speed. As speed builds the nose gets light and then the mains lift off. This time of year the stall horn might chirp a bit as the mains lift off. I often reduce pitch for cruise climb right after rotation this time of year but I don’t need to stay in ground effect. I’m on the East Coast and even in the dog days of summer, the highest DAs I encounter are probably 5500 to 6000. I do raise the gear within a few seconds after lift off. Not because I’m concerned with reducing drag but because it’s easiest to raise (jbar)at low speed. Edit- @802flyer precisely articulated what I do and most of us were taught.

I don’t use a speed. I (more or less) use a constant pitch input. The airplane lifts off when the airflow is sufficient for flight at the current weight.

my point was I was never taught to lift off at a speed in which I could not level off in Ground effect

I have never heard or read any one advocate for yanking the aircraft off the ground at the ragged edge. I was taught to raise the nose enough to take the weight off the nose wheel when the airplane lifted off, level to neutral pitch and accelerate. Over the years I’ve done a lot of soft field practice in a variety of aircraft including some very low powered machines. Never has it resulted in a situation where I’m mushing down the runway, hanging on the prop, not accelerating.

Much…Full power, stall break, left wing drop and impact near full nose down…4 dead on board, explosion, fire and potential for ground injuries.