Shadrach

according to the NTSB the DA was 4100'. The aircraft was TN'd and was making >90% horsepower throughout the sequence. He was 100lbs over gross. NTSB blamed it on a "wind shift" and the extra 100lbs. Maybe...but to me it looked like his pitch attitude put him behind the power curve about a wingspan above the ground.

When I broke in my steel cylinders, we did an oil change at just over 5hrs. Oil consumption was normal after that. Something weird is going on and it does not necessarily have anything to do with your break in procedure.

It’s hard to tell, but it appear the flaps are in the take off position. Once airborne, he woild have probably been better off without them

In my opinion anything above ~ 1.4Vso on take off offers diminishing returns.

I think this is the crash being discussed. He did not attempt to accelerate in ground effect. He lifted off in ground effect and continued to attempt to climb with insufficient energy. As he attempted to climb out of ground effect he found himself short on energy and long on induced drag. He likely slowed down from the attempted pitch up mushing back into ground effect. By the end of the runway, he was in the position no one ever wants to be in. Short on airspeed, altitude, runway and ideas.

I hate to be negative, but if you haven’t been able to establish oil control in 17hrs, it’s not likely to get much better. I can’t speak to what the problem is, but what you describe is not normal for nickel carbide cylinder break-in.

This thread is getting kind of silly. Both those who want the latest and greatest and those who want a preowned bargin, benefit from one another. New buyers would not trade up nearly as often without a secondary market to allow them to recoup some value from the equipment they wish to replace. Bargain buyers would be SOL without early adopters to supply the secondary market with desirable preowned equipment. It’s a symbiotic relationship and makes for a heathy market. As for working on used equipment...all equipment is used equipment after the initial installation.

When the starter does engage, is it turning the prop as expected or does it seem labored? The Bendix needs to spin fast enough to engage the centrifugal clutch. A shot of light lubricant isn’t going to hurt anything and may improve operations considerably.

This was the point I was trying to make earlier with regard to my experience climbing >1000fpm with the gear down. Below about 80KIAS the drag from the gear is a small percentage of total drag. At SL, Vx for an M20J at MGW is 69KIAS. At 10,000ft, it’s 71KIAS.

In my 20s, I might have made a few passes that were low enough to net a 50% reduction in induced drag. Of course, I wasn’t doing it to build energy; I brought plenty of that to the party. I don’t think any of my instructors would have complimented me on my ability hold it in ground effect. My 25 year old self now feels vindicated by this thread!

Beat me to it. If 10% were needed, no Cessna high wing would ever experience gound effect.

Automobiles have come a long way. Especially with fuel delivery and engine management. Modern cars could be absolutely bullet proof but they’re not engineered for that. They’re engineered to meet emissions metrics. I have seen self inflicted wounds caused by EGR systems, especially when coupled with DFI. Thankfully most issues don’t start to manifest until ~100k or more. Mechanically they will run nearly for ever with high quality and frequent oil changes. Our beater car is 15 years old with >220k but runs just as strong and quiet as ever. I replaced the valve cover gasket last year and there is no visible wear on the valve train. The cam literally looked brand new with over 200k. I think improvements in lubrication have had a larger impact than improvements in metallurgy.

I’m not saying you should, but I’m curious about your no night flight policy. Back in the days of incandescents, that rule would be a challenge to follow.

You know, I’m not so sure your choice wasn’t the best. Unstable air and high DA…gear probably did not make that much of a difference and if you’d settled back on it would have been ugly. Flying off the cliff with gear down seems like a reasonable strategy.

The first class three medical I ever attained as a student awkward. I was all of 24 years of age and after the exam had concluded I said “so that’s it?” and the AME said in a sort of creepy way “That’s it, unless you think you should have a prostate exam” to which I quickly said “no thanks” and headed for the cashier. If that AME is still in practice, I bet that he’s quite pleased with the basic med examination checklist.

There are plenty of draggy airframes flying around with 360ci, 4 cylinder lycomings that never see the kinds of speeds that Mooney pilots find optimal for cooling.

I agree with all that you've said above. However, we are focused on two different things. You're focused on the performance of the pilot in an unusual situation (entirely reasonable) and I am am focused on the performance of the plane. My post is meant to be informative with regards to how the plane performs dirty and what must be done to extract reasonable climb performance under those circumstances. Climb is a function of excess power. If you're trying to climb at normal climb speeds with the gear hanging out, you are putting most of that excess power into over coming drag to attain a speed number that is not really relevant to the current situation. Yes it's slow, and outside the normal SOP. Perhaps the best course of action is just imagine that 4 cylinder Mooney with the gear down is slightly faster Piper Archer because that's about how it will perform. I have flown a number of airframes equipped with Lyc 4 cylinder that cruise at indicated speeds that are slower than climb speed in my F. Those airplane climb slower still yet their engines do just fine...in a pinch, so will ours. Perhaps it will be of use to someone in an unusual predicament with gear that will not retract.

My Vernier has no button either. It has a friction lock that makes resistance infinitely adjustable. When landing at short fields I loosen it for rapid movement in case I need a quick and precise shot of energy to complete the approach. I cannot imagine it would present much of a problem in formation flight. I've never had problems holding position on other aircraft.

At Leadville?…Probably. At the more moderate DAs (3,000ish) that I was flying?…It was fine for pattern work. Things were a little warmer than usual upon attaining TPA but well within the range of comfortable. I did three circuits without raising the gear all with max performance climbs to TPA and never saw CHT over 350°.

I don’t think that it cuts ROC that much. However, Vy and Vx are much lower with the gear down. I can climb at >1000fpm with the gear out, but to do so I must pitch for ~85MIAS. Lots of reasons to avoid operating that way. High drag, high AOA, minimal margin above stall, poor cooling. My experiments were strictly a myth busting exercise brought about by other Mooney pilots claiming that the plane climbs poorly with the gear down. I found a copy of the AFM for the M20D on SCRIBD (thanks Sven) that says the flowing: So Vy for a D model at gross is 93MIAS…so that tracks with my experience of 85ish for my F with the gear down at around 2100lbs.

I don’t think there’s any way to do it without some marring of the mating surfaces but the paint can be protected. I would buy a cheap metal 1 1/2” putty knife and grind the corners off so it’s rounded. Then grind the edge sharp. Try to slowly work the blade in one spot. Once through slowly cut your way around the access plate.

Indeed. A few cups of mineral spirits goes a very long way.

I use a solvent spray wand like the one below (available at a number of retailers) with mineral spirits. I can change the air/solvent mixture as needed. There are areas of the empennage that are hard to get to and sheet metal laps that hold dirt, grass and all matter of organic crud. A precise application of solvent and air will clear these areas and allow for everything to be flushed clean and then dried with compressed air. It's funny, but I spend more time cleaning areas inside of my plane that no one but my IA and I see than I do the outside.

I just redressed and re routed my JPI harness while adding a transducer line, it really isn't that big of a deal to reroute...maybe a few hours.

While I have no doubt that YOU could move the pins on the connector, it is intimidating for someone that's never done it. Also, if his JPI is as much of a PITA to get to as mine, I would be seeking any other alternative. It would be nice if the allowed you to program the read out to the connector of your choice.