201er

Byron, I think you're wrong. But there may be truth in what you say. It seems that LOP on 10GPH, I get ~150KTAS whether I'm at sea level or 4000ft! Down low, to get 10GPH and 150KTAS, I'm turning the prop 2400RPM, up higher it's 2600RPM. Yet the TAS is the same. How do you explain that the GPH and TAS is the same at varying altitudes? This only seems to correlate this way when LOP though? At around 8000ft, I seem to be able to do 5-6GPH cruise by bringing things way back. As I get higher, I'm moving toward peak and battling excessive CHTs that my fuel flow is higher! Flying above 8k ends up seeming less efficient. Still, when ROP I don't think you can beat being at 6-8k when it comes to fuel flow to TAS!

Yeah, I figured. It seems like anything over 9k ends up becoming quite challenging and inefficient again. Below 10,000ft, it seems like I can do a good job of running LOP and staying cool. Over 10k, I find myself no longer LOP, struggling with temperatures, trailing cowl flaps, etc... that unless I have to be that high or have a tailwind, it doesn't seem like a mechanism for extending cruise range or nmpg.

Is L/D or Carson speed based on IAS or TAS? I'd imagine they (and the concept of aerodynamic efficiency) are based on IAS. In this case it would seem that upon reaching a certain altitude, going any higher would actually greatly reduce efficiency (particularly in NA airplanes but turbos as well). Cruising at 11,000ft the other day, my IAS was around 110 KIAS (even though TAS was over 130KTAS and GS was 170). Since best L/D is around 100 KIAS, it wouldn't take going much higher/slower that I would actually be losing efficiency once I dip below 100 KIAS? It looks to me that in neutral winds, 11,000ft is about the efficiency service ceiling of the M20J because even though KTAS will increase by going higher, by dipping below L/D it won't outweigh the decline of speed. Is this right or not? Before you start criticizing me for nit picking about efficiency, it's more about understanding the subtleties of it to be able to apply in a broader way.

Go even higher! Eventually you'll get high enough that they won't be able to complain As for higher RPM, I was trying to be more efficient and use less gas. Increasing RPM increased fuel flow. I understand that you are trying to imply increasing RPM and then going further LOP for cooling... but like I said it was running rough LOP at any setting so I couldn't go LOP enough to get the coolness....

MooneyPilot and JimR, what about higher? The other day I was cruising at 11,000ft to take advantage of winds aloft and I just couldn't find a good place to run my mixture. I obviously wanted maximum fuel efficiency, low speed (to take advantage of tailwind longer), and good cooling. But since my IAS was only about 110 KIAS (despite 130-140KTAS), cooling was terrible! I was getting 400CHT on hottest cylinder and had to trail the cowl flaps. Also the engine was very rough LOP so I had to keep it around peak to run steady. Fuel flow was around 8GPH and prop at 2300RPM, WOT (~19"). I wanted to make fuel flow lower but couldn't since leaning further wasn't an option. Any suggestions?

JimR, what kind of RPM are you using with that and how many degrees LOP?

Makes it damn hard to get instruction too

Woah! Could you explain how this is possible to happen? I hope you were aware that you'd be able to get out of the baggage door even if locked if no one was there to help you out?

What do you guys think about running at/above 400CHT at below 65% power (namely when it's hot or high)? Some say below 65/60% to set mixture wherever, but does this matter if CHTs are high? Pressure is low at that setting which is why I wonder if CHT matters as much.

My guess would be Habbs -> Xulta... fly the back course to a procedure turn and then the ILS?

Byron, any ideas on how to fix my broken baggage door pin?

Byron, "pilots" can actually be your worst case cause you take for granted they can do it right when it turns out they don't. You'd automatically check twice if a nonpilot did it. That's part of my cautionary tale.

Right. But keep in mind that with the lock in the locked position, this would be impossible as it blocks the opened latch from shutting. That's what happened to me and why it could only be shut on the ground after unlocking it with key.

It was the cabin door. But I think he broke my baggage door too. Since he slammed it before the flight out, one of the pins is stuck and doesn't spring back out when the latch is closed!

On an IFR departure at gross, I had the door pop open in flight. Luckily I was not yet in the soup and my brother was in the right seat who held the door. First he tried to close it, then we tried pulling together but could not. Pitching up for slow flight didn't help either so I cancelled IFR and returned to the airport. The plane flies very strange with the door open and there are certain vortices created that make flight very uncomfortable. On final approach I kept the speed high and some power in because on my angle of attack indicator I could see that my AOA was higher than normal despite higher airspeed (if you don't have an AOA, get one!). Runway was long so I came into ground effect with extra speed and let it land when it chose to. We pulled off and my brother asked me if he should just shut it or if I want him to get out so I could inspect it. I figured we're already on the ground so I might as well inspect for any damage. Luckily there was no damage but it is a damned good thing I got out to look because it led me to discover the cause! The door lock was in the locked position! So when my brother (who is also a pilot but not in airplane) latched the door, it closed and locked partially but not all the way. It was enough to sink the pins in and keep the door shut but not enough to keep the latch from popping back open. Basically the outside door latch was closed but only up to the lock pin. I am virtually certain that I could not have done this and that this was the result of me giving the keys to my brother to load the plane while I took care of preflight planning at the lounge. Now I take full blame and responsibility for not checking this and it was my fault for taking for granted that he knew how to properly open/close the door. He doesn't remember doing it but I just can't picture myself putting the lock in locked position with the latch open. What most likely happened was he unlocked the door, opened the latch, then wiggled the lock to get the key out which put the pin in the locked position and then prohibited the door latch from fully closing when we departed. Nothing was damaged, no one was hurt, only a few minutes were lost and a new IFR reopened. But this is a valuable lesson learned so I thought I'd pass it on. 1) Never trust your passengers with anything, even if they're a pilot 2) The door can be shut with the lock engaged, but it won't hold 3) If the door comes open, don't panic but do try to land ASAP because it may not be something you can deal with in flight In this particular case, there was absolutely no way it could have been dealt with in flight so it's a great thing we returned AND shut down to analyze it.

I like the last poll option. I don't think a single one of us hasn't had a passenger step on the aileron or try to slam the door no matter how hard we try! As for the pedals, I never encountered a problem and usually let people rest their feet on them as long as I can override them. But a foolproof solution for you to try Seth, is to slide their seat back to the last click and have the other passenger sit behind you while you slide up. Unless you're like 6ft4, it's impossible to reach the rudder pedals in a Mooney from the aft seat position!

Hey Oscar, I have a question for you (don't laugh). How much speed do you lose from doing this? Is it measurable at all? Also what speed are you cruising? Should I worry more about this sort of setup at 155kts?

Mine came with the plane. It's called a Safe Flight SC-150. It is driven by what looks like a stall warning tab on the wing but it displays the range rather than just a warning. I have no idea what it costs to install one but I laugh at the idea of having a second 430 GPS before a AOA!!!

Can't wait to see it! One experience I had with external mount (and this was an old and different camera, so might not apply) is that it tends to fog up from inside for some reason. I think it's the cold air blowing across the glass that condenses the moisture from within the camera lens. Something to keep in mind.

My plane came with an AOA. I didn't appreciate it enough at first but it has saved my skin several times. It is most helpful when flying at unfamiliar weight configurations but it is also: -A backup airspeed indicator (in case of pitot malfunction, icing, or other problem) -A good indication of stall safety margin in turns during slow flight -Could be a life saver in an icing condition where pilot does not know what speed to fly During a flight today I had my door pop open after departure (long story for another time) and the plane flew very different on final. I trusted the AOA rather than the ASI and flew a higher speed as a result and made it back safely. I have also been close to stall in steep turns (particularly heavy loaded) in the pattern in the past and the AOA made me aware of this. I have 100 gallon tanks and frequently go from carrying 300-980lbs of load depending how full the tanks are. ASI tells you nothing for these conditions but AOA is great to have. Come to think of it, AOA is probably a better investment than a traffic advisory system considering how many midairs vs stalls occur.

§ 91.11 Prohibition on interference with crewmembers. No person may assault, threaten, intimidate, or interfere with a crewmember in the performance of the crewmember's duties aboard an aircraft being operated.

I don't think Phillips has any need to include camguard in their oil. They've been selling better since camguard came along anyway

Sounds awesome, I'll go if I'm available then. A little too far out to know for sure. Please remind me closer to? I'll also coordinate with NJMP and see if anyone else wants to come. Sounds really interesting. You can't be serious?? To pilots??

I read this the opposite way. McStealth makes it sound like he did something so extraordinarily wrong that he'd be too embarrassed to share it. Yet, it is from these shared experiences that the rest of us learn and thus why we have a public forum. Reading about the guy who retracted his gear after landing or the other one who nicked his prop and went around raised some very eye opening points. I don't think anyone on the board is hard on someone who fesses up when they screwed up. Unless it's something extremely illegal, sharing it with the board is the more honorable thing and may help someone else in the same position in the future.

Mr Kollin, with your product being out nearly a decade, do you have any anecdotal evidence from users who have gone from overhaul to overhaul (or TBO) and their results compared to typical ones?