201er

Oh and I should add. With the same radio I used to keep it at 3/4 volume with David Clark headset, 1/2 with bose, and now down to only 1/4 with Halo. There's plenty more volume available so I never feeling like I'm using it to the max. It's lightweight and the only headset I could imagine wearing for my 8+ hour xcountries. Even the Bose get uncomfortable after about 4 hours.

I second the Halo. I stopped using my Bose when I got the Halo. The Bose I admit provides a quieter ride and I keep it for passengers. However, the Halo provides better noise attenuation than any passive headset and better than any cheap active noise reduction one as well. Music sound quality seemed better on the Bose but voice quality coming over the intercom or radio is actually clearer on the Halo which is what it's meant for. Since I'm always playing music through my headset, I don't really notice the noise much. They are lighter and more comfortable than any headset. You can wear glasses, oxygen canula, and a hat without any conflict with the headset. I vote for the Halo as the best aviation headset I have encountered.

Great call putting the little people to work on the hard to reach places! You're a modern day warrior, today's Tom sawyer. In that case, why not fly into KHPN and take Metro North into the city. Take those hard workers to the Museum of Natural History to learn a bit about the world. If you come on a day when I'm available, maybe I'll even join yous and show you around.

How about a nice life lesson simulation of collaborative sociopolitical operational micro economics... in other words make them wash your airplane.

If it saves you just 40 hours of life on the engine, you break even. Any more than that and you're saving money. At 40 cents an hour it's a gamble worth taking. Worst case scenario, you lose $800 by using it for nothing. Best case scenario you actually make it to TBO instead of losing 600 hours and $12,000 worth of engine value. Hmm.... even if the science is wrong, as long as it can't hurt your engine (and I have not heard a single claim that it can), then just from a financial standpoint it's a gamble worth taking.

A quick search brought these up. I don't have access to the complete articles. http://www.aviationconsumer.com/issues/35_2/maintenancematters/5414-1.html http://www.aviationconsumer.com/letters/Wing-Deicing-and-Icing-Conditions.html http://www.aviationconsumer.com/issues/38_12/maintenancematters/5849-1.html http://www.aviationconsumer.com/search/index.html?zkDo=search&sort_field=Rank&query=camguard&x=0&y=0 http://www.avweb.com/news/savvyaviator/savvy_aviator_52_thinking_about_oil_changes_196730-1.html

My checklist: 1 Put the gear down 2 Put the gear down 3 Put the gear down I think everything else can be mended on the go.

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secularpersuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not topractice religious or secular traditions at all . . . and a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2013, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society havehelped make America great, (not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is the only "AMERICA" in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform, or sexual orientation of the wishee. By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms: This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion oft he wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

So would cleaning up an engine result in a return of lost power (not necessarily creating new power but return power that the OP may have lost from different operation previously)?

I keep hearing this but all logic would say otherwise. Climb rate and full power performance is no doubt better. However, cruise TAS should be slower at lower altitudes (below 6k) because the air is denser and it's the same as cruising even lower. Could be the illusion of going faster when really you're flying a higher than normal setting? ie 2500RPM WOT might make 65% in summer but 69% in winter at the same msl altitude.

Hey, great story and glad it worked out ok. I think it well illustrates my reasoning for why a Mooney is not a beginners plane. Forget flying it prior to PP, even shortly after. There's more stuff to tinker with, the gear is more sensitive, airspeed control is less forgiving, etc. I really feel it's good to get the "longest xc" and "worst landing of my life" and "scared my pants wet" moments done and out of the way before buying your own plane any mainly a Mooney. I think that having experienced all sorts of things prior to getting into a more complex plane (that will require adjusting 3 power levers, cowl flaps, gear, flaps, and trim to go around), will allow the pilot to focus specifically on flying the plane and be less fixated with the situation. Of course there will come new situations, but at least the ones most likely to be experienced in the first 100 hours of Mooney flying will not be novel, and the ones you'll experience since you'll already be well acquainted with the plane and flying it will be second nature. For these reasons (and without giving too much meaning to the exact number) I don't feel that a Mooney is a good plane for a pilot with less than 200+ hours. In retrospect would you agree with my analysis or do you still think it's good for a green pilot to jump into one and learn on the go?

The 201 has more back seat leg room (because of how much you gotta pull the front seats forward to even reach the peddles) than any other 4 seat GA plane I've ever experienced (cessnas, cherokees, bonanza). I haven't flown backseat in anything else but just from looking at how much space is available in the rear seat at comfortable pilot position. I did fly backseat in a Mooney once and I was shocked that with pilots pulled forward to reach pedals, there was more leg room in back seat as well as front seats than flying economy class!

Why do you guys care so much about ground speed? We can get anything, even a skyhawk or balloon to go that fast in the right wind conditions. What I much prefer to know is our indicated airspeed and true airspeed potential because it is reproduceable and in the same air/course as another plane we can do it faster or on less fuel. That's where the Mooney shines. I don't see anyone making "slowest ground speed" topics, yet all you needed was to be flying the other way that day to have that embarrassing figure.

I think Mooney is the only tall person friendly plane. I'm 5'10" and I have to slide the seat well forward. I like this because in cruise I can slide back and then I can't even reach the pedals at all. If anything, short people should be worried about Mooneys and not the other way around! My friend's bonanza is less comfortable cause you can't stretch your legs out, they always gotta go down like in a chair.

Did I mention I only have a single axis autopilot and it was shot on the 8.5 hour flight anyway? Once you're going past 5 hours nonstop, it's not that much more to just keep going. Perhaps someday I'll go up with a second pilot and set the Mooney endurance record. Does anyone know what's the longest a Mooney every stayed up? I bet I could at least get 15 hours at 6gph LOP/120kts 1800nm range. That would be NYC to Phoenix nonstop.

Now it does! LOL Never thought of it that way but good point

Actually 8.5. Also done an 8 hour from NJ to KS nonstop.

I wouldn't dub it the craziest or most unexpected weather but I had the same experience as you when flying from Phoenix to St Louis over and around ABQ. I was at 13,000 IFR on O2 and I got the crap kicked out of me by the turbulence. I think I left Phoenix at like 7AM but it was already really turbulent. I was going up/down 500ft at a time and there was no extra power to work with from the normally aspirated engine. I made the mistake at staring at my instruments too much trying to salvage altitude but it made me pretty sick. I'd never felt so sick flying myself before and even reached for a bag but didn't end up using it. It was a really rough 3 hours going through all that. I finally got out to level ground and then continued on for 5 more hours to get to St Louis nonstop. The first 3 hours in turbulence was far more draining than the next 5 after, although it was a lot harder to make it through it after getting my brains jumbled around like that.

I want to hear about your worst landing stories to learn more about what the gear can (or cannot) take. I remember once landing wayyyyy too sideways in a cross wind and feeling as though the nose wheel was going to just shear off but it was fine. That's a relief and I always strive to do better.

Mooney Pilots, I am thrilled to invite you to the first New Jersey Mooney Pilots Holiday Party on Sunday December 30th at Malibooz Grill at Reading airport (KRDG) from 12-3PM. Bring your Mooney, bring your family, bring your friends. This event is open to everyone and even non-Mooney planes. We will be holding an aviation themed secret Santa gift sharing so please bring a wrapped aviation related gift valued between $10-$20. More expensive items will be tolerated but don't think you're getting away with bringing nothing but propwash! Gifts must be wrapped or at least sealed in an envelope/bag so you can't see it due to the nature of the event. We'll figure out the exact method of sharing on location. Just some suggestions to get the ball rolling: clock, current chart, chocks, cleaning supplies, timer, kneeboard, fuel tester, cute signs, hat, mooney pin, book, a Mooney Acclaim, etc Please RSVP with me by responding with the number of people attending in your party and N number. If weather becomes a problem, we'll deal with it when we get closer to time of the event. Hope to see you there!

While on the topic, what is the proper soft field landing technique in a Mooney? Is it the same as in any other plane? Do you put in full aft trim to help you keep the weight off the nosewheel? Do you try to roll with the nosewheel off the ground or on the ground but with the weight shifted back? I never bothered trying this sort of stuff cause I never thought I'd take my Mooney off pavement but this thread is making me think otherwise.

BYRON!!!!!!!!!

I'm thinking about the amount of right rudder used on takeoff and crosswind takeoffs. Does this mean that you have a lower crosswind takeoff capability with a left crosswind than a right one? Is it substantial enough> How much right rudder as a % of deflection are we really using on takeoff?

Now is this comb STCed or do you need a 337 for it?

I recently read a report about a pilot that took off in a baron or bonanza to find that pushing right on the controls was making him turn left. The more he'd push right to upright, the more it turned left. He finally tried turning the other way and the plane leveled. Turned out the ailerons were cross linked in reverse. I am wondering if it is even physically possible for the controls on a Mooney (elevator, ailerons, rudder, flaps, gear, trim) to be hooked up such that they act in reverse? Is this something to be concerned about or is the very engineering of pushrod systems on the Mooney render this impossible?