201er

Wow, among the incredibly long flights posted here I feel pretty embarassed about my longest. Sounds like a local flight compared to some of you guys! KLDJ -> KTLH was my longest at 780nm with a single (unmandatory) fuel stop along the way.

It almost doesn't matter considering the vast majority of accidents are considered "pilot error." If you eliminate the pilot, they're all safe airplanes!

I didn't really know how to fly until I got my Mooney if that counts?

That closes up beautifully! Shame it only gives 4mph at most! I can see why they didn't standardize it on most models.

Relocating the airport is anything from impossible to potentially costing millions. If she hates it so much, why doesn't she move? I'm sure the airport is a major boost to the local economy. Perhaps airports should start launching more campaigns for relocating nuisance neighbors instead.

Yours totally has inner gear doors. Have you ever seen a piper from below? Their entire wheel is exposed!

Have any of you guys ever camped out at airports? Are most small/rural airports ok with pitching a tent and staying the night?

I can tell you for sure that my '78 201 has inner gear doors and all other vintages of 201 that I've seen have them as well. I think they just changed the layout of the gear doors a little in those later models.

*And the ones built before then that had a gear up since then and opted for the mod.

Just came across this (happened not too long ago in fact): http://www.rappnews.com/2012/03/08/no-fatalities-in-amissville-plane-crash/90243/ http://www.rappnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/r_planeClose-08web.jpg Nothing left but the roll cage. Fire must have consumed all of it. Both occupants survived!

Looking at those pics again, I can see how the passengers were relatively unharmed... but the legs!? Considering how we stick our legs practically into the engine compartment and looking how the engine and panel are entirely torn away, yikes!

aviatoreb put it very well. Even just looking at this crash, it is evident that the passenger compartment held up very well while the rest of the airplane disintegrated. This doesn't prove that others do it worse, but it does show how well the Mooney roll cage does hold together. Considering the majority of accidents happen on takeoff/landing, we are indeed looking at a speed range of 60-100 knots rather than 175! This was an example of one of them. So happy to see that everyone got out ok!

What were you doing? Cruising beyond yellow arc and slamming them shut??? Damn. Your plane is like a maintenance magnet! Or a maintenance gold mine depending from who's perspective you look at it!

Quote: allsmiles That escort plane in the background with the charactreristic "backwards" tail...what model Mooney is that??

Guess it didn't work out between your and your neighbors plane then? Thwarted by FAA bureaucracy!

You can't buy a plane to save money. It's practically unheard of. You do it cause you love to fly and would rather spend more time/money to do it yourself than to fly coach with the rest of the suckers.

No problem Seth. Wish you could have made it. Can you do me a favor and post our flier around anyway and mention it to other Mooney pilots? We really could use the biggest turn out we could get!

Here is the flier for our upcoming event: http://njmooney.com/mega-fly-in.pdf We'd really appreciate it if folks in the northeast could post these at their homefield and when they're out for a $100 hamburger. We really hope to be able to extend our invitation far and wide and get as many Mooneys from around here together to enjoy this event. We have some excellent speakers lined up and will be sharing those details once confirmed.

Quote: danb35 Is climb out really "very active"? Once past maybe 2000 MSL, I've got my clearance, proceeding on course, and still have 6000' or so to climb. I'd have two concerns with leaning for best power. First, the engine will definitely run hotter, and the reduced airflow available at climb airspeeds might not be enough. Second, how would you determine where 100 ROP was while in the climb? Lean to peak, enrich, and repeat every 1000' or so?

My mechanic suggested bringing the mixture back in the climb toward best power if the CHTs allow. Others suggest following a target EGT based on takeoff EGT and maintaining that in the climb (like 200-300 ROP). So basically, what's wrong with bringing the mixture back toward best power (100ROP) in the cimb if cooling is sufficient? Seems like it would give you back some power and save gas. The POH is completely useless in this regard as it just says "Lean for smooth operation." Also, if you have only enough surplus cooling to bring the mixture back towar best power or close/trail the cowl flaps, which of those two will give you better climb efficiency? A) Closed cowl flaps, mixture full rich/target EGT Open cowl flaps, mixture toward best power

At my last oil change I had my mechanic check the plugs and he gave me the usual line of "looks like you're running a bit too rich, try leaning it some more." How is that possible when I've been flying almost exclusively lean of peak (except climbs) since my last plug cleaning? Or is that just a standard line they read to everyone? Is it possible to get the apperance of too rich by running too lean? Or is being too rich in the climbs enough to give this apperance?

Where's the cheapest place to get camguard? How often do you need to add it? Just complete oil changes or when adding oil as well? Should I wait till my next oil change before adding it the first time?

Now I'm really confused. More than coming into all this. Can someone explain exactly what Camguard does that Avblend doesn't? Is there some advantage (even if different or minor) that Avblend offers over Camguard? Also, anyone know good deals on Camguard?

I'm a little confused about how RPM affects fuel saving and efficiency when LOP. While ROP, using lower RPM with higher MP (if available) yields a reduction of fuel flow (albeit at the cost of speed but fuel flow seems to win over amount of speed loss). For example from the POH for 2000ft all of the following yield 75% power: 2700RPM, 23.3", 10.8GPH 2600RPM, 24.4", 10.5GPH 2400RPM, 26.8", 10.3GPH According to the POH speed is identical across all settings which is a strong justification for reducing RPM when MP is available. In practice it seems that speed suffers a tiny bit but not substantially (getting into the lower 2000s). Now my question is how to pick RPM for LOP operations? If we're leaning lean of peak and controlling power with mixture, then what kind of gas saving role does lower RPM provide? Being at a higher RPM, you'll still be leaning to a target fuel flow (say 10GPH for 75% in 201) so it doesn't seem to affect gas savings what RPM you're at like it would when ROP (although it may change how far LOP you can get and affect cooling). So what is the method for selecting an optimal RPM setting to use for LOP operations and how does this vary by altitude?

My point was that mine will bounce around in the daytime even when it doesn't feel turbulent. At night (or in truly calm air) it will hold altitude hands off easily. So I think it's more a matter of turbulence and not mechanics. As for the strobe lights... first had the power supply go on me. Then was back in a few months cause the bulb went too! What a pain.