Bartman

Guess what I did this morning.... I went out and did a few Touch and Go's. Felt good Mmmm good Good for me Good for you Did my fall of the year 6 Approaches with my CFII today. Mixed it up with full stops, TnGs, and missed approaches. I even did an aborted takeoff......

I understand instructors, examiners, and others who feel the risk exceeds the benefits of doing TnGs. That is a personal choice. But that does not mean it is wrong for every pilot and in every Mooney. My field is 5,500 ft and I can land on the numbers and be configured with my electric flaps and electric trim easily by the 2000 ft mark. That leaves me more than enough time and runway to take off again safely. I continue to find value in doing TnGs on occasion, but don't do it with passengers or an instructor. Since I choose to go up with my CFII twice a year to do an Instrument Proficiency Check, I do practice go arounds with an instructor at least every 6 months. I find value in that too. Just like personal minimums on an instrument flight, this is about personal choice, and personal risk vs reward assessment.

I say there is not a poster on this board who did not do touch and go's during primary training. I say there is not a poster on this board who has not done go arounds in primary, instrument, or more advanced training. I say most if not all of the posters on this board did touch and go's in their mooney during transition training. These are skills we all learned and should not be forgotten. Let's talk about something we all agree with... Low wing is better than high wing.

I find the cabin and seats very comfortable, but the door height is short. Getting in is no problem and there is plenty of leg room. Although I have no problems getting out, I have found that instructing passengers on my method helps them. I move the right seat all the way back, stand straight up, put my back on the door frame, put my right foot out, then stand all the way up on the wing. I have had people try to crawl out and end up scooting down the wing on their behind. I get no complaints from new passengers on cabin comfort, but some don't have the upper and core body strength to stand up easily from basically sitting with your legs straight out.

When I bought my J model my instructor had me land on an 1800 foot strip before he considered me proficient for solo. Two onboard and about 20 gal fuel. Did a go around first try and landed on second attempt no problem. Winds were calm and we used 1.2 Vso targeting about 200 ft before the threshold for the flare. The plane was stable on approach but no obstacles on either end. It wasn't too difficult, but with an obstacle I would not attempt.

I had this happen once. Just so happens it was about 3-4 flights after a complete tank reseal so my first thought was partially clogged injector. One of the cylinders was colder than tho their three. We were at 9500 over KTRI headed to the beach so we landed and I told the mechanic it had to be an injector. He cleaned them all, good runup, good test flight, and we were on our way in about 2 hours. Never had an issue since then.

I have done 20 without too much difficulty. I have done 25, but was nearly out of rudder, ran diagonal to the runway, and it was hard on the gear and tires. She definitely lands better the closer I am to gross. Solo and minimal fuel with a crosswind is interesting. Also, it has been my experience that the winds in ground effect and touchdown are less than what I am seeing and feeling on final.

I plan on 145 Kts at about 60-65% LOP in my 1977 J. I can get about 153 Kts with max power at about 7000 Ft, but temps run high so I don't use that setting. Some say they only loose a couple of Kts going LOP. That has not been my experience. I used to see 158 Kts with max power at optimal altitude when I first acquired my J. Since then the engine mounts were replaced and I now have a drooping engine about 1/2 inch where the spinner meets the cowl. Plans are to get the engine mounts shimmed at next annual. Since the engine has more hours I'm not sure if the reshimming will get me back to 158. We will see. One other time I had a drop in airspeed was when I had the inner gear doors off. Without going into that and long story short I lost about 8-10 Kts while they were off. As I recall the POH stated I would lose 5Kta,again that was not my experience. Regained it when they were reinstalled.

I agree the plane flies the same at 110 indicated. Don't remember what the exact climb airspeed was but probably about 90 KIAS, but my J will not climb well at 110 KIAS at 15,000. Not even sure we read 110 in cruise at that altitude. May have been anxiety related to borderline hypoxia or maybe because the climb rate was so slow. Nonetheless it just felt like the plane was twitchy in climb the last couple thousand feet. That's my story and I'm sticking with it. I also agree with oxygen even at lower altitudes. We feel a lot better at the destination when we use it.

We have taken our J up to 15,000 to avoid weather over the Appalachians. Climb was anemic the last couple thousand feet and the plane just felt twitchy in climb, almost like being close to stall but I know we were not. Cruise was fine and temps were good. Don't remember TAS. I can confirm what Hank said. I have had bad experiences around Mt Mitchell. Flew thru a rotor there once in an otherwise crystal clear sky. Didn't realize what it was until the last minute and we were on IFR clearance. Now I know.

Stay away from the edges of the air.

I did my IFR training with a local CFII with a good reputation who teaches in his 172. I did about half in his airplane and about half in mine. Perhaps it made it slightly more challenging, but other than the actual landings in the two aircraft I saw no significant difference in the encounter phase or approaches. The important thing was I had a good instructor. Used Coleman aviation at KFGX for my IFR checkride and passed no problem. I agree with Ward. Get your airplane fixed, or use another airplane. That's a distraction you don't need, and may be a safety issue in instrument conditions.

J

For cold starts I have found it useful to wait about 15 seconds after turning off the boost pump. I think this allows the fuel to vaporize and it does start quicker for me. The ONLY time mine ever starts on one blade....is on the second attempt.

I have never been unable to negotiate a new clearance that is acceptable to both me and ATC. It may not be my first choice, but I have never been forced into something I insisted was not a good option.

In my J 2500-2700 RPM produce the best vibration free engine operations. If I go below 2400 noise decreases, but vibration increases slightly. I always climb at 2700, but tend to cruise at 2450 as it is the best trade off between noise and vibration. As Jose stated RPM also affects oil consumption significantly. My first few trips several years ago were at 2700 in cruise. I no longer cruise there due to increased oil consumption.

I would not use 200 ROP at 5000ft in my J model. Density altitude will likely be over 7500 and less than 75% power. I would find peak as close as possible on the ground, and then shoot for about 25-50 ROP in ground roll/climb which would be about 1400 EGT on my monitor. After I had the aircraft cleaned up and cleared obstacles I would add fuel as needed to achieve close to 1250-1300 EGT until about 8500 DA (which is close to target EGT and 200ROP). As I climb above about 8500 DA my SOP is to gradually lean more aggressively such that I am 0-25 ROP by the time I am 10,000ft DA. For cruise above 10,000 I do not necessarily use EGT, just fuel flow and best power by feel. That's my opinion. TIFWIW.

I file every time there is any weather. If it's severe clear we may just go with FF but have been known to go without. I have only been denied deviation once, and that was west side of ATL around HEFIN intersection. We had other options, but went thru some minor IFR with rain that others were flying thru. I don't mind minor stuff but we don't go thru TS lines.

Loved it !

I bought my J with about 125 hours and started training soon after. Wife and I flew VFR on several 300-500 mile trips to gain cross country hours while working on IFR. After I got the rating we use it on almost all flights and it makes things soooo much safer and easier. I know my plane very well and trust it with my life. After training IFR in your E you will know your plane well, and you will trust it with your life too.

We flew into MDW about 4 years ago for a conference. We were VFR and had a great experience. It was not cheap, but I don't remember how much the fees were. What we do remember is how much fun it was coming in with Southwest landing at the same time on the parallel runway. Study the runway and taxi diagram an it's a blast.

I have been flying my 201 since 2007. We have been as high as 15,000 feet with no issues. Those last 2500 feet were a bit slow in climb, but we still had great airspeed in cruise. We generally see 145-150 Knots on about 8.3 GPH while LOP at around 10,000 ft. I have had the inner gear doors off before and lost about 10 knots best I can remember. I have considered upgrading from the J to the K, but it doesn't give any significant advantage to me.

My wife calls her "The Aluminum Mistress" I call her the "Time Machine" because she saves us soooo much time on our many trips to the beach each year.

The FAA... We're not happy until you're not happy ! Hello, I am from the FAA. I am here to help.

I don't care about the resolution. I just wish foreflight would provide a radar loop capability with the stratus-2. A 15 minute old static image is good, but radar loop of the past 15-30 minutes would be great