exM20K

Airplanes climb on excess power, so the Rocket will have an advantage in climb. However @austen wipes most of that advantage away by staying low. Let's assume the fuel specifics of the TSIO360MB and the TSIO520NB are the same (I suspect the tuned induction TSIO360MB is more efficient, though), then the miles per gallon should be the same at the same fuel flows. Except…. The Rocket is less aerodynamically efficient: it has a very far forward CG as compared to the 252, so the tail is doing much more work thereby creating more induced drag. Max range will require a low, LOP power setting. Will a rocket run LOP? I don’t know. Anyway, 1000NM trips are outside the practical range of any non-pressurized piston plane. I regularly do 750NM in an Acclaim, and I typically land with 8-10 gallons of “extra” fuel, so maybe another 100 miles till legal reserves. That is at 225 HP, so one could maybe another 150 NM by reducing power a bunch. But 6-7 hours at oxygen altitude is not something many would want to do. Exhaustion, the likelihood of crossing multiple weather systems, and sucking O2 all point to a >250 KTAS pressurized plane. The attached range/endurance chart for the Acclaim is probably 5% too optimistic. Get yourself an Aerostar, TBM, or MU2. -dan

It's been a while, but my recollection from the early 2000's is that there was a sweet 9(?) hole golf course between the runways there. Life is good if you're in the club.

Link

Recent flight, 24x2400 14.4 GPH FL190 195 KTAS. TKS plane. -37* cold. POH says about 202, which tallies for pretty much every power setting in mine. 2-3 KTAS per thousand feet gain, so flying high is advisable unless winds are howling. Foreflight performance profiles and winds aloft forecasts are very accurate in my experience. I discount the book cruise by 5% and am usually within a gallon of predicted fuel and on the ETE too. where is the trip from/to? -dan

David, The picture is taken from in front of the right wing, looking backwards. The left-to-right seam is what needs to be tucked under the forward panel. Exhaust blows right on this area. -dan

If you have a single piece belly panel, make sure it is lapped correctly, tucked under the bottom cowling. I’ve had my plane returned to me after service twice like this.

I would not spend any MX $ chasing one of these reports. I believe they have an in-sample vs. out-of-sample problem with this analysis. I *do* borescope at least every 100 hours. -dan

Did somebody say: “crab angle?” this was climbout mid November into the bottom of the cold Jet.

I believe the corrosion concerns came from the sump-only heating systems, and they are valid. The mechanism was: sump heat warms oil and evaporates moisture into the warmed air. warm, more humid air moves through the engine. the un-heated cylinders and other thermal masses, if below the dew point of the heated sump air, will condense out the moisture. However, if everything is warmed up to 140, there is no mechanism for condensation. -dan

I think I pay around $0.19 per KWH, so a 12 hour preheat costs about $2, or, in context, 0.02 AMU. -dan

The chart is about what I see in a lightly heated (50*) hangar with cowl plugs installed. I’ll typically plug in after dinner before the next morning’s flight. This is among the many joys of living at an airpark. -dan

The descent rate suggests this engine was still producing power. In some ways, a rough or failing, but still running, engine complicates the ADM process: will it hold together long enough to return to IWS? If the engine is producing no power and cannot be restarted, then you have only to pick a place on the ground to put the plane. -dan

https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/N523MW NIght forced landing. well done.

“This strategic shift will enable Textron Aviation to focus on welcoming the Beechcraft Denali into its product portfolio while thoughtfully assessing future investments within this segment.” At Diamond, Motorglider production was halted to make room for DA42 production. The quote above sounds like there is an element of that at work here, too. We imported and sold four of the HK36 gliders in a very short period of time in 2009 or 10, but DAI understandably chose to focus on twins that took up as much floor space but earned 3x in margin. Somehow, Cirrus continues to sell out $1+ million unpressurized piston singles. Profitable? Who knows? -dan

I saw this plane IRL 2 weeks ago after my bad mag adventure; it was in the MX hangar for something. Maybe they are changing out the rusty throttle control. At a market price for a glass, early 201: Meh. At Ovation $: pass. The avionics are sweet, but at some point you're at the $500 saddle on a $50 horse level. Check with an aircraft lender and see if they'd finance it. Whether or not you will pay cash, if they're a "no," selling will be more difficult. -dan

That has not been my experience at all. Occasionally, the descriptors on the entertainment page will disappear, but they re-populate quickly. As for weather data, mine has been rock solid for thousands of hours both in this airplane and the new Diamond Aircraft I used to fly. Having any issue in two different installations suggests it’s not a hardware issue, but it sure sounds like it to me. It’s not geography or alignment with the satellites as we fly in very similar latitudes. The Starlink on my house does occasionally slow down significantly when the rainfall rates exceed something like 2 in./h. But that, too, is very, very infrequent and of short duration. As @LANCECASPER said, we are on the legacy XM satellites with our GDL69A receivers. I do not think the the company has any additional XM satellites to launch should the existing ones fail. If they want to remain in this business, it would be advisable to heavily subsidize a change over to the newer receivers that use the Sirius satellites, because with strong, inexpensive, and ever improving competition from Starlink, I’m not certain I would pay thousands of dollars to switch out the GDL69. -dan

AirPower says all the exchange mags go into a mixed box of stuff to be returned to the manufacturer, so regrettably, this episode will forever be a mystery. -dan

I’m not sure “new” helps here. I suspect that low-quality “imported” parts will increasingly be the norm as accessory manufacturers are operated by finance-first leadership teams. Again, I’m interested to see this one apart and will look for the paperwork when I get back up north. I’m not super-confident about the right mag, which was o/h exchanged at the same time. -dan

Tech found the same on mine last week and replaced it. I don’t think that was a contributing factor here, but I have seen MAP annd FF instability in the past from a disconnected line here. Piston, cylinder wall, and valves scoped and appear normal, and 4 hours later, no increase in oil consumption. -dan

Both mags had a 500hr inspection in March 2024, 270 hours ago. I am even more interested in photos of the disassembled mag now. -dan

So, there I was…. FL190 over the snow last week. And this happened. https://apps.savvyaviation.com/flights/shared/flight/10195195/1d78020a-eaa5-4b88-83e4-cd35a4de4f06 left mag failed at 2:48, and #6 CHT went on a moonshot. what has me (and George at GAMI) stumped is why #6 EGT also rose so dramatically? Typically, pre-ignition gives *lower* EGT. Left mag replaced, and if AirPower will tell me where it is going, I’ll ask for photos when it is apart. Lessons learned: 1) don’t mess around with mixture in an event like this. Pull the power out. 2) mag failures can be more than the usual nothing-burger of an event 3) anecdotally, lots of pressurized and non pressurized mag failures in my circle of acquaintances. This mag had maybe 2-300 hours on it. Maybe less, will have to check logbooks. Piston, cylinder, and valves look normal and no metal in the filter, so it’s all good in the hood. If anyone here has an idea on the rising EGT, I’m all ears. -dan

@LANCECASPER how do you get the condensate out of the plane with the Plane AC unit? Company doesn’t publish cost. Can you share that info? I’m in the eastern panhandle of FL more than half of the year, so we don’t have to deal with the sauna that pilots and PAX down the peninsula do. The B-Kool is adequate for now. 20# of ice is $3 on the way to the airport. Remote on/off and a dedicated 24V cigarette lighter plug on the rear bulkhead make it hassle-free. I’m partial, though, to the Kelly Aerospace unit and will probably go down that road when the 24V lithium batteries are approved. The net weight penalty is closer to 30# with them. Applies to the Plane AC, of course, too. -dan

Albany is 20 south. glens Falls is same northeast. Windy, but not enough to matter probably. -dan SPECI KALB 311456Z 25015G26KT 10SM BKN029 BKN075 11/05 A2922 RMK AO2 T01060050 METAR KALB 311451Z 24017G26KT 10SM BKN031 BKN075 11/05 A2922 RMK AO2 PK WND 25029/1426 SLP894 T01060050 50019 SPECI KALB 311417Z 26016G27KT 10SM BKN031 BKN075 11/06 A2923 RMK AO2 PK WND 24028/1353 T01060056 METAR KALB 311351Z 24017G26KT 10SM BKN027 BKN070 11/06 A2923 RMK AO2 PK WND 25030/1315 SLP897 T01110061 METAR KGFL 311453Z AUTO 25012G24KT 10SM SCT075 OVC090 11/07 A2914 RMK AO2 RAB08E40 SLP870 P0006 60018 T01060067 51014 METAR KGFL 311353Z AUTO 23010G18KT 10SM OVC065 10/08 A2914 RMK AO2 RAE28 SLP869 P0006 T01000078

Wow: $2.95 showing in foreflight for SS 100LL. I'm in and out of TLH a bit, and that Millionaire has been one of the more expensive outfits in this part of FL ($7-8 fuel, $40 ramp fee etc.) Glad to see they've cut those prices and hope it persists. -dan

What is salvage value on an acclaim? 15 SMOH Engine ($75,000)? prop ($15,000) cowling (unobtainable if carbon fiber) G1000 and GFC700 ($75,000) interior, speed brakes, and the rest? I have no idea what salvage value looks like. Do you @Parker_Woodruff? -dan