exM20K

Low compression cylinders on the TSIO are less efficient. 7.5:1 vs 8.5 Bob minnis owns the Acclaim 310 STC, not Mooney. I too have mine set up for 38 GPH and no problems with temp. Typically 29” x 2500 RPM. The cylinders stay much closer in temp at 2500 than at lower RPM, so that’s where I run it. With TKS, I plan approx 5% below book speed, but I’m usually 70-100 degrees LOP to keep the TIT below 1650. Some like cooler TIT, and in my plane that would require less fuel and a lower RPM.

The company used to make a wired electric model. If you have power in the hangar (I didn’t) and don’t have to go too far, it seems to me to be the best possible configuration: no batteries to charge and replace and no engine to maintain. Maybe the company can send you the spec for the electric motor. that said... I’ve owned a model 35ez for more than 20 years, changed the oil once or twice, and it just works. The trans is getting a little vague and the tire is tired, but it just keeps going. -de

If you start with an acclaim type S, the conversion is a modification to the governor and a remarked tach. Earlier acclaims get the new prop as well. All it is doing to an Acclaim type S is spinning the propeller at 2700 RPM. This engine runs at 2700 RPM quite happily in Columbia and cirrus aircraft. As for resale, I would expect it to contribute in a small way, and if for some reason you wanted to return to stock, that would be easy. There are no obvious negatives to doing this conversion. Runway performance and climb rate are definitely better, although it is not a life-changing difference. For me it is useful because I am based on a fairly short strip. -de

I have found the best method, and one with some collateral benefits, to raise the useful load is to manage my own gross weight :-). My Acclaim has gained 20# of useful load so far this year, much to the detriment of local fast food places and maybe a tap room or two. it will be interesting to see what mooney announces at S&F this year regarding useful load increases. Lighter batteries? Lighter electrical stuff? VG’S? -DE

With the exception of the G1000, you are precisely describing the Diamond DA40XLT, current MSRP approximately $400,000. manufacturing costs are but a fraction of the total cost to the manufacturer. Have a look at an aircraft maintenance manual. Contemplate the cost to produce that. Certification costs must be recovered over a few hundred airframes per year, and a wildly optimistic estimate to certify a new aircraft would be $75 million. additionally, with cheap money, the sticker price of the plane is less important than you might think. That extra $200,000 for the DA40 vs the hypothetical composite M20 is less than half the TCO of a new plane. Ditch G1000NXI and you could probably shave another $50,000 off the cost of the Diamond. Cirrus has created demand and drawn new people into the hobby. Perhaps Mooney should concentrate on producing a more capable and useful aircraft to peel some of them off. -DE

Pedantic comment...sorry. The fuel vents are not heated on FIKI installations. The NACA ducts in which they sit is, itself, anti icing. Also... the 14V system in 201 and 231 aircraft is, itself, a disqualifier. They couldn’t get enough pressure in the system on the lower voltage systems. My 231 was kind of marginal WRT pushing electrons around. Pitot heat, prop Heat, some lights, and the gear would about max it out. i would imagine that modern LED lights and modern radios would help

congratulations. that is IMHO the best plane Mooney produced. ever. -de

There are some very expensive components that would be required: heated stall warning second w/s pump second main pump(?) I don’t remember if the inadvertent system has two i believe the panels are the same. generally, the economics for this sort of upgrade favor buying the plane configured as you want it, and there is no long term shortage of FIKI ovations

sounds like a Keeper!

The non-flying spouse/significant other is usually a big part of the decision-making process. It's not just engine failure or mid-air collisions - think: pilot has a medical event in flight; now I have a way out. the non-flying spouse often is unenthusiastically playing along with the flying spouse's dangerous hobby, and not relying on him/her but rather on "technology" is often the difference between making the sale and not. It's about feels, not careful risk analysis. -de

I don’t think the V2 release is a sign of strength. Quite the opposite: the company was contractually bound to deliver 500 airframes at $1.3 million plus escalators. That worked out to about $1.5 million. I am very familiar with the economics of a single engine jet, having lived through the D jet saga, and it does not take a very sharp pencil to conclude that they were likely losing money on every example going out the door at $1.5 million. The version to chat is a couple of very marginal changes to the airframe and a $1 million boost in price. The contract for the serous chat stipulates that the company is obligated to deliver whatever the current production model is. While this is likely a disappointment for position holders who believed that they had $1 million of equity sitting on the table, my guess is the company did this because they had to. To continue delivering the balance of 400+ airframes at a loss would be more than even their Chinese owners could absorb

Another advantage for us G1000 owners: no such dilema! ADS-B no worky! Seriously.... I keep the XM weather and entertainment going year round. I do, like most, have a protable ADS-B WX solution (Stratus 2s), and I find it useful. But the quality, update frequency, preflight availablilty, and range of coverage with SiriusXM is worth it for me. Cost? Doesn't even make the needle quiver. Plane TCO excluding cost of funds is ~$30,000 per year. Sirius XM is < $500 per year, which includes: Aviator LT weather, but getting a lot of features of the higher tier (winds aloft, freezing levels, etc) dunno why. Entertainment (plane) 2 cars (all the channels) 1 motorcycle (150ish channels). There are some different plans available depending on the hardware - XM or Sirius. this or for us legacy folks This The LT with the extra features for free is a pretty good value IMHO. Family discounts and haggling w/ SXM can get pricing down.

Actually, it’s in the event of oil pressure loss, not power outage. The former does usually precede the latter, but an engine will run for a bit without oil pressure. There are circumstances, mostly close to the ground, when the traditional behavior would be preferable. -de

The pre-GX & DX planes do have a very tall panel that yields an”tank driver” feeling. The G1000 and DX birds are much better in this respect. I have a lot of DA40 & DA42 time, and IMHO these have about the best visibility available. I find the Acclaim to be close se to the DA40 in visibility. I wonder if any of the old panel redo’s an shorten the panel height? The seating position is what it is. Some like it and some don’t. Chocolate and vanilla, I guess.

cowl flaps look like 231, prop looks like a rocket

Regarding jet pilots reporting icing, we had a relevant round-trip this weekend - LL10 (Naperville, IL) to KMIE (Muncie, IN). On top both ways, tops 4000 ish, temp -6C. Reported negative ice on the approach (which was a mess the way I flew it). on the return, got only a trace south of MDW in the descent, but a Delta pilot reported light ice in the tops in the same area. sometimes it is *very* localized. Jet must have passed through a glob of very moist air. I didn't. For the OP: I lean heavily on the icing models available at aviation weather dot gov. My plane is FIKI, and as I've stated here before, I think going into previously identified or forecast icing conditions in a non-protected aircraft is foolish. The flight as described sounds like a true inadvertent flight if no airmets or pireps. With good VFR above freezing below you, you had an out. I would have made the PIREP of ice, though in an unprotected plane, the characterization of the ice worse than trace or maybe light don't really have any meaning. Some things to consider if you've encountered icing: Minimum airspeed is 120 KIAS, and this applies to an approach as much as to a climb. I don't know if this limit is only for TKS coverage or not, but why do what they say not to in FIKI planes? If ice has been encountered and is suspected to be on the plane, max flaps setting is t/o. This is for FIKI long bodies, and i believe it is about the full flaps blanking out the ice contaminated elevator and causing your plane to lawn dart. Pitot heat is easy to forget. Twins vs singles for FIKI? I'll stick with my Acclaim S over a legacy twin with old radios, vacuum pumps keeping me ice free and upright, and twice the likelihood of engine failure. Diffrent strokes for different folks. DA42/62, G58 Baron, or Glass panel legacy twin? Probably prefer those (especially the Diamond or Baron) . But it's more the avionics and situational awareness than number of engines for me. -de

Their house, their rules, I guess. We’re I in that situation, I’d keep the stuff at home or in another heated storage place during the cold months. Plexus, dry wash, and some spare oil are really the only “essentials” especially when one is disinclined to linger in a freezing hangar. i wouldn’t be happy, of course. Perhaps a friendly visit with the fire chief or whoever is making this call would be worthwhile. If it’s in the municipal code, you probably won’t get anywhere, but if it’s not, maybe you can. This policy would preclude, for example, a refrigerator in a hangar or detached garage, for example. It would also preclude most overhead door lift systems.

WX here in northern illinois has been FZUP'd for the last three weeks. Wicked cold, snow, then ice. Another ice storm last night. Our little airport is basically unusable as there isn't enough to plow but too much to have a go at 2500x30' runway. I'm grateful that i was able to get the plane up for a couple hours last weekend.

Not applicable for Acclaim.

dunno - plane went Houston to California and back in a couple days. My old 231 is three serial numbers from this one. Sad. Nothing on LiveATC.net, but little GA traffic on the frequencies they record.

Every ferry permit I’ve pulled is VMC and required crew only. -dan

another factor in the fly/don't fly decision when it's really cold is the condition of the runways and taxiways/ramps on both ends of the trip. Really cold wx winds up with really bad coditions at non Class-D airports. My home drome has been basically unusable since this time last week when the freezing rain coated everything. Add some compacted snow and persistent cold, and you've got a recipe for a really bad FICON number.

I don't remember if it was Buffalo or Rochester, but Roadway Freight recruited heavily from my Central NY college. The brought me out there for an interview, and what stays with me to this day is the image of the employee on the modified fork lift whose whole job it was to push snow back out of the terminal when the lake effect really got wound up. -de

I’m waiting for something I was expecting from that branch in Dec. if certification is truly shut down, won’t this start to eat away at the airlines’ capacity?

Tom, When I sold our 231 in 2008, we had owned it for 12 years, through various chapters of life: Commuting long distance Couple going on weekend trips. Young family doing the same and visiting grandparents It is a remarkable and versatile machine. I don't regret selling it then, as it would have fallen into disuse, and the buyer is a great guy (sometimes on this forum) who appreciates the plane for what it is and can do. Fast forward to 2016, and I needed a fast, FIKI bird for my business, so here I am with the M20TN, a mooniac all over again. It felt like i never left. Thanks for your contributions to this forum, and maybe we will bump into you at the Creek some day. -dan