rocketman

I too have a de-icing prop on my Rocket. Why? No answer. Maybe because it is cheaper, easier and more effective than trying to deice the other larger leading edges. Kind of leads you into a sense of false security. I guess they thought that the TSIO-520 turbo charged big bore Continental could muster its way through ice better if the prop was clear - NOT. It is obviously better than nothing but sometimes nothing is better than something. Hmmm - something about nothing to think about.

All the interior lights are out on a 1994 Bravo with no power going to all 5 lights. Does anyone know the location of the fuse ( I assume it would be an in-lline one) since there is nothing on the circuit breakers that control the interior lights.

I have had a Rocket for about two years now. Its not like any other Mooney - its fast, powerful, and needs constant pilot monitoring. It reminds me of a NASCAR (though I have never driven one before). If you like speed and the rights to brag about it, you need a Rocket. As far as its take off and climb capabilities, I was demonstrated by a sales person for Rocket many years ago during a Mooney homecoming convention in Kerrville that whatever you put into it, it will fly - and land. And indeed it did! It is a great dependable plane but takes a bit of a learning curve with lots of previous Mooney time to accommodate to its speed. Moving up from a Cherokee 180 will take some time and effort - with a good knowledgable flight instructor.

When you land the Rocket, where do other owners trim for landing? I use full flaps and full trim up which makes landing this plane very easy - in fact easier than my 201 which I have had much longer. But my question is, what happens when you have a real emergency aborted landing, go around occurrence in a Rocket configured this way. Without quickly adjusting the trim with full power, the Rocket would be, well a real Rocket with a very high pitch trim and uncorrectable with as much force as one pilot could muster on pushing the yolk forward. The electric trim is very slow in a 231 Rocket conversion so the manual trim would be necessary to get the trim down fast. I heard putting a 35 pound ballast in the baggage compartment would allow the plane to make normal landings with the flaps and trim set for takeoff. And others on some other posts did not notice a difference. For the other Rocket owners, how do you approach your trim settings for landings?

He did work on my plane several years ago. Great mechanic.

Nice looking. Enjoy

I decided at the last moment to land at the airport and, so, used my speed brakes to descend (I hate using those things because it seems like such inefficient, ill-planned flying and, so, almost never deploy them) I don't think other people use the speed brakes like I do but on my Rocket and 201, I deploy them from the time I descend to after landing - avoids shock cooling, allows power on descents, shortens landing roll (or so it appears), and eliminates one more thing I need to do on short final.

In addition to my Rocket, I have a 1982 201 that has NEVER given me a stitch of unseen problem since 1989 when I purchased it. Today, I noticed that my oil pressure gauge was in the red high pressure zone with normal oil temperatures. There was 7 quarts of oil in the sump, 45 degrees outside, yet the pressure stayed in the red during the relatively short flight. Even as the engine warmed up, the pressure stayed in the red. CHT and EGt all normal. USe Exxon Elite with Camguard. Other than a bad sensor, any ideas where to look further.

Let me chime in here about the 201 and Rocket....as I currently own and fly both. I bought my 1982 201 in 1989 and have flown it almost without fault and is as reliable as a Cessna 150. After 23 years of ownership, I sort of got the mid life crisis and wanted something more powerful and sexy . Of course I'm speaking of airplanes (happily married for 25 years) so last year I took a quick ride in a Rocket and instantly fell in love with it. Gosh, you almost need a cervical collar to prevent whiplash when accelerating down the runway. Amazing performance, so I decided to go on my hunt for my "red Corvette convertible" immediately after landing. After a few months I found an average equipped Rocket with average interior and radios but with excellent paint, metal, and engine and bought into a 1980 231 Rocket conversion. The price was right with a 30 hour Victor overhaul. And so I spent my remaining budget on new interior from Aero Comfort and a completely updated panel from Ron Collins Aviation in Henderson, KY with Garmin 750 GTN, Aspen EFIS, JPI 830, and everything else I could fit into the panel. When I got the plane back, my midlife crisis was over! Hangar flying is back again on those rainy-snowy cold winter days, hanging with my pilot friends of yesteryears. Every flight in the Rocket is a new experience and a learning experience for a relatively low time turbo charge pilot. So, back to original question, my 201 is used for local flying on those days where you just want to escape and witness the beauty of our planet, going for the $500 hamburger, and extending our home radius to 200 miles or so. I fly it once or twice a week to keep the corrosion at bay (yes, that is the biggest detriment to our engines). The plane is a joy to fly and requires little pampering. 25 hour oil changes, engine preheat with a Reiff system, and Mooney Savvy annuals and the thing flys all day long. Its been a part of me just about as long as my wife and can never get rid of either! The Rocket" Wow, what a difference. The Rocket is a never ending learning experience with multiple power settings, altitudes, O2 levels, wind and weather variables, turbocharging and temperature considerations, % HP settings, speed reduction demands, turbulance factors on speed, and of course fuel expense. The Rocket is not cheap to fly. If you have to ask how much fuel consumption ROP (which is how I fly) it costs, you don't need a Rocket. If you think the $500 hamburger is expensive, you don't need a Rocket. If you think training is unimportant, you don't need a Rocket. But if you think divorce or marriage counseling is cheap, you ABSOLUTELY need a Rocket! I use the rocket for extended trips to Florida with my wife and kids, business trips and those special escape excursions you take after a major successful event in your life. And after 27 years of flying I still have the thrill of flying my first Cessna 150, my first take off and landing and the embarrassment of cutting my T-shirt, and of course my excitement of my first date with my wife way back in 1982!

I purchased the cell switch and very happy with the product and service. No app available but simple to text (free). Works as represented. Uses T-Mobile like the SwitchBox (wish Verizon could be used also) and the charges are the same. Correspondences from the manufactures was excellent. The Cell Switch is $299 from Sporty's and No, I am not a sponsor or owner of the Cell Switch company. Just like the product

I think by fitting the inlet through the cowl flap and letting the warm air rise through the cowling, heat would be better distributed. A sleeping blanket, cowl inlet covers, and a cell switch or something that allows you to call up your heater two hours in advance of your arrival makes the perfect engine warmer.

One of the things I like most about my Rocket and 201 is the ability to "hangar fly" when the weather is bad. I know on weekends and evenings when I have a few hours of free time, I go to the airport to converse with fellow pilots on the ground. Its amazing the wide variety of topics we discuss and what I have learned despite the type of plane we each own. What would be interesting to know are the most interesting and enlightening conversations you have had with other pilots when the weather is bad and are forced to enjoy your plane while it sits in your hangar.

I live in the TN-KY-VA area, near the beautiful Cumberland Gap National Park, where not only do the foothills of the mountains give us beautiful scenery all year, and fertile 80 miles of trails for my marathon running addiction, but also unpredictable weather conditions, clouds, and icing. To be honest, since the two local airports I keep my 201 and Rocket have no instrument approaches (and one without runway lights) and are linked to mountainous terrain, I feel that my flying has to be more carefully planned out for weather. I have been flying Mooneys since I purchased the 201 in 1989 and still feel like a student checking everything before each flight. Very few options are available for terrain issues on departure so nearly all my flying is day time in addition to VFR. If I absolutely have to be somewhere, I always fly commercial and waist the ticket if the weather proves predictably VFR for the time I am away. Hangar flying is as much of an enjoyment to me as flying, even tinkering and fixing things with my AP. And I can hangar fly in all kinds of miserable weather, and even enjoy a beer or two! That brings me to another topic for the general Mooney group. "What are your most interesting hangar conversations with other pilots when the weather is bad and your just hanging out at the airport"

My Rocket does have a heated prop and was installed by the previous owner. Does it add value? Don't know. Does it slow the plane down? Again - not sure. I do know that there is no fluid I need to worry about and is always there one switch away. As far as how many Rockets have heated props? Good question. In David's Mazer's message above, I would heed to his opinions and experiences since he know more about flying Rockets than anyone else I know. For me, I am instrument rated but do not fly in hard IFR conditions and would rarely ever encounter the icing conditions he spoke about. I guess all I need is an electric pitot and prop heater for getting out of a "little" ice. I have had bad ice build up in my 201 years ago when I was more aggressively flying IFR, and for me - never again. I basically fly only when I need ti get over a thin layer of clouds, rarely stay in clouds, 800 foot minimums are my standards, and the temperature on landings must be over 40 degrees to prevent landing with ice if the flight is not all VFR. Obviously, I do not need my plane for my day job, and use it for pleasure only. So TKS would not be necessary for my missions.

As physics announces, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. For TKS in a Rocket, what are you accomplishing - a very occasional severe icing condition that requires the alcohol spraying a corrosive chemical all over your plane? Emphasis Corrosion!!!. For my Rocket which dies not have TKS, and no corrosion, the plane can fly through (non forecasted) icing layers with ample power to spare, going on top to sublimate what little the 1000 foot icing layer might lay on the wings. It's really not a big deal if you plan our departure at airports forecasted to be above freezing. The plane is like a giant powerful engine that will lift you through a lot of bad icing if you don't stay at those altitudes very long. Plan your decent carefully and you really don't need the alcohol fluid spraying across your wings very often. Remember, a powerful engine is worth a lot more than a de-icing system if you flight plan carefully to prevent icing on a decent in bad weather! Everything has a trade off. I'll take the speed and power over a seldom used corrosive environment to make a very seldom trip doable. If the flight environment is that bad, plan on alternative transportation, TKS or not!

Has the originator of this post (DaV8or() every thought about writing as a career?

I use a $50 small ceramic heater (Wal Mart) and connected a short piece of SCAT tubing to the end of the heater and place this in one of the open Cowl Flaps. Simple and inexpensive. And unlike the Reiff or other heaters that heat the cylinder and oil, this method heats the entire contents under the cowl. Everything stays warm including the very important Turbo charger. I also purchased a $300 cell switch that you can use it to switch the preheated on or off with a text message from your smart phone. The cell switch operates off of T-mobile and you can get t-mobile to operate this for 20 cents a message. This way I don't have to wait the two hours or so at the airport while the engine is preheating while I'm "precooling"...

I'll never forget Irv. Always pleasant and smiling and a big fan of the Rocket. I first met him at a MAPA homecoming maybe around 1989 and he asked me if I was interested in flying in the Rocket. Of course I said so I met him the next day at the airport and he let me in the front seat. Well, little did I realize there were two huge people in the back seats including someone I would estimate weighed nearly 375 pounds, with another passenge in the reat at over 200 pounds. Irv was maybe 175 pounds and myself then (before I got into this crazy sport of marathon running) was maybe 200 pounds. So us passengers wighed a little under 1000 pounds and I knew even in my budding years that it was way over gross. I do not remember the amount of fuel on board. I told Irv I was not going to go but in is usual smiling answer he said get in. And so I went. And darn if the plane flew fantastic. Not a hiccup or anything. Landing was great too. What this tells me is that the Rocket can fly anything you can put into it (not that I would ever go over the legal limits of the plane (3200 pounds) but its nice to know that it has great reserves (icing?)!.. I am sure that was the test flight of loading a Rocket. And BTW, the previous owner of my Rocket once had my plane up to 31,000 feet and still climbing. The plane can do amazing stuff, a one of a kind bird that will never be duplicated again! And another thing, Rocket Engineering is still in business in Spokane Washington modifying other planes and has everything one will need for the Rocket and Missle for a long time. Way to go Darwin Conrad!

Let me chime in with my operating temps, techniques and procedures regarding my Rocket I purchased last year. I just had a Victor Black Edition overhaul from their shop in California and am very pleased with the quality of workmanship and experience and especially from John Pava whose been there as long as anyone else. I was using Phillips 20/50 Type M Mineral oil and just switched this weeknd after 15 hours to Exxon Elite with Camguard additive now that there is no oil consumption. CHT in climb at 1200 fpm at maybe 138 knots are 360 - 370, and never have seen 400. Cool running CHT's are critical to cylinder longevity. The large twin intercoolers on the rear of the engine makes this an easy chore for the Rocket. Good baffling is also important. I am very critical to operating temperatures and never take off until oil temp is 130 degrees. Cool down is at least 6 minutes to prevent turbo damage. As far as landing, I try to keep the TIT to 1400 - 1450 to prevent over riching the engine as the MP is pulled back on final. This keeps the engine smooth all the way to landing. I just have to remember to push the mixture in for a missed approach or go around. A couple of quirks I noticed with the Rocket is the difficulty adjusting the manual cowl flaps on this 1980 K model. At Rocket speeds, the Cowl flaps can be difficult to adjust but in my infinite wisdom to correct this, I noticed that if I removed the left cowl flap spring, it made the cowl flaps much easier to adjust in flight. This is nice to know even though I never see high CHT's even at high power settings. Let me spend a minute about CORROSION. I hate it! It is the only thing that will take away from the Mooney airframe and will destroy an engine quicker than anything else. I have studied this and have looked at all the ways in the world to prevent engine corrosion. In short, I came up with a unique dehydrator system that I think works well, although I have not tested dew points internally in the engine. Let me explain what are the most critical thinkgs you need to know about preventing engine corrosion. 1. Fly the airplane often - this is the most important thing to do. Thats why car engines last so long and never get corrosion is because your starting your car once or twice a day. Airplane engines need this too. Fly at least once a week, get the oil temps to at least 170 degrees and keep it there for an hour if possible. Simply starting your engine periodically does more harm than good (Sorry David Mazer) and is a practice that, although sounds good, should be condemned. Planes need to be flown, not taxied and should not be in a shop or not flown for any reason for more than a month without pickeling the engine. 2. I like Exxon Slite with Camguard to prevent corrosion. Aviation Consumer did a study on this and made thsis recommendation also although they like the heavier single weights also because of the oil sticking longer to metal surfaces. Flying frequently with multi weight oils will eliminate this problem and will be better for minimizing start up wear during the colder months. And most mechanics will tell you that most engine wear occurs during the first minute after starting the engine, even after your oil pressure guage shows you have oil pressure. Never forget this and keep the RPMs as low as possible during the first few minutes. 3. I like the engine dehydrators or dessicants that you see being sold on the market. Except I never did like the fact that the dessicants are put in pickle jars and use small aquarium pumps to move the air. I figured there had to be a better way. So I made myself an industrial grade engine dehydrator using an air compressor and industrial grade dehydrator with a three stage filter system that takes out ALL the moistrure with the final cannister being a large tank that holds a ton of the silica that dryes the air. The system self drains and needs the silica services very infrequently because of its capacity I have two lines that feed the engine this dryed air, one throught the exhaust pipe which is tunneled through a heat resistent cup to prevent leaking and the other through the dip stick opening. I was able to find an auto oil cap filler top from Auto Zone that fit the Continental engine and drilled a hole through it for the pipe to fit into. After flight I simply replace the dipstick with this oil filler cap. Works perfectly. The results from my dehydrator so far seems promising, There is no moisture around the dip stick opening which is typically seen after a few days after flight in the wide opening Continental engines. In the future I will try to measure Dew point temps to see how this works. In any event, I love my Rocket and would recommend it to anyone. My next venture is how to change the oil in the Rocket without having to remove the bottom cowling. I think I have that figured out and will comment on it further in the future. Ron Dubin I mounted all this stuff on a small red wagon I purchased from a local hardware store. And the results seems to work. Like I said I never tested the dew points yet but

I've got about 50 hours or so on my TIO540AF1B installation and only in the last 10 hours or so was I able to start closing the cowl flaps fully during cruise. Prior to that I had a hard time keeping them all under 400. Now, on my last run to Lincoln to drop the plane off for an annual, they are all staying between 360 to 380 even with aggressive leaning to 1650TIT with cowl flaps closed at 75% which in my airplane is about 30/2400. So my experience is very similar to yours, Running 1650 TIT is redline on my TSIO-520 NB and I generally keep TIT at 1580 or less, never above 1600. What is your redline and are you sure the TIT probe is accurate. Have you checked your inflight TIT probe accuracy?

I've got about 50 hours or so on my TIO540AF1B installation and only in the last 10 hours or so was I able to start closing the cowl flaps fully during cruise. Prior to that I had a hard time keeping them all under 400. Now, on my last run to Lincoln to drop the plane off for an annual, they are all staying between 360 to 380 even with aggressive leaning to 1650TIT with cowl flaps closed at 75% which in my airplane is about 30/2400. So my experience is very similar to yours, Running TIT to 1650 is near redline. I have a TSIO-520 NB and never take it that hot unless I am doing a TIT check for a few seconds to peak (TIT 1700). What is peak TIT for your TIO540AFIB installation (TSIO540AFIB?).

No problem KSMooniac. Have him PM me if he wants. I know all about that plane!

I personally know this plane and flew it late last year. I also saw it being sold on eBay but did not bid on it. Why? It comes out of Morristown, TN and last year had a gear up landing which was not recorded in the logs, despite the fact the logs up until last year were very complete and detailed. The damage included prop strike and sudden engine stoppage. The prop was replaced with a McCauley from a 340 Cessna but, and here is the kicker, the engine was never torn down for IRAN inspection!. A TSIO-520 engine tear down alone without camshaft damage replacement is $30,000 - $40,000 alone, if done correctly. The left wing was also damaged and the only log book entry was a couple of skins replaced. Cosmetically the repair looked fine but I have no idea was was lurking behind the pretty paint. Once I find any problems or hidden information in the log books, I shop elsewhere. I looked hard and long at this Rocket and reviewed every page in the logs. The only good thing about this Rocket is after I flew it once, I knew I just had to have one and inspired me to purchase another Rocket a short time later. Let the buyer beware, especially on eBay

In 1988 when I first purchased my 201, I flew from New Orleans to Cozumel with 4 adults, during the evening hours. Despite strong tail winds, we landed far short of FAA mandatory reserves of fuel. On the return flight, we decided NOT to do this again and flew over Cuban airpace through Florida and back home. I had only the standard 64 gallons of gas on board To this date and after 27 years of flying, I think the Gulf of Mexico flight was the worse decision of any flight I have ever made. And I speak of this frequently knowing that there were no options mid flight. When flying and driving, I always try to leave myself alternatives. Sometimes thats not possible for only for a short part of a trip. Flying over the Gulf leaves you no options, no second guessing, and no immediate availablity of Help if needed. So if you want my two cents, just count the number of NO's in this response compared to the number of Yes's.. Pretty obvious.

Don't forget the engine. They corrode too, but you don't see it. Get a good desiccant dryer, fly the plane frequently for 30 minutes or longer, open the dip stick after you fly to release the moisture from the upper levels of the engine, and check the oil analysis. I am a stickler for corrosion and anywhere I can prevent this I will. I own 2 Mooney's and I will spend whatever it takes to prevent corrosion, plane and engine.