SkyBound

I was wondering if anyone has had experience replacing the Aerosonic combined Manifold Pressure and Fuel Flow (Aerosonic Part #651035-0107) gauge? Please see the photo attached. The FF portion has become INOP and three instrument shops that it has visited over the last month have not been able to repair it due to the lack of necessary parts. If you know of a location that may have a replacement with the same part number or have experience replacing this instrument with either a substitute combination MAP/FF gauge or two separate gauges please chime in. Thanks. --Alex

If Parker is not available, Ben Zwebner at our airport is a professional Ferry pilot. Checkout www.theferrypilot.com. --Alex

+1 for Nitrogen. I fiound that once I switched I need to inflate less frequently than when using air.

Seth - thanks for mentioning Air Repair. I have been a customer for over eight years now. As you have mentioned, I have been very pleased with the personal care and attention they provide to their customers (the manager and owner have come out to meet me at the shop on the weekends or after hours multiple times when I would come in to pick-up or drop off the airplane). They have gone out of their way to make sure that I would be ready to fly for a scheduled trip. They are also competitively priced and are very fair when it comes to billing hours. Sonic - Please don't hesitate to PM me if I can provide additional information or make an introduction. --Alex

+1 for AIC Title. I had great success with both sale and purchase of my Mooneys. I worked with Cheri Drake there: Cheri Drake AIC Title Service, LLC 6350 W. Reno Oklahoma City, OK 73127 Direct: 1-800-288-2519 Ext. 309 Email: cdrake@aictitle.com

All, A second PIREP on the Reiff heater installed on my Mooney 231 used with the cell switch they promote. The product has been working well and the cell switch was simple to set-up and use. The combination has worked perfectly for my needs. I send a text to the switch 8-12 hours before my flight, depending on the forecasted OAT, arrive at the hangar to find a warm engine - all cylinders about 90 degrees and oil at about 110. I have gotten great support from Reiff during and after my purchase. The switch does send a text message back when it's activated, whether activation is performed by a phone call or a text message. One can query the switch to see its status with a text message, check on the cell signal strength, etc. It also has the capability to set-up whitelists to make sure that only certain numbers can activate and administer the switch. Feel free to PM me if you would like additional details. --Alex

I have the cell switch from Reiff. I purchased it with my heating system at Oshkosh this summer. I have only had a chance to use it a few times this year thus far. I got a pay as you go plan with T-Mobile for it. It was very easy to set-up and configure with just a few text message commands. The switch and the heating system work great. I am really pleased and would recommend it. --Alex

Yves, Just sent to your e-mail. --Alex

Interesting point, I have been guided in the opposite direction, to use lower RPM during LOP operations. I experienced 2400-2500 RPM to be the optimal range in my plane. I experimented with 2300 RPM, but find it hard to keep CHTs cool there needing to trail cowl flaps and seeing a significant drop-off in speed.

Dham1956, what RPM combination do you typically fly at with the 33" MP at 11.5 GPH? Could you share the TAS values you typically see at various altitudes? Thank you.

+1 for the Sidewinder

Nick - what MP/RPM and cowl flaps (closed/trail) combination do you use to get 175 kts at 17K? I only seem to be getting 165 kts TAS/123 kts IAS at 17K using 28.7"/2500 and keeping cowl flaps closed, also burning 9.5 GPH with TIT at 1560.

I use a Sidewinder with my 231 and am very pleased with it.

1doorman - would you mind sharing a copy of the power chart that you use? Also any speeds (IAS/TAS), fuel flows, etc. that you can share at various altitudes would be helpful to those of us learning about our 231s and LOP ops if you can share those as well. Thanks in advance.

A friend in Connecticut is looking to redo the interior in his 1970 M20F. Has anyone had a good experience with a shop they would like to recommend and photos that you could share?

Parker - thanks for your note. I was able to get my fuel flow up to about 10.7-11.0 GPH on the way to OSH yesterday, but don't seem to be able to keep CHTs and TIT at bay and run smoothly to get a little more power above that. I was hoping to get to 11.5 GPH, but 11.0 GPH is close enough. The airplane was doing 165 kts TAS at 14,000 ft. I am excited to know that the airplane can be happy performing that way. Very impressive how much faster your airplane was. I hope that you can return to Oshkosh soon!

Special thanks to all who posted responses to my questions. I lost my LOP virginity on a trip earlier this week. I was able to do 165 kts TAS at 17,000 burning 9.5 GPH using 28.5" and 2500 RPM. Like everyone has said the CHTs were in the mid 300s and TIT stable at 1550. ROP at the same altitude with 28.5" and 2500 RPM yielded only 7 kts more (172 TAS) burning 14.8 GPH and having to trail cowl flaps to keep temperatures below 380. My JPI was showing 75% power for both ROP and LOP with the above settings, but that is not correct, right? When running LOP the equation 13.7 X GPH = HP applies. Thus for my 210 HP engine as jackn pointed out I was only doing 62% power LOP. Could one take this equation as a general philosophy for LOP flight and then say that for my engine I could try various power setting combinations as long as I stay at or below 11.5 GPH which would be equivalent to 75% while keeping CHTs below 380 and TIT below 1600? Parker - I notice that you mentioned that your engine runs rough below 2450 RPM, is that why you stay with 2550 RPM - 100 RPM above that setting? Does that additional 50 RPM above 2500 make a big difference? Do others with my LB engines like mine cruise faster than 2500 RPM? Thanks for the additional comments and advice. --Alex PS: For those 231 and other Turbo Mooney drivers going to Oshkosh would anyone like to get together in the North 40? Post here and may be we'll have a chance to get together next week.

Parker, Thank you for taking the time to share the information. Your 252 is about 10 kts. faster than my 231. Very impressive! I look forward to hearing from others. --Alex

I have continued experimenting running LOP and would like to get some more advice from the 231 pilots. What procedure/steps do you use to go LOP? What FF do you target and what %HP, RPM, MP do you use at various altitudes and what corresponding TAS do you observe? What are your EGT, CHT, and TIT preferred temperature ranges for LOP operations? Do you trail cowl flaps or are you able to keep them closed to keep those temps? How do handle descents and temporary level offs on descent? Are there times when you won't use LOP? i.e. short hops, flying a lower altitudes, etc.? Thanks! --Alex

SOLD!

I am planning on doing that. Just wanted to "keep it in the family" and give the Mooney community a shot at it first. Thanks for the suggestion KSMooniac.

After a recent panel upgrade my fully working King KR-87 TSO ADF system was removed. I am selling the complete system: radio, indicator, and antenna (not pictured). Please make an offer if you are interested. --Alex

Another vote for ForeFlight Checklist Pro. I have been using it for over three years. I have it on my iPhone for preflight and walking around and on the iPod Touch attached to the yoke for inflight - this has worked great for me. In addition to customizing checklists for the aircraft that I fly, I have also created a passenger briefing checklist, AirVenture Arrival, etc. I like the feature to sync checklists between devices and the ability to edit on the device or on the web. --Alex

Carb heat off, mixture rich (unless you are landing at higher altitude). I only use carb heat when there is onset of carb ice. Use of carb heat in the M20C is infrequent. I typically have experienced that in visible moisture/rain/clouds. Enjoy!

I have been using ADS-B with SkyRadar (www.skyradar.net) on an iPad over the last two years and have been very pleased with it. I had the unit hidden in the glove compartment in my M20C model and behind the pedestal now in my M20K model using external antennas on the windshield. PM me if you'd like more details and if interested I can get you a discount through a referral. --Alex