M20C Yaw in rough air

[rth119]

As for my rudder and tail Both are tight and correct no slop or play from pedal to tail. I must admit to sometimes taking my feet off the pedals in straight and level when I do the ball stays planted in the center and Snoopy fly's strait and true, when I hit a little ustable air he lets me know with a slight left right yaw. Its not pitch not roll and settles after a couple of swings. if your sitting in an office chair just swing left and right a few degrees each way slowly and thats what it feels like.

Mine flys the same. In calm air, it's straight and true, but unstable air, and I get the left-right yaw. It's a bit unnerving at first.

here's a paragraph taken from LASARs Mooneys Buyer's Guide:

http://www.lasar.com/sales/buyers-guide.asp

"All Mooneys from 1965 through 1977 were equipped with Positive Control, a single axis, full-time autopilot that serves as a wing-leveler. PC can be interrupted by a thumb button on the control yoke for manual control during takeoffs, turns or landings; otherwise, it is engaged at all times. The system is a definite help for IFR operations and for stability in turbulent air, especially in the short-fuselage Mooneys; they tend to yaw markedly in choppy air."

[carusoam]

Now we understand better what they meant by "markedly"....?

Best regards,

-a-

[aaronk25]

I noticed the yaw to when switching from cessnas and piper trainers. Those planes are so dirty that the prop pulling helps keep them straighter. The c has a pretty low gear extend speed but if you drop your gear you would notice the bumps don't wiggle the tail as much.

That being said I've only dropped the gear once because of turbulence, as my new wife is at best a timid flyer.

The aerodynamically cleaner and shorter the plane the more yaw, typically. Exactly what a C model is.

[yvesg]

I noticed this when moving from Cessna 172 to Mooney years back. I assumed this was caused by the higher stability of the Cessna due to its larger empennage surface.

Yves

[bonal]

I Guess from a non pilot point of view it could be uncomfortable but the way I see it it's just a normal trait and only seems to happen in very light turbulance. when it starts getting bumpy then I get a sence of how strong and solid that airframe is as I have mentioned before my wife was very uncomfortable even in light bumps in the cessna but now even when I'm really paying attention to power and staying out of the yellow she is calm and relaxed. I'm one of the lucky ones that has a wife that loves to fly.

[omega708]

The short bodies really do yaw a bit in turbulence.  I've only ever had non-pilots comment on it..