Advice on climbing to FL240

[Houman]

Thanks for the info...exactly what I was asking for. My next mooney will be a tks rocket, so that's why I ask/ challenge some ideas.

I can't find any other plane that is as fast at that fuel flow, without major sacrifices.

Well the Rocket is an amazing plane, the only sacrifice is the usueful load, it could be better, but that is still fine. You just can't fill her up to the rimm and then take 4 good size adults in it, atleast not legally

[aviatoreb]

Thanks for the info...exactly what I was asking for. My next mooney will be a tks rocket, so that's why I ask/ challenge some ideas.

I can't find any other plane that is as fast at that fuel flow, without major sacrifices.

pleasure!

one nice thing about the rocket is you have the power to climb quickly at essentially all altitudes you are certified to fly - very quickly - and it can go very very fast - and burn as much as 22gph in high speed but normal cruise. but it is still very fast at 65%.... even 55%.... and I can even pull it way back to imitate a 231 ... cruising 170tas in the mid teens on 11.8-12 gph lop (and tit not so hot there like 1560...1580).

btw there are no heat problems for cylinders at any altitudes at any power settings. rop or lop it is still quite cool - although cooler lop. actually probably too cool lop for the winter ... I worry when some of my cylinders are showing <280 lop in cold weather... so like I said ... unless I am trying to extend range mostly I run rop.

[aviatoreb]

Here I am today at FL21 running LOP and you see the setting.  I think this relatively low setting deep in the LOP was still netting about 190TAS and you see the nice tail wind.  I went KSAW -> KPTD in under 2:30 in something like 40gal.

 

See some very cool cylinders which is the nice thing of LOP.  I can run it a lot harder and faster but with a tail wind like this, why bother?

[carusoam]

Sorta like sailing...only much faster!

Thanks for sharing that photo Erik. It has all the important details...

Best regards,

-a-

[Houman]

Here I am today at FL21 running LOP and you see the setting.  I think this relatively low setting deep in the LOP was still netting about 190TAS and you see the nice tail wind.  I went KSAW -> KPTD in under 2:30 in something like 40gal.

 

See some very cool cylinders which is the nice thing of LOP.  I can run it a lot harder and faster but with a tail wind like this, why bother?

Erik, I got t get up there with you some day, i think there is so much more for me to learn on how to best run the beast that is the Rocket...

Let me know if that is something we can do at some point, I would come to where you are...

Thanks

[Yooper Rocketman]

Here I am today at FL21 running LOP and you see the setting.  I think this relatively low setting deep in the LOP was still netting about 190TAS and you see the nice tail wind.  I went KSAW -> KPTD in under 2:30 in something like 40gal.

 

See some very cool cylinders which is the nice thing of LOP.  I can run it a lot harder and faster but with a tail wind like this, why bother?

 

Aaahhh, but we don't talk about the flight westbound?  Looks like you had some headwind the other way.  VFR on top?

 

But the real question, did you catch any fish?

[aviatoreb]

Aaahhh, but we don't talk about the flight westbound?  Looks like you had some headwind the other way.  VFR on top?

 

But the real question, did you catch any fish?

 

Hi Yooperman!  On my way there - I realized I had meant to contact you.....it was a busy Saturday - my son graduated and literally 1 hour later we were on an airplane goin' fishing.  Boy did we ever catch a fish!  My son caught two gorgeous steel head and the guide was some kind of photo expert and took the most beautiful pictures of them - I will post that this evening.

 

Yes, there was a significant head wind on the way there - it took 3:30 to get there!  But as we can do with this piston engines, I came there at a lower altitude to avoid the stronger winds above.  I went west at 10,000ft.

[aviatoreb]

Erik, I got t get up there with you some day, i think there is so much more for me to learn on how to best run the beast that is the Rocket...

Let me know if that is something we can do at some point, I would come to where you are...

Thanks

 

Hi Houman, Sure - I would be happy to help - but remember I am not a CFI - just commercial, so I would need to be left seat since I have very little right seat experience.

 

Also - it took a lot of tuning to get my airplane to the point that it will fly nicely lop - meaning new baffling (to avoid the little holes/induction leaks), balancing the injectors (which I managed to within 0.4 simply by swapping them around), and new mags (which aren't so new anymore).  Plus I couldn't do it until after the top I needed at 950hrs (I bought at 750hrs).  Now I have 1300hrs on the engine.   Conty cylinders from that era had lousy valve work - which makes for harder to run lop, and also they the cylinders don't last long.  SO when I did the top, I had new cylinders and nonetheless I had the valves custom lapped for a good fit.  The engine runs much smoother, plus it is very tight.  I burn 1 qt every 25 hrs still and my compressions were 77 and up even last month at annual after 350hrs in service for those cylinders.  So what I am saying, it takes a lot of attention with these engines to get them to run nicely lop, and some folks in the know said the tsio520nb is harder than some to run well lop.