Well - - ITS OFFICIAL. I'm a Mooney owner!

[cnoe]

Am I the only one who uses the VCALC feature of our GPS units?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Makes me feel "lazy" but I have to admit using it frequently.

[czechguiness]

I WANT ONE!!!!

[Bob_Belville]

2 hours ago, czechguiness said:

I WANT ONE!!!!

I have one. And it is programmed. But really?

Do you guys use a calculator to figure a 20% tip as my 91 year old mother-in-law does? You're cruising @ 2.5 km per minute. You'll descend at 3.  Subtract pattern altitude from cruise altitude. If you're targeting 500 fpm you'll need 2 minutes per 1000' delta altitude. 

So, I need to lose 8000'. That's 16 minutes. Add 1 or 2 minutes to slow down at pattern altitude. So 18 minutes x 3 = 54 nm out.     

[Bob - S50]

I must be the only one that thinks in miles rather than minutes.  I look at my groundspeed.  If it's 150 then I'm doing 2.5 miles/minute (if it's 180 then I'm doing 3 miles/minute).  At 500 FPM that's 5 miles/1000' (or 6 miles/1000').  To lose 6000' I need 30 (or 36) miles.  Distance to destination is displayed on my GTN650 so I start down at 30 (or 36) miles.  I reduce RPM to 2200 and keep MP at 20" in the descent so my speed doesn't go up much but my fuel flow goes down.  Being out west with lots of mountains, I can't count on a smooth ride all the way down and I don't want to be surprised by a big bump when I'm at the top of the green arc.

I don't add any extra mileage for the descent.  Here's my reasoning.  At 5 miles/1000' I'll reach pattern altitude 5 miles from the airport.  Even if I end up going straight in, the normal glideslope is just over 3 miles out at 1000'.  That gives me 2 miles to slow down to gear speed.  If I'm not going straight in I've got even more time to slow down.

[cnoe]

1 hour ago, Bob_Belville said:

I have one. But really?

Do you guys use a calculator to figure a 20% tip as my 91 year old mother-in-law does? You're cruising @ 2.5 km per minute. You'll descend at 3.  Subtract pattern altitude from cruise altitude. If you're targeting 500 fpm you'll need 2 minutes per 1000' delta altitude. 

So, I need to lose 8000'. That's 16 minutes. Add 1 or 2 minutes to slow down at pattern altitude. So 18 minutes x 3 = 54 nm out.     

LOL. As I mentioned, it makes me feel lazy but...

It's nice to punch the button now and then to see the vertical speed required if I started down "right now". And you can easily target a different fpm without having to break out the tip calculator.

Sometimes I descend slowly, if somebody has wonky ears. And sometimes I like to stay high until the last minute because it gets HOT down here in S. Texas.

In the previous plane I did the math.

Heck, I'll even admit that now and then I use that autopilot thingy rather than fly the plane myself, but please don't tell anybody.

[carusoam]

The best part of the WAAS G186 portable.  Set a glide slope from miles away and intercept and follow it for a 400fpm descent.

It engineers the descent to produce best forward speed without exceeding redline from altitude down to the TPA a mile away.  (Select rate of descent, the altitude, and distance away from the airport to fit your efficiency and safety model).

It eliminates even the simplified math.

Flying IFR can be dissapointing.  The portable GPS is indicating your efficiency is being ignored while ATC is keeping you high.

Best regards,

-a-

[Bob_Belville]

Truth be told, I'm always on an IFR flight plan and descent is a negotiation with ATC. Almost always it begins with: "Atlanta Center, Mooney 943RW requesting lower."  

[bonal]

I always find thread drift interesting. So superC have you done much flying in your new bird I have a thread called today's flight for folks to post little bits on their flights I like to hear the stories and see the photos there. Hope all is well with your new Mooney.

[ArtVandelay]

28 minutes ago, Bob_Belville said:

Truth be told, I'm always on an IFR flight plan and descent is a negotiation with ATC. Almost always it begins with: "Atlanta Center, Mooney 943RW requesting lower."  

 Sometimes...flying to  Albuquerque I had to remain high because of traffic, I was 5 miles away and still 3000' above airport, since it was VFR I was just handed off to the tower, had to request a 360 to lose altitude before I could enter the pattern.

Mooneys will come down or they can slow down but not at the same time.

[bonal]

So much for my feeble attempt to put this thread back on course 

[Mooneymite]

2 hours ago, Bob - S50 said:

I must be the only one that thinks in miles rather than minutes.  I look at my groundspeed.  If it's 150 then I'm doing 2.5 miles/minute (if it's 180 then I'm doing 3 miles/minute).

If you're doing .85 Mach, you're doing 8.5 miles a minute.  

[Bob_Belville]

59 minutes ago, teejayevans said:

 Sometimes...flying to  Albuquerque I had to remain high because of traffic, I was 5 miles away and still 3000' above airport, since it was VFR I was just handed off to the tower, had to request a 360 to lose altitude before I could enter the pattern.

Mooneys will come down or they can slow down but not at the same time.

Ignoring Bonal's feeble..., our minimum altitude coming into KMRN has us almost 8000' AGL until about 15 miles from the airport. (Several peaks near 7000'.) My first '66E did not have speed brakes, love 'em, so I've tried fast, I've tried slowing to gear speed, I've done 720s or more over the fields, need a drag chute.  

[Hank]

21 minutes ago, Bob_Belville said:

Ignoring Bonal's feeble..., our minimum altitude coming into KMRN has us almost 8000' AGL until about 15 miles from the airport. (Several peaks near 7000'.) My first '66E did not have speed brakes, love 'em, so I've tried fast, I've tried slowing to gear speed, I've done 720s or more over the fields, need a drag chute.  

Yep, I used to be kept at 4500' until less than 4nm from home base, pattern altitude was 1600 msl. I'd divert a few miles east to clear the Delta, do one descending 360 and decelerate while going back towards the airport. That usually worked. Go down, or slow down . . .

[MyNameIsNobody]

I think that might be a BoDean's lyric Hank...