Second gear doors

[Clarence]

Hi Everyone,

Has anyone had the second gear door set installed on a manual gear Mooney?  I've looked at them on Mooney Mart and am undecided if it is a worthwhile mod. 

How about the over lapping nose gear doors?

I want to mod my E model further

Thanks,

Clarence

 

 

 

[Gone]

Clarence:

Every time I turn around, you have done another mod.  How can you expect me to keep up?

 

[rbridges]

if you're talking about the second set of doors that cover the wheels themselves, my c model had them installed before I bought it.  It looks nice, but the previous owner said it probably made very little performance difference.  He also said it made it a little more difficult to retract the wheels since they catch a little more air.

[Jerry 5TJ]

Re Speed:  Roy LoPresti in an article about the development of the 201 said the inner gear doors were necessary to get 200 mph out of the 201 and that without them the plane lost enough speed that the sought-after "1 mph per hp" could not be met.  I recall it was claimed to cost 3 or 4 mph total.   Mooney would have liked to have left them off but at 200 mph they counted for enough to put up with the complexity.   So, at 160 mph (actual "C" cruise speeds rather than full-throttle "J" speed) you might get 2 mph, right?  

Re Retraction Force:  I have run the Johnson bar on a "C" outfitted with the inner gear doors, and the force increase was noticeable.  The owner of that plane pulled the gear up at 75 mph because he could not get them up much beyond 90 mph, he said.  Maybe they were rigged wrong.  

Re Cool Factor:  They sure look nice.

 

[rbridges]

Quote: jerry-N5911Q

Re Speed:  Roy LoPresti in an article about the development of the 201 said the inner gear doors were necessary to get 200 mph out of the 201 and that without them the plane lost enough speed that the sought-after "1 mph per hp" could not be met.  I recall it was claimed to cost 3 or 4 mph total.   Mooney would have liked to have left them off but at 200 mph they counted for enough to put up with the complexity.   So, at 160 mph (actual "C" cruise speeds rather than full-throttle "J" speed) you might get 2 mph, right?  

Re Retraction Force:  I have run the Johnson bar on a "C" outfitted with the inner gear doors, and the force increase was noticeable.  The owner of that plane pulled the gear up at 75 mph because he could not get them up much beyond 90 mph, he said.  Maybe they were rigged wrong.  

Re Cool Factor:  They sure look nice.

 

[fullforward]

I have them installed, they provide a little less than 5 kts true. I have to get the gear up before 80 kts/90 mph otherwise it gets too heavy. If I am too fast I just increase the climb angle and retract then. I started to fly with this mod and it got a piece of cake after the second pattern. Regards