M20C Speeds

[klystron]

So after giving my bird a bath on Sunday I decided to take it out for a spin and give a friend of mine a quick flight around the area. Took off and headed towards Pagosa Springs (KPSO) from KLAM but ended up deciding to turn around about 20nm out from the field due to low scattered ceilings and my desire to not get stuck between the clouds and the mountains on the way back. So I took us up to 13,500' to get over the clouds and feel a little more comfortable. Well once my 496 started telling me that I needed to descend at 500fpm to get down to KLAMs pattern altitude I punched the STec 60 to descend at 450fpm. The result of the 450fpm descent, a nice tailwind, and wonderfully smooth air was a GS of 194 knots!!! I think the bath  helped a little 

 

 

 

 

[rbridges]

awesome!  just watch that Vne speed!

[klystron]

20 minutes ago, rbridges said:

awesome!  just watch that Vne speed!

Yeah I was well below Vne. At 13,500 Vne is something like 220 knots TAS.

[cliffy]

Now wax it!   Good for another 10 to 15 kts TAS :-)

[Hank]

At 500 fpm, my C generally indicates ~170 mph. Groundspeed can be anywhere, depending in the wind direction and strength, but I've seen > 200 mph showing on my cellphone. I've recently found the Winds and TAS page on my G430W, and regularly get TAS = 147-149 knots, even when groundspeed is quite low (110 knots).

A good waxing should provide an additional 3-5 knots in cruise, which should be more in descent.