An odd question, Im sure.

[N201MKTurbo]

5 hours ago, amillet said:

75 here in Sequim, WA.  I should be out flying but plane is still in Troutdale. Pick it up tomorrow 

Wow, it’s not raining!

[amillet]

11 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

Wow, it’s not raining!

We only get 15-17 inches of rain a year. Rainshadow 

[RLCarter]

23 minutes ago, amillet said:

We only get 15-17 inches of rain a year. Rainshadow 

We got 10~13" this past Monday, almost 1 year to date from when my hangar flooded.... 

[N201MKTurbo]

2 hours ago, amillet said:

We only get 15-17 inches of rain a year. Rainshadow 

Nice, beautiful yard you got there.

[bradp]

We got 104 inches last year with the storms.  This summer I think we’ve had a total of 5.  

[Stephen]

On 6/28/2019 at 8:02 PM, gsxrpilot said:

 

 just trim the nose down and recover all the time you spent climbing. I just monitor the VSI to ensure I stay below VNE if in smooth air, or out of the yellow arc if in bumpy air. Leave the throttle and mixture right where it is and trim for 500 ft/min down, sit back and enjoy the speed.

This means you do need to start your descent a bit earlier than you might think. It's not difficult to go from 160 TAS to 190 TAS in the descent. So start down a bit sooner. Upon arriving at pattern altitude, pull the throttle back to 15" and level off. It will slow right down.

 

^^^ This,

Also, you can try the 20 minute method: Plan your decent to initiate at 20 minutes to your ETA at the pattern or IAF...whatever you are aiming for as a position target. Works as a general strategy on Cessna 150's, Mooneys,  to the big planes because using time instead of a distance generally compensates for different aircraft speeds. 

When you nose over and pick up speed, the 20 minutes to your position target will drop down to  a new ETA of (roughly)  15-17 or so minutes +/- due to your increased speed. Next check that using a 500 FPM descent, that you will arrive at altitude safely before the pattern (so you can slow down). Your present altitude in thousands above your target altitude x 2 will tell you how many minutes it will take at 500 FPM to hit your target altitude. If heading into a pattern make sure your ETA on altitude is < ETA at the airport pattern by a few minutes so you can slow down to pattern speed. If you work it a few times you will get a general pattern. Obvious adjustments/amendments are required for coordinating with ATC. Even then, using the 20 minute method, you can tell if ATC is holding you too high for too long, or conversely know at 25 minutes ahead that you need to request your descent to help them not forget. 

Edited July 2, 2019 by Stephen

[JoeC]

1 hour ago, Stephen said:

Obvious adjustments/amendments are required for coordinating with ATC

I had that happen the last time I was descending.  "Maintain at or above 9000."  Use that opportunity to slow down and drop the gear so you can bomb down after the altitude restriction is deleted.  Now if they are asking you to keep your speed up as well, you have to make other adjustments.

[jaylw314]

21 minutes ago, JoeC said:

I had that happen the last time I was descending.  "Maintain at or above 9000."  Use that opportunity to slow down and drop the gear so you can bomb down after the altitude restriction is deleted.  Now if they are asking you to keep your speed up as well, you have to make other adjustments.

I run into this whenever flying IFR to Santa Monica (KSMO).  The RNAV 21 LPV final approach starts at a waypoint at 3000 MSL.  The minimum vectoring altitude leading up to that seems to be 6000 MSL, and they vector you within 2 miles of the waypoint before you are "cleared when established."

Needless to say, a LOT needs to happen to slow down and descend 3000' in 2 miles.  I usually extend the gear, chop the throttle and do a near Vle descent.  Even then, I usually intercept the glide slope from above, which doesn't feel good.  Prior to that, while being vectored, I've slowed down to below Vle in preparation.

Of course, the last time I went, ATC told me to maintain 150 KIAS as long as possible.  Once they handed me over to the tower, they immediately told me to slow to minimum approach speed for spacing.  That was fun 

Edited July 2, 2019 by jaylw314

[Stephen]

If the approaches in your area have a frequent drop-in aspect to them, might be a good case to call Precise Flight https://www.preciseflight.com/general-aviation/shop/speedbrakes/products/speedbrakes-mooney/ (if not already equipped). 

[Shadrach]

On 6/29/2019 at 1:20 PM, blakealbers said:

I think I’m in a weird camp on this cooking and descent topic. I reduce power slowly and throw the speed brakes but but that’s just because that’s how I enjoy flying the airplane, the inch a minute is more of a relaxing tick to get ready for the business end of the flight more so than a religious belief in shock cooling.


I am unlike @gsxpilot as I do sit there and let the prop spin on the ramp for a few minutes....not because of anything anyone taught me flying but Our heavy diesel Cat Pay loaders on the farm will leave the engine run even after removing key if the turbo is hot. I figure if some engineer at Cat thinks it might help I can stare awkwardly at the ramp guy for a minute and a half.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Operationally there is little similarity between a liquid cooled heavy diesel cat and an air cooled flat six aeroengine.  It has been demonstrated repeatedly by folks with better instrumentation than any of us that GTSIO/TSIO/TIO engines are coolest at touch down. Taxi power increases turbo and CHTs above touchdown temperatures. Continuing to idle the engine with prop wash as the sole means of cooling air is not helping your engine and it is not a best practice. It is a wast of time and fuel burn. I understand why pilots did it before we knew better. But that was long ago, John Deakin was writing the fallacy of “engine idling to cool the turbo” 19 years ago.

[jaylw314]

14 minutes ago, Stephen said:

If the approaches in your area have a frequent drop-in aspect to them, might be a good case to call Precise Flight https://www.preciseflight.com/general-aviation/shop/speedbrakes/products/speedbrakes-mooney/ (if not already equipped). 

I dream of such things 

Fortunately, I only have to do that approach a few times a year, so it's hard to justify the expense.  Now that I know to expect the slam dunk, it's easier to do, but certainly the first time I was thinking to myself "I NEED SPEEDBRAKES!!!!" 

[kortopates]

2 hours ago, jaylw314 said:

I run into this whenever flying IFR to Santa Monica (KSMO).  The RNAV 21 LPV final approach starts at a waypoint at 3000 MSL.  The minimum vectoring altitude leading up to that seems to be 6000 MSL, and they vector you within 2 miles of the waypoint before you are "cleared when established."

Needless to say, a LOT needs to happen to slow down and descend 3000' in 2 miles.  I usually extend the gear, chop the throttle and do a near Vle descent.  Even then, I usually intercept the glide slope from above, which doesn't feel good.  Prior to that, while being vectored, I've slowed down to below Vle in preparation.

Of course, the last time I went, ATC told me to maintain 150 KIAS as long as possible.  Once they handed me over to the tower, they immediately told me to slow to minimum approach speed for spacing.  That was fun 

Perhaps one thing that may help if not already aware, whenever a TRACON asks you to keep your speed up, they are actually only referring to the approach gate or within about a mile out from the FAF; about the same point your CDI is tightening to approach mode 0.3nm or less. Then you are expected to slow down in able to perform a stabilized approach to the runway. Plus at that point you become towers problem and if they really want you to go faster than normal after the FAF, Tower will let you know but that's very rare unless its a Class C or B airport.   

[jaylw314]

11 minutes ago, kortopates said:

Perhaps one thing that may help if not already aware, whenever a TRACON asks you to keep your speed up, they are actually only referring to the approach gate or within about a mile out from the FAF; about the same point your CDI is tightening to approach mode 0.3nm or less. Then you are expected to slow down in able to perform a stabilized approach to the runway. Plus at that point you become towers problem and if they really want you to go faster than normal after the FAF, Tower will let you know but that's very rare unless its a Class C or B airport.   

That's good to know.  The last time, though, the LA TRACON handed me off to KSMO tower right when they gave me "cleared when established" two miles from the FAF, so it was right there anyway.  Talk about busy