New ground speed record for me.

[bcg]

Not too shabby for a 61 year old C. I had 30+ knot tailwinds the entire trip from Kerrville to W Palm Beach.

 

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[Echo]

On 8.7gph.  Nice.

[Hank]

3 hours ago, bcg said:

 

Not too shabby for a 61 year old C. I had 30+ knot tailwinds the entire trip from Kerrville to W Palm Beach.

I was right there with you last week, Eastbound from Houston in my C!

It was noticeable on climbout, passing through 6000 msl at 100 mph, groundspeed was 120 knots. The further east I went, the higher groundspeed was.

But my level cruise record is 183 knots across NC a few years ago (no hurricane involved!).

[Utah20Gflyer]

I did a trip to Washington state a couple years ago and was getting a consistent 175 knots.  Unfortunately when I flew back the winds were the same and I was only getting 115 knots ground speed.  That sucked but at least I wasn’t flying a Cessna 150.  I would have been doing 60 knots and watching the freeway traffic pass me by.  

[bcg]

I did a trip to Washington state a couple years ago and was getting a consistent 175 knots.  Unfortunately when I flew back the winds were the same and I was only getting 115 knots ground speed.  That sucked but at least I wasn’t flying a Cessna 150.  I would have been doing 60 knots and watching the freeway traffic pass me by.  

I'm hoping by the time I go home next week they won't be as bad. I'll probably have to go back much lower, at 4,000 winds were only about 8 knots, they picked up significantly between 7 and 9.

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[AJ88V]

I'm trying to figure out what you're doing to get a TAS of 161 in level flight in a C model!

FWIW my personal record was through the Tehachapi Pass in California maintaining a steady 80 kts GS.  Can't imagine that in a 172.

[bcg]

I'm trying to figure out what you're doing to get a TAS of 161 in a C model!
FWIW my personal record was through the Tehachapi Pass in California maintaining a steady 80 kgs GS.  Can't imagine that in a 172.

The G5 is in MPH to match the POH speeds. It's easier than converting it all to knots.

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[AJ88V]

1 minute ago, bcg said:

The G5 is in MPH to match the POH speeds. It's easier than converting it all to knots.

I actually considered that!  (that's why I didn't put 'kts' after the 161!)

[Hank]

4 hours ago, AJ88V said:

I'm trying to figure out what you're doing to get a TAS of 161 in level flight in a C model!

FWIW my personal record was through the Tehachapi Pass in California maintaining a steady 80 kts GS.  Can't imagine that in a 172.

High level airspeed come from tailwinds. That how I came home from Houston at 170-178 knots.

On the other hand, headwinds as I diverted around icing once kept me to 105-115 knots, and climbing to get past Knoxville I bottomed out at 68 knots at 10,000 msl, dodging icy cloudtops. My wife said, "glad we aren't in a Cessna!" How quickly we get spoiled!

[bigmo]

If we’re competing on the other end…I’ve got -6 knots in a 152 in Oklahoma (and I wasn’t really trying). I think I could have managed -10 or even -12 with some effort. Stalling with a 50 knot headwind probably not the best idea I’ve had, however.

Personally I seem to have a knack for flying from point A to B with a headwind…then turning around and finding a headwind from B back to A. Just one of the many gifts I have. That and picking the slowest checkout register.

[Danb]

Our amazing Mooneys 

[201Steve]

It’s unclear if you made it in one leg?!

[bcg]

It’s unclear if you made it in one leg?!

Not quite. I made a fuel stop at NCR, a little north of Destin. Normally, I'd have stopped around Mobile. I probably could've made it to Tampa with no reserves if I was dumb enough to try it.

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[AJ88V]

17 hours ago, bigmo said:

If we’re competing on the other end…I’ve got -6 knots in a 152 in Oklahoma (and I wasn’t really trying). I think I could have managed -10 or even -12 with some effort. Stalling with a 50 knot headwind probably not the best idea I’ve had, however.

Personally I seem to have a knack for flying from point A to B with a headwind…then turning around and finding a headwind from B back to A. Just one of the many gifts I have. That and picking the slowest checkout register.

Yep, it feels so good with a tailwind. So unfair that our trips with headwinds last so much longer. The aviation gods punish our hubris.

[Mooney in Oz]

Love that Chem Trail switch 

[Ibra]

I had my record speed for out-return in M20J, albeit in France, we had storm Darragh and it was a good idea to circle around it while it’s moving (fly south on outbound flight Saturday and north on return flight Sunday) 

Overall the wind optimisation gave 60kts tailwind Saturday afternoon and 40kts tailwind Sunday night: as long as you keep depression to your left, you have a happy tailwind, only valid in northern hemisphere (somehow reminds me of electromagnetism exams )

Cruise climb 172kts and +1200fpm on Saturday afternoon and +200kts LPV followed by circle to land Sunday night

[Ibra]

Last year I had a trip with 50kts average speed (sometimes as low as 35kts) that had to stop halfway for fuel, I also get air sick after trying a faster cruise for 2h at 2000ft agl…

The sight of cars on roads was really painful, it hurt to see Amazone trucks or Renaults R19 going faster than Mooney better not to fly at all 

Edited December 9 by Ibra

[Mooney in Oz]

8 hours ago, Ibra said:

I had my record speed for out-return in M20J, albeit in France, we had storm Darragh and it was a good idea to circle around it while it’s moving (fly south on outbound flight Saturday and north on return flight Sunday) 

Overall the wind optimisation gave 60kts tailwind Saturday afternoon and 40kts tailwind Sunday night: as long as you keep depression to your left, you have a happy tailwind, only valid in northern hemisphere (somehow reminds me of electromagnetism exams )

Cruise climb 172kts and +1200fpm on Saturday afternoon and +200kts LPV followed by circle to land Sunday night

Man those Windy maps look intense. I know you would’ve avoided the system by a wide margin, but how was the turbulence?

[Ibra]

57 minutes ago, Mooney in Oz said:

how was the turbulence?

The map is for winds at cruise altitudes (7000-10000) not surface winds, they were 1/2-1/3 

Once above 3000ft agl, it went smooth: there is not much terrain around and temperatures are very cold for thermals. Under 3000ft agl it was bumpy and the takeoff and landing were gusty (Mooney handles it well with no flap).

 

Edited December 9 by Ibra

[Skates97]

On 12/6/2024 at 10:17 AM, Utah20Gflyer said:

I did a trip to Washington state a couple years ago and was getting a consistent 175 knots.  Unfortunately when I flew back the winds were the same and I was only getting 115 knots ground speed.  That sucked but at least I wasn’t flying a Cessna 150.  I would have been doing 60 knots and watching the freeway traffic pass me by.  

A year ago we flew to UT and had tailwinds both ways with groundspeeds running between 180-190mph, topping out at 203mph at one point. 

https://intothesky.com/2023/12/01/tail-winds-both-ways/

There's always the flip side. We went to St George at the beginning of the year and the flight back saw the headwind top out at 67mph. It took us almost as long to get back to SoCal from St George on that trip as it did from Salt Lake on the earlier trip.

[Hank]

16 minutes ago, Ibra said:

The map is for winds at cruise altitudes (7000-10000) not surface winds, they were 1/2-1/3 

Once above 3000ft agl, it went smooth: there is not much terrain around and temperatures are very cold for thermals. Under 3000ft agl it was bumpy and the takeoff and landing were gusty (Mooney handles it well with no flap).

In fact, this would make a great presentation at the next Mooney Summit, if you are able to attend.

@SkyBound? @DanM20C?

[Ibra]

33 minutes ago, Hank said:

at the next Mooney Summit, if you are able to attend.

Thanks @Hank, I am hoping to make it next year !