OK folks, there is some good advice here, and some not so good so I will try to do some sorting out. But geez the content of a thread on pprune is NEVER going to take the place of good education, with data backed facts. And doing it for real.
Clintons post, was to be humble about it, the best so far, I am not one of the three amigo's but he knows exactly what I am talking about. I can only suggest
IBG whoever you are read your PM and call me. It really pisses me off when someone on here asks a seriously good question or bunch of them, and expects to get ALL the education in a reply on pprune. Then when there is a solution to their quest for knowledge for some reason they won't pick up the phone.
Lets get one thing straight from the start, AVGAS, ULP etc etc, all have about the same energy in them, it is the way we burn it that matters. This could be several pages long just this. but lets remember the IO520 and my IO540....apart from subtle fuel system and a few minor manufacturing differences are the same bloody thing. The AVGAS can't tell.
PLOVETT
If you are taking the time to read John Deakin's web articles then you understand that to operate an engine as he suggests you also need to have balanced fuel injectors and an all-cylinder monitor. To operate without these is courting disaster.
This is not quite true, some TCM's and recently I have found a few Lyc's will have pretty well balanced injectors from the factory, not all, not most, but some. If you do not have an engine monitor, which is safer? Playing around on the ROP side or on the LOP side?
Answer: Safer on the LOP side, and if I had all weekend to run a course for you, you would understand why. But too many other questions to answer here. The rest of your post about operators and being smart in investing in stuff, you know it!!
It is sad but true.
TMG
You start out well, but let me fine tune your ops, and why is it you are using 100ROP? What is your reason for it? Best power is probably a fraction leaner, and your speed will not suffer, peak EGT would be better, but this depends on MP and RPM. What engine are you using? At 65LPH and if you were LOP that would be about 85% power, and I bet you are not.
When you get to TOC and you settle things out.....SET RPM FIRST, fiddling with RPM later will alter the "nominal" EGT value you are using as a reference point (one of the troubles when a F/P prop is used). So set your RPM where it is happy, if you want more speed and to produce more power use more RPM on the rich side, however on the lean side power is determined by fuel flow. Little trick here is as the peak EGT point moves around with RPM if you use a higher RPM, you can then be on the leaner side of peak with a bit more fuel flow, and go a bit faster. But really we are splitting hairs a bit here and I never bother. I just set around 2300 (more up high) and go LOP according to the "rules".
So I am going to guess your mission is above 6500 feet, so level out, 2300 and lean to 10 LOP on the last cylinder to peak. Typically this will be about 65% power. and whatever fuel flow this is, so long as you are on the lean side of peak, no matter what you do with RPM, or MP, if you are on the LOP side, the fuel flow will determine power.
Critical concept here;
ROP> Power is determined by MASS AIRFLOW
LOP> Power is determined by FUEL FLOW
If I guess you have a C206
and the 300HP IO540 angle valve, a typical economical power setting would be WOT/2350/49-50LPH, and if I flew it like that I bet the CHT's would be way down, I would have a lot less $$ spent on fuel, and your trip time would be within a minute of mine.
Should I sign you up for one of Andrew's and my courses which we have not even developed yet
The rest of your post
And the only reason you should pull anything back after takeoff is a noisy C185 prop.....will split the eardrums of the neighbours, so maybe then and only a little.
As for JPI/Auracle's etc etc...... You can run LOP safely if the cylinders are well balanced, and you can do it without anything more than an accurate fuel flow meter, it is a piece of cake.....WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING. Playing around on the ROP side is more risky than the LOP side, especially at lower powers (75% or less), but please do not for a minute think I am saying you should not have one, you should, end of discussion
All that being said, you have a C210/206/185 BE33/35/36 or any of the twins, what on earth are you thinking not having one when they are THE BEST safety and maintenance tool anyone can have. I have run a few seminars on maintenance tools, being borescopes/leak down and an EMS, but the bottom line is you need education. An EMS is useless unless you REALLY KNOW what it is telling you, and 99% of people do not.
Whyalla Airlines crash would never have happened had CASA required my standards. My standards are and would be for all commercial ops, every engine has an EMS and every pilot done an APS course or equivelent of which there are none. Simple as that. No negotiation whatsoever. Yes I am serious and not compromising.
I must add something here, reading all the John Deakin articles is a great read, but you do not get the full understanding, not the full education. If you are one of a very small number of folk, you might work the rest out, but a serious hands on application of education is required, and watching the real stuff on the only engine set up on a dyno I know of is hard to replicate.
Advanced Pilot
Sorry I cant sit here all night and go into pages of details, I need to go home for a start, but this stuff is never going to be taught on a thread on pprune.
Andrew Denyer and myself will talk more again about putting together good pilot to pilot courses, I will talk to the APS guys again in a few weeks about them being involved or us just doing our own thing, but if I had enough support from the industry we would make this happen sooner, and sure it would cost money, and it would probably cost us not make us money to do it. But it would be worth it. The other option is spend $1K plus a trip to the USA and do it there. Good value for money if you ask me.