@RobertyL :
that’s a great excursion into the F33 story. 
I didn’t want to go into so many details but thank you for doing so.
Just a small comment : they were actually built until 1994 although the last production year really dropped in numbers.
What is the fuel furn for 180KTAS of old F33A upgraded with 310hp NA Conti550?
Having +180TAS tourer with +1100lbs UL out of grass is priceless
Well, half of those things exist on Mooneys, for example, so I assume it IS in the eye of the beholder…
200K? A bit too much. As Peter is usually saying in the eye of a spouse SR22 is better – CAPS! :) And price is close.
A bit too expensive…
arj1 wrote:
Well, half of those things exist on Mooneys,
I looked at Mooneys on the market and concluded their useful load was ahhh…..not so useful.
Of course the Cirrus CAPS is priceless, no doubt.
@Peter the Navy required a 1200 fpm drop test. The only damage was the tyres would blow.
@lbra the 550 at 75% is around 17 usgph although the followers of the Church of LOP claim lower
17usgph is pretty impressive on those vintage airframes !
I flew Mentor T34C, I remember it was fully aerobatic and maybe not the typical Beech: has PT6 in front and very fat & draggy, it will barely deliver 200kts with 550hp 
On Mooney UL, if you get your hand on stripped a Encore M20K with 220hp turbo or Eagle M20S with 310hp STC gets you near 1200lbs (finding these on sale is as tough as F33), in the others models you will be in 850lbs-1050lbs but they price way cheaper, saving for annual gym membership what you miss with Mooneys is landing on grass, I am sure the gear is strong for RobertL18C drop test from 10ft but you will need new engine+prop
In the other hand who buys those Mooneys for 1200lbs useful load?
Eagle: 185KTAS at 16GPH(ROP100) in 6000ft
Encore: 185KTAS at 11GPH(LOP50) in 25000ft
the Navy required a 1200 fpm drop test.
That comes to 20 feet per second, which is close to the figure I posted.
I find that incredible. There must be some qualifier on that.
gildnn wrote:
Why are you looking for F33A in particular?
It is also a German thing. The F33A was the primary trainer for Lufthansa and has got a special place in German pilots hearts…
RobertL18C wrote:
With the standard 520 the cruise is 170KTAS
That sounds very optimistic. It was many years ago and on economy cruise with 13,5 gph it would do more like 155kt TAS in most conditions. With max cruise, which was not used often to pamper the engine, it was maybe 7-8kt faster. The 550 conversion I once flew side by side was maybe another 7-8kt faster. Also the climb was not that great. Maybe 500-700fpm in cruise climb.
I did really love to fly our old F33A, it was great fun but the thing was no rocketship and soft IFR only.
@Sebastian_G the German Lufthansa school may have used C33, E33 and F33 with the 225HP 470K? Arizona used the 520 version?
After Continental issued a SB on using RPM below 2300 RPM, they confirmed the 520 is happiest at 65 or 75%?
Here is the cruise table for the E33A which should be delivering 165-170KTAS in the cruise.
